Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition both saw big gains in the week ended April 3, which included the magazines’ post-Oscars coverage on Monday, March 28.
CBS Media Ventures’s Entertainment Tonight improved 28% for the week and 15% for the year to hit an eight-week high 2.3 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen, in the week ended April 3. And on March 28, Entertainment Tonight exploded 56% with its next-day coverage of Best Actor winner Will Smith’s shocking on-stage slap of presenter Chris Rock.
CBS’s less-entertainment-focused genre leader Inside Edition recovered 20% after two weeks of losses to a 2.4 and added 35% to a 2.7 on Oscar Monday.
NBCUniversal’s Access Hollywood was preempted for breaking news in several markets, but still managed to improve 13% to a 0.9 on Oscar Monday, maintaining its 0.8 weekly household rating. That tied Fox’s TMZ, which forged ahead 14% for the week and hit a 0.9 on Oscars Monday. Warner Bros.’ Extra was the only magazine in the top five to match its season high, spiking 17% to a 0.7 for the week and 33% on March 28 to a 0.8.
CBS’s canceled DailyMailTV rose 20% to a 0.6 with a 0.7 on March 28. Fox’s Dish Nation jumped 50% to a 0.3 from a 0.2.
Shows in general were boosted by a lack of March Madness preemptions for the first time in three weeks.
CBS’s Jeopardy! regained the game show and overall syndication lead, jumping 10% to a 5.6. Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud, which had been the overall leader for the prior two weeks, inched up 2% to a 5.3. CBS’s Wheel of Fortune accelerated 13% to a 5.2.
Fox’s You Bet Your Life and 25 Words or Less both leaped 14% to a 0.8. Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask held at a 0.4 for a third week.
Disney’s internet video show RightThisMinute remained at a 0.6 for a ninth straight week.
Disney’s Live with Kelly and Ryan reigned over talk for the fourth week in a row with a 13% gain to a 1.8, matching its season high. Live scored a 21% increase over its prior-week average for its annual after-Oscars show with a 2.1 individual-day rating. Compared to the same week last year, which did not include the Oscars, Live moved up 13%. Live also led among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54 with a 0.7.
CBS’s Dr. Phil also jumped 13% for the week to a 1.7, marking a 6% improvement over last year at this time. NBCU’s Kelly Clarkson tied Warner Bros.’s concluding Ellen DeGeneres for third place in talk, shooting up 13% for the week and the year to a 0.9. Ellen was partially preempted in eight of the top 20 markets, including New York and Los Angeles, on March 28 by a news conference with President Joe Biden, but the show held its ground for the week at a 0.9 and outperformed its year-ago rating by 13%.
Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams, which will be replaced next season by Debmar-Mercury’s Sherri, remained at a 0.8 with guest hosts Carson Kressley and Vivica Fox, tying CBS’s Rachael Ray, which rallied 14%. Disney’s Tamron Hall strengthened 17% to a 0.7 to tie NBCU’s concluding Maury, which stayed put.
The rest of the chat pack was flat. NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, CBS’ renewed sophomore Drew Barrymore, canceled newcomers Debmar-Mercury’s Nick Cannon and Sony’s The Good Dish, NBCU’s out-of-production Jerry Springer, Warner Bros.’ canceled The Real and the departing Doctors all flatlined at 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.4, 0.3, 0.3 and 0.2, respectively.
CBS’s Judge Judy was the only court show to improve over last year at this time, even though it’s airing only in repeats. Judy grew 7% for the week and 4% for the year to a category-leading five-week high 4.8.
CBS’s Hot Bench advanced 7% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.’ People’s Court rebounded 14% to a 0.8. Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis returned a 0.6 for the seventh time in eight weeks. Fox’s Divorce Court clawed back 25% from a series low to a 0.5. NBCU’s Judge Jerry, which is ending after this season, stayed at a 0.4 for an eighth consecutive week, tying Wrigley Media’s steady rookie Relative Justice, which is expected to return for season two.
Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory orbited at a 2.0 for the third week in a row. Disney’s Last Man Standing stepped up 8% to a 1.3. Warner Bros.’ rookie Young Sheldon shot up 11% to a 1.0. Disney’s Family Guy galloped ahead 14% to a 0.8, tying Disney’s Modern Family and Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men, both of which stabilized at a 0.8. Sony’s The Goldbergs garnered a second-straight 0.7, tying Sony’s Seinfeld, which stood pat for a third consecutive week. Finally, Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly and Mom and Disney’s Black-ish were all on par with the prior week’s 0.5. ■
