With November sweeps in full swing, several syndies hit
season highs in the week ending Nov. 21.
Among the talkers, CBS Television Distribution's The Doctors, NBC Universal's Steve Wilkos, NBCU's Maury and Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams all scored their highest
ratings of the season despite a 10% decline in PUT (people using television) levels
from the prior week.
Maury climbed 5%
to a 2.1. The Doctors jumped 6% to a 1.9,
the show's best ratings in 38 weeks, while its women 18-49 rating improved 14%
over last year. Steve Wilkos rose 7%
to a season's best 1.5 in households, up 15% from last year. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, although still trailing
the talk field, moved closer to the pack with a 9% gain to a new season high
1.2.
CTD's talk leader Oprah
dipped 5% to a 5.8, but was still a solid first-place among all daytime shows.
In second place, CTD's Dr. Phil dipped
3% to a 2.9. Disney-ABC's Live with Regis
and Kelly lost 8% to a 2.4, tying Sony's Dr. Oz sank 4% to a 2.4. Warner Bros.' Ellen, CTD's Rachael Ray
and NBCU's Jerry Springer all were flat
at a 2.3, 1.6 and 1.4, respectively.
CTD's Entertainment Tonight
remained the magazine leader, easing just 2% for the week to a 4.2. In second
place, CTD's Inside Edition rebounded
11% to a new season high 3.1. NBCU's Access
Hollywood also notched a new season high 2.0 to regain third place in the category
with a 5% hike. Warner Bros.' TMZ
jumped 6% to a 1.9, while CTD's The
Insider slipped 10% to a 1.8, tying Warner Bros.' Extra for last place.
Extra, however, was
the only magazine to better its prior-year performance, improving 6% both for
the year and the week to a new season high 1.8. The show's weekend counterpart also
continued to shine, improving by 30% over last year to a 1.3.
CTD's Judge Judy continued
to preside over the court shows for the 741st consecutive week in a
row -- or more than 14 years -- with a 4.6, even with the prior week. In second place,
CTD's Judge Joe Brown rallied 5% to a
2.1. Warner Bros.' People's Court
recovered 6% to a 1.9. Warner Bros.' Judge
Mathis was up 7% to a 1.6. Twentieth's Judge
Alex was flat at a 1.3. Twentieth's Divorce
Court moved up 8% to a 1.3 and Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine Pirro was last with an unchanged 1.0.
Game shows all were slightly higher except for CTD's leader,
Wheel of Fortune, which slipped just 1%
to a 7.4. On the other hand, CTD's Jeopardy!
inched up 2% to a new season high 6.0. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire upticked 5% to a 2.3. Debmar-Mercury's
Family Feud continued to perform, notching
a new season high 1.7, up 6% from the prior week and up 31% from last year at
this time. In last place, Twentieth's sophomore game Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader gained 11% to a 1.0.
Warner Bros.' Two and
a Half Men remained the off-net sitcom leader by a large margin, gaining 2%
to a new season high 6.1. In a distant second, Twentieth's Family Guy dropped 9% to a 3.1. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond remained at a 2.8. Sony's Seinfeld tacked on 4% to a new season
high 2.7, tying Warner Bros.' My Wife and
Kids, which faded 4%. Both Warner Bros.' George Lopez and Twentieth's King
of the Hill were up 5% to a 2.3, with King
of the Hill notching a new season high. NBCU's The Office eroded 4% to a 2.2. Warner Bros.' Friends fell 6% to a 1.7.
CTD's Swift Justice with
Nancy Grace again topped the first-run rookies with a steady 1.4, matching
the show's previous series high. Sony's Nate
Berkus was flat at a 1.0. Twentieth's Don't
Forget the Lyrics, Litton's Judge
Karen's Court and Entertainment Studios' America's Court with Judge Ross all were unchanged at a 0.9, 0.6
and 0.4.
NBCU's slow roll-out Access
Hollywood Live grew 25% in households from last year's time period average
to a 1.0/4 in 13 metered markets. The show also improved by 75% among women
25-54 compared to last year at this time.
Among the new off-net and off-cable strips, Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother grew 4% to a new
season high 2.4. Debmar-Mercury's Meet
the Browns fell 13% to a 1.4. Warner Bros.' The New Adventures of Old Christine added 8% to a 1.3. Disney-ABC's
hour-long Ugly Betty declined 10% to
a 0.9. Debmar-Mercury's E! True Hollywood
Story rose 14% to a 0.8. Warner Bros.' Curb
Your Enthusiasm was up 17% to a 0.7, tying Warner Bros.' Entourage, which was unchanged. NBCU's off-Bravo
Real Housewives improved 20% to a new
series high 0.6, with 25% gains in every key female demo.
More locally, Debmar-Mercury's Fran Drescher continued to decline in day four of the show's
three-week test on stations in seven markets.
On Wednesday, Dec. 1, the show averaged its lowest rating
yet, a 0.5/2, 38% below the show's Friday, Nov. 26 debut. The show opened at a 0.8/2,
and has dropped a tenth of a ratings point every day since.
Wednesday's numbers were 17% below Fran's 0.6/2 average lead-in
and 38% below its year-ago time period average.
