Wendy Williams Opens Strong

The Wendy Williams Show, a new daytime talk show from Debmar-Mercury, began a six-week preview on Fox Television Stations Monday with strong ratings in New York and solid showings in Los Angeles and Dallas.

Airing live at 10 a.m. on WNYW New York, the show -- hosted by New York-based hip-hop and R&B DJ Wendy Williams -- led its time period among women 18-34 (2.9 rating/19 share), 18-49 (2.1/14) and 25-54 (1.9/13).

In Los Angeles, airing on KTTV, the show finished second in the 1 p.m. time period with a 0.8/2 rating, and it logged a 1.2/4 rating in the 11 a.m. period on KDFW Dallas.

The daily one-hour entertainment chat show is the first foray into first-run syndicated talk shows for Debmar-Mercury, which is co-producing the six-week preview with the Fox stations.