In the wake of warm weather, March Madness and plenty of repeats,
most syndicated shows were down or flat in the week ended March 25 and several
shows fell to new season lows.
Sony's Dr.
Oz took over the
talk-show crown, climbing 8% to a 2.8 live-plus-same-day household ratings
average, according to Nielsen Media Research. Oz beat the
typical leader, CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil, which fell 4% to a new
season-low 2.5 after spending the week in repeats and facing frequent
preemptions due to coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament.
Disney-ABC's Live!
with Kelly, also in repeats, fell to a new season low, declining 4%
to a 2.4. Warner Bros.' Ellen was
flat at a 2.3. NBCUniversal's Maury dropped 4% to a 2.2, but remained
the top talk show among young female demographics. CTD'sRachael Ray and The
Doctors each added 7%
to a 1.5. NBCU's Steve Wilkos was flat at a 1.2. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy
Williams added 10% to
a 1.1. Sony's Nate Berkus, which will end its run after
this season, declined to a new season low, dropping 10% to a 0.9.
Among the
newcomers, Warner Bros.' Anderson slipped 7% to a 1.3. Debmar-Mercury'sJeremy Kyle was
flat at a 0.6. Entertainment Studios' We the People advanced 25% -- or one-tenth of a
ratings point -- to a 0.5. In
late-night, CTD's new dating show,Excused, held firm at a 0.7.
CTD's
entertainment magazine, The Insider, was syndication's only show
that could boast double-digit growth for the week, focusing much of its
coverage on OWN's cancellation of Rosie O'Donnell's primetime talk show only
five months into its two-year, multimillion dollar contract with OWN. The
Insidergrew
13% from the prior week to a 1.7 in households and 14% among women 18-49.
CTD's leader, Entertainment
Tonight, was flat at a 3.7. CTD'sInside Edition, in second place, added 4%
to a 2.8 after falling to a new season low the prior week. Warner Bros.' TMZ dipped 5% to a 2.0. NBCU's Access
Hollywood eased 10%
to a 1.9 after being one of the few shows to gain in the previous week. Warner
Bros.' Extra, which faced many preemptions due
to basketball, held steady at a 1.6.
CTD's Wheel
of Fortune dipped
just 1% from the prior week to a 6.8 to lead all of syndication. CTD'sJeopardy!backtracked
2% to a 5.3. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud tacked on 4% to a 2.9. Disney-ABCs Who
Wants to be a Millionaire was
flat at a 2.4.
CTD's Judge
Judyimproved
3% to a 6.5 in households, and 7% among women 25-54 to a 3.0 to be the top
court show for 810th week in a row, or every week for the past 15 years.
CTD's Judge
Joe Brown was flat at
a 2.6. Warner Bros.' People's Court softened 5% to a 1.9. Twentieth's Judge
Alex was steady at a
1.6. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis stumbled 6% to a 1.5. Twentieth's Divorce Court was flat at a 1.4. CTD's Swift Justiceremained at its season-low 1.2.
Entertainment Studios' recently renewed America's Courtadded 11% to a 1.0.
Warner Bros.'
freshman Big Bang Theory continued to lead the off-net sitcoms, rebounding 2%
to a 6.7 after losing 11% in the prior week. Warner Bros.' veteran Two
and a Half Men remained
at a 5.8. Twentieth'sFamily Guy climbed 5% to a 4.0. Twentieth's How
I Met Your Mother dropped
3% to a 2.9. Sony's Seinfeldspiked 9% to a 2.5. CTD's Everybody
Loves Raymond, Twentieth'sKing of the Hill, Warner Bros.' Friends and NBCU's The
Office all were
unchanged at a 2.3, 2.2, 2.1 and 1.6, respectively.
Among the rookie off-nets, following Big Bang,
NBCU's 30 Rock was steady at a 1.3 in mostly late night
slots. Twentieth's It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia was
flat at a 1.2, while Sony's ‘Til Death rebounded 20% to 0.6.
