Syndication Ratings: Talkers Hit Pre-Christmas Doldrums

Ratings for the syndicated
magazines came back down to Earth in the week ending Dec. 20, as PUT levels
declined sharply in the pre-Christmas week and the Tiger Woods story finally
began to fade.  On the other hand, none of the first-run game, talk
or court shows were up week-to-week either.

CBS Television Distribution's
(CTD) Entertainment Tonight, the no.1 newsmag, slipped 6% from the week
before to 4.5, although ET Weekend continued on its ratings roll, jumping
14% to a new season-high 2.4.  CTD's Inside Edition gave
back 6% to a 3.4.  NBC Universals' (NBCU) Access Hollywood
fell 8% to 2.2.  Warner Bros.' TMZ was down 5% to
2.1.  Warner Bros.' Extra sank 10% to 1.9 and CTD's The
Insider
was off 5% to 1.8. 

Elsewhere in access, game shows
went nowhere.  CTD's Wheel of Fortune slid 4% to 7.2. 
CTD's Jeopardy! dropped 6% to 5.9.  Disney/ABC's
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was down 4% to 2.6. 
Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud deteriorated 7% to 1.3. 
NBCU's Deal Or No Deal lost 8% to 1.2. 

In daytime, every talk show was
down except NBCU's Martha Stewart, which remained at its season-high
0.7.  CTD's Oprah was the only talker to hit a new
season-low, tumbling 12% to 3.7.  CTD's Dr. Phil dipped 3%
to 2.8.  Disney/ABC's Live With Regis & Kelly was also
down 3% to 2.8.  Warner Bros. Ellen Degeneres slipped 7% to
2.6.  NBCU's Maury was down 5% to 1.8.  CTD's
The Doctors went into reruns and dropped 15% to 1.7.  CTD's
Rachael Ray, also offering some repeats, lost 11% to 1.7. 
NBCU's Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos each faded 8% to 1.2
and 1.1 respectively.  Warner Bros.' Bonnie Hunt was down
11% to 0.8. 

CTD's Judge Judy was down
6% to 4.4 but was still the highest-rated first-run show in daytime standings
for the fourth straight week, topping Oprah by 19%.  CTD's Judge
Joe Brown
eased 5% to 2.1.  Warner Bros.' Peoples' Court
declined 5% to 1.9.  Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis and
Twentieth's Judge Alex each fell 6% to 1.5.  Twentieth's
Divorce Court and Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine Pirro remained flat
at 1.4 and 1.0 respectively. 

Among rookies, Sony's Dr.
Oz
was down 4% to a 2.6 but was still the freshman leader in first
run.  Twentieth's Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader took a
6% demotion to 1.5.  Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams and
Litton's Street Court were flat at 1.3 and 0.6 respectively. 
NBCU's The Office was the top newcomer overall, despite a 3%
descent to a 3.0.  Off-net sitcoms Twentieth's My Name Is
Earl
was up 5% to 2.0. CTD's Everybody Hates Chris
gained 6% to 1.9.

Warner Bros.' Two and a Half
Men
was down 4% to 4.9.  Twentieth's Family Guy grew 3%
to 3.5.  Warner Bros.' George Lopez advanced 8% to
2.8.  Sony's Seinfeld slipped 4% to 2.7.  CTD's
Everybody Loves Raymond rose 4% to 2.5.  Twentieth's King
of the Hill
was unchanged at 2.3.  Warner Bros.' Friends
coughed up 9% a 2.1.  House of Payne stumbled 11% down to
1.7.  Sony's King of Queens was up 6% to 1.7, tying Payne