With people off celebrating Easter, Passover and spring break, syndicated shows were mostly down or flat in the week ended April 8, with many shows in repeats.
CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil returned to its winning ways, leading the talk pack with a steady 2.7 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly and Sony's Dr. Oz tied for second place at a 2.4, with Live! holding steady for the third week in the row and Oz dropping 11%.
In fourth place, NBCU's Maury sank 9% to a 2.1, dropping into a tie with Warner Bros.' Ellen, which recovered 11% to a 2.1, after hitting a new season low in the previous week. CTD's The Doctors dipped 6% to a 1.5, tying CTD's Rachael Ray, which was flat. NBCU's Jerry Springer also was unchanged at a 1.4. NBCU's Steve Wilkos weakened 8% to a new season-low 1.1, tying Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, which was flat. Sony's Nate Berkus also was flat at a 0.9.
Among the first-run rookies, Warner Bros.' Anderson, in repeats, declined 8% to a 1.2. Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle and Entertainment Studios' We the People each were flat at a 0.6 and 0.4, respectively.
In late night, Excused, CTD's new dating show, also remained steady at a 0.6.
CTD's Judge Joe Brown was the only court show to grow from the previous week, climbing 4% to a 2.6 and second place for the 691st straight week. CTD's Judge Judy, the perennial leader, yielded 6% to a 6.3. Warner Bros.' People's Court, in third place, was flat at a 2.0. Twentieth's Judge Alex eroded 7% to a new season-low 1.4, tying Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis, which also dropped 7% to hit a new season low. Twentieth's Divorce Court was flat at a 1.3, while CTD's Swift Justice shrank 17% to a new season-low 1.0, and 47% from last year at this time, the largest year-to-year slide of any court show. Entertainment Studios' America's Court retreated 11% to a 0.8.
Among the magazines, CTD's leader, Entertainment Tonight, lost 3% from the prior week, falling to a 3.4. In second place, CTD's Inside Edition was flat at a 2.9. Warner Bros.' TMZ fell off 10% to a 1.9. NBCU's Access Hollywood held steady at a 1.8. CTD's The Insider fell 12% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.' Extra maintained its 1.5, and was the only magazine not to decline from last year at this time.
Game shows were quiet. CTD's Wheel of Fortune slowed 3% to a 6.4, while CTD's Jeopardy!, in second place, softened 4% to 5.5. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud and Disney-ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire each were unchanged at a 2.9 and 2.5, respectively.
Warner Bros.' rookie off-net sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, continued to lead the genre, dipping 1% to a 6.9, while leading all of syndication among households. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men faded 7% to a new season-low 5.5. Twentieth's Family Guy faltered 7% to a 4.0. Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother moved 3% lower to a 2.9. Sony's Seinfeld had shrinkage of 4% to a 2.4, tying CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond, which rallied 4%. Twentieth's King of the Hill advanced 10% to a 2.3, while Warner Bros.' Friends fell 5% to a 2.1.
Among the freshman off-net sitcoms following Big Bang, NBCU's 30 Rock slipped 7% to a 1.3 in mostly late-night slots. Twentieth's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was flat at a 1.2. Sony's ‘Til Death rebounded 20% to a 0.6.
