Syndication Ratings: Clinton Nuptials Boost Mags

The weekend wedding of Chelsea Clinton engaged access magazine
viewers, improving the ratings of almost all of them.

CBS Television Distribution's magazine leader, Entertainment Tonight, improved 6% in
the week ending Aug. 8, to a 3.7 live plus same day household average rating,
according to Nielsen Media Research. The show got a 26% bump on Monday, Aug. 2,
when the show aired its coverage of the event.

ET's sister show, CTD's
The Insider, jumped 13% on the week
to a 1.7, marking the biggest weekly improvement of any syndie strip. That tied
NBC Universal's Access Hollywood,
which held steady, and Warner Bros.' TMZ,
which dropped 6%, for third place. In second place, CTD's Inside Edition was firm at a 2.6, while Warner Bros.' Extra, in last place, was even week to
week at a 1.5.

Daytime was quiet. CTD's court leader, Judge Judy, continued to be the highest rated show in daytime and the
top court by a wide margin with a 4.2, unchanged from the prior week. In second
place, CTD's Judge Joe Brown dipped
5% to a 1.9. Warner Bros.' People's Court
and Judge Mathis, and Twentieth's Judge Alex all were flat at a 1.9, 1.6
and 1.3, respectively. Twentieth's Divorce
Court
climbed 8% to a 1.3. Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine Pirro was unchanged at a 1.0. Litton's Street Court, nearing the end of its
run, sank 17% to a 0.5.

Among talk shows, CTD's talk leader Oprah inched up 3% to a 3.2. Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly slipped 4% to a 2.3. CTD's Dr. Phil was unchanged at a 2.0, tying NBCU's
Maury, which dropped 5%. Sony's Dr. Oz fell 5% to a 1.9. Warner Bros.' Ellen fell 13% to a new season low 1.4,
tying CTD's The Doctors and NBCU's Jerry Springer, each of which were down
7%. CTD's Rachael Ray, NBCU's Steve Wilkos, Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, Warner Bros.' Bonnie Hunt and NBCU's Martha all were flat at a 1.3, 1.3, 1.1,
0.6 and 0.5, respectively.

Game shows were mixed. CTD's Wheel of Fortune crept up 2% to a 5.8. CTD's Jeopardy! declined 6% to a 4.8. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire lost 4% to a 2.2. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud, Twentieth's Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and NBCU's
Deal or No Deal, which will soon go
off the air, all were flat at 1.5, 1.2 and 1.1, respectively.

Off-net sitcoms were again led by Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men, which ticked up 2%
to a 4.3. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond
rallied 7% to a 3.1, tying Twentieth's Family
Guy
which faded 3%. NBCU's newcomer The
Office
and Sony's Seinfeld each
held steady at a 2.5. Twentieth's King of
the Hill
climbed 5% to a 2.3, tying Warner Bros.' George Lopez, which fell 8%. Finally, Warner Bros.' Friends came in flat at a 2.1.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.