CBS Television Distribution'sDr. Phil made a big comeback in the syndie
session ending March 31, growing 17% from the prior week to 2.8 live plus same
day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, marking the
largest increase of any strip in syndication.
Philalso returned to the top of the talk pack in
households and among women 25-54, scoring a 1.6 in daytime's key demographic,
with a week of three originals and two repeats.
The rest of
syndication showed little movement in an otherwise slow week.
Out of the 17
talkers, only five improved from the prior week. Besides Phil, the jumpers included Warner Bros.' Ellen,
CTD's The Doctors, Debmar-Mercury's Wendy
Williams and
NBCUniversal's rookie Steve Harvey.
The Easter
holiday week, which included Passover and Good Friday, combined with CBS'
coverage of the NCAA's March Madness basketball tournament continued to make
things tough on syndies.
Disney-ABC's Live!
with Kelly and Michael, in second place, turned in another solid
performance, remaining even at a 2.5. That was true as well for Sony Pictures
Television's Dr. Oz, which remained in third place at
a steady 2.3.
Ellen, although still in
repeats, gained 11% to a 2.1, tying NBCU's Maury, which
dipped 5% but still led all talkers among young women 18-49 and 18-34 with a
1.4 and 1.3, respectively.
The
Doctorsgrew 8% to a 1.4,
tying CTD's Rachael Ray and NBCU's Jerry
Springer, both of
which were even. NBCU's Steve Wilkosalso was flat at a 1.3, tying Wendy
Williams, which added 8%.
Warner
Bros.' Anderson Live remained at a 1.0, while
Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle was last at a 0.4, down 20%. Neither
of those shows will return next season.
NBCU's Steve
Harvey was the only
freshman talker to gain for the week, advancing 7% to a 1.5. Harveyalso beat Disney-ABC's rookie leader, Katie,
in viewers for the first time, with an average of 2.12 million viewers versusKatie's 2.05 million, up 8% from the prior week. Harvey also is the rookie leader among the key female
demographics with a 0.5 among women 18-34, a 0.7 among women 18-49 and a 0.9
among women 25-54.
Katie, in reruns for three
of the five days, remained flat for the week at a 1.6. On Monday, April 8,
however,Katiefeatured
a reunion of the cast of The Mary Tyler MooreShow that soared 38% in the metered markets
from the prior Monday to a 2.2 rating/7 share, up 16% from the show's
season-to-date average. The episode featured original cast members Valerie
Harper, who was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Cloris Leachman,
Betty White, Georgia Engle and of course, Mary Tyler Moore.
The other
rookie talkers - CTD's Jeff Probst, Twentieth's RickiLakeand NBCU's Trisha--
all were steady at a 0.7, 0.6 and 0.5, respectively.
CTD's Judge
Judywas the
only court show to be up for both the week and the year, scoring a 6.8, up 3%
from the prior week and 1% from the same week last year.
CTD's Judge
Joe Brown, which will end its run after this season, dropped 8% to
a 2.2, and was a very distant second behind Judy. Warner Bros.' People's Court, Warner Bros.' Judge
Mathisand
Twentieth's Judge Alexall were flat at a 1.8, 1.4 and
1.3, respectively. Twentieth's Divorce Courtdropped 8% to a 1.2.
Entertainment Studios' trio of court shows -- America's Court, newcomer Justice
for Alland
sophomore We the People -- all were unchanged at a 0.7, 0.4
and 0.2, respectively.
The only
magazine strip to grow for the week was NBCUniversal's Access
Hollywood, which added 6% to a 1.8, the show's highest rating since
the week of March 4.
CTD's
leader, Entertainment Tonight, dropped 5% to a
3.6, although it was the only magazine to improve from last year at this time,
gaining 3%. CTD'sInside Edition,
Warner Bros.' TMZ and
recently renewed Extra, and CTD's rebooted omg!
Insiderall
were steady at a 2.8, 1.9, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively. Twentieth's rookie, Dish
Nation, held a 1.0.
Game shows
all were flat to down. CTD's leader Wheel of Fortune dipped 1% to a 7.2. CTD's Jeopardy! weakened 2% to a 5.9. Debmar-Mercury'sFamily Feud faded 2% to a 4.8. Disney-ABC's Who
Wants to be a Millionaire and
NBCU's newcomer Baggage were
unchanged at a 2.4 and a 1.1, respectively.
Warner
Bros.' syndication leader, The Big Bang Theory, was flat for the
week at a 7.4, remaining far and away the leader among the off-net sitcoms.
Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men lost 2% to a 4.7. Twentieth's Family
Guy gave back 3% to a
new season-low 3.3. Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother eroded 8% to a 2.4.
Twentieth'sKing of the Hill descended 4% to a 2.3. SPT's Seinfeld slipped 5% to a 2.1. Warner Bros.' Friendsfell 9% to a 2.0, tying CTD's Everybody
Loves Raymond, which rallied 11% to a 2.0.
