The trials and tribulations of Larry Birkhead and Don Imus were good news for syndicated news magazines for the week ending April 15.
With Birkhead’s paternity tests victory and Imus’ downfall, the top four shows in the genre all enjoyed ratings bumps according to the national household numbers.
Entertainment Tonight
led the way with a 5.6, up 10% on the week and 22% on the year. The April 10 show featuring Birkhead winning custody of the late Anna Nicole Smith’s child earned ET a big 6.7 rating.
Inside Edition
was up 6% both on the week and the year to a 3.5, while The Insider jumped 17% both on the week and the year to a 2.8. Access Hollywood had the biggest week-over-week bump in the category, as it was up 18% on the week and 8% on the year to a 2.6.
The week was also solid for the talk show genre, led as always by Oprah, which was up 11% on the week to a 6.1. Also seeing week-over-week gains in the category were Dr. Phil (up 9% to a 4.8), Live with Regis & Kelly (up 29% over a previous week of repeats to a 3.1), rookie Rachael Ray (up 5% to a 2.0), Montel (up 7% to a 1.6) and Tyra (up 8% to a 1.3).
However, Dr. Phil was the only show in that group to see a year-over-year jump, with a 7% increase.
All four game shows saw gains on the week, with Wheel of Fortune up 4% to a 7.8, Jeopardy! gaining 3% to a 6.4, Who Wants to be a Millionaire up 6% to a 3.3 an Family Feud up 6% to a 1.9. Millionaire was the only show up on the year, with a 3% increase.
In court, Judge Judy was up 4% on the week to a 4.7, Judge Joe Brown gained 4% to a 2.9, Judge Mathis was up 9% to a 2.5, People’s Court was up 4% to a 2.6 and Divorce Court gained 6% to a 1.9.
The tight rookie battle remain unchanged on the week, with both Cristina’s Court and Judge Maria Lopez remaining unchanged at a 1.2 and 1.0 respectively.
