The first week following the May sweep is usually a ratings downer and the session ending June 5 was no exception. Many shows were in repeats and on top of that it was the big Memorial Day holiday week.
One of the few shows to avoid the downdraft was Disney-ABC’s Live With Kelly, which took over first place among talkers despite having a full week of various guest cohosts subbing for the recently departed Michael Strahan.
Kelly held steady at a 2.8 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating and actually grew 4% from the same week last year. In addition, the show was number one in talk among women 25-54 with a 1.3 in the key demo.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of talkers declined with several dropping to their worst levels of the season.
CBS Television Distribution’s Dr. Phil shifted into repeat mode for the entire week like many other talkers and slipped 19% to a 2.6, which was still exactly even with last year at this time.
Further back, Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres tumbled 13% to a new season low 2.0 and dropped 13% from last year. NBCUniversal’s Steve Harvey fell 12% for both the week and the year to a new season low 1.5, tying NBCU’s Maury, which was unchanged at a 1.5 and down 21% from last year. Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams, another talker in all reruns, weakened 13% to a 1.3 and retreated 24% from last year. CTD’s Rachael Ray receded 7% for the week but advanced 18% from last year, by far the best annual increase of any talk show to a 1.3, tying Wendy and NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which was off 7% for the week and unchanged from last year. Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz deteriorated 8% to a 1.2, staying flat year-to-year and matching its lowest rating ever. NBCU’s Jerry Springer sagged 8% to a new season low 1.1 and gave back 21% from last year.
CTD’s The Doctors held steady for both the week and the year at a 0.9, tying Warner Bros.’ The Real, which recovered 13% to a 0.9 after matching its series low 0.8 in the previous session and slumped 10% from last year.
At the back of the pack, the out-of-production NBCU’s Meredith Vieira lost 25% for the week and 33% from last year to a new series low 0.6.
Rookie leader and sole surviving freshman Warner Bros.’ Crime Watch Daily also took a hit, slipping 11% to a 0.8 but still topping the newcomers for the 38th straight week. Disney-ABC’s FABLife faded 13% to a 0.7 and NBCU’s Crazy Talk was flat at a 0.5.
Elsewhere in daytime, the top-tier court shows, which were the strongest category in the sweep, caught their breath. CTD’s Judge Judy, which was the No. 1 overall in the sweep, was in reruns on four of the five days and dipped 6% to a 6.6 although it was still up 2% over last year.
CTD’s Hot Bench, the No. 2 courtroom, was in repeats all week and eased 4% to a 2.3 but was still up 15% from last year and remained the No. 4 strip in daytime behind only Judy, Live With Kelly and Dr. Phil for the 11th time in the past 12 weeks.
Warner Bros.’ People’s Court sagged 6% to a 1.7. Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis, Twentieth’s Divorce Court and Trifecta’s Judge Faith were all flat at 1.4, 1.2 and 0.9, respectively.
In access, Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud with host Steve Harvey made it six weeks in a row as the top game show with a 6% advance to a 7.2. In addition, Feud moved past Judy reruns to the top of the overall chart.
Former game show topper, CTD’s Wheel of Fortune slowed down 5% to a 5.9. CTD’s Jeopadry! softened 5% to a 5.5. Debmar-Mercury’s sophomore Celebrity Name Game shrank 7% to a 1.3, while Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire eroded 8% to a 1.2.
Meanwhile, MGM’s viral video show RightThisMInute surrendered 9% to a 1.0 and plunged 29% from last year.
Among magazines, CTD’s Entertainment Tonight dipped 3% to a 2.8 but led the genre for the 27th consecutive week. CTD’s Inside Edition declined 4% to a 2.7. Warner Bros.’ TMZ lost 6% to a 1.6. NBCU’s Access Hollywood relinquished 6% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.’ Extra yielded 7% to a 1.3 but was the only magazine not to decline from its year-ago rating, holding steady annually while all other mags fell between 3% and 17%.
CTD’s The Insider was off 9% to a 1.1 for the week, Twentieth’s Dish Nation was flat at a 0.9 for the fourth straight week, and Trifecta’s Celebrity Page, which replaced OK! TV in March, was unchanged at a 0.3 for the 10th week in a row.
Among off net sitcoms, Warner Bros.’ Big Bang Theory inched up 2% to a 5.1. Twentieth’s Modern Family finished 3% higher at a 3.0. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men moved up 4% to a 2.6. Twentieth’s Family Guy gained 5% to a 2.1. Warner Bros.’ Two Broke Girls and Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly were unchanged at 2.0 and 1.8, respectively. SPT’s Seinfeld spiked 6% to a 1.8, tying Mike & Molly. Twentieth’s The Cleveland Show strengthened 6% to a 1.7. Twentieth’s How I Met Your mother stood pat at a 1.6 while Twentieth’s King of the Hill climbed 8% to a 1.4.
In the metered markets, a four-week test of The Jason Show on four Fox stations that began June 6 averaged a 0.5 rating/2 share in its first week, down 29% from it s average lead in and down 38% from its year-ago time period average.
A second four-week tryout that also began on June 6 was Top 30, which aired on 18 select Fox, Media General and Sinclair stations. Week one of Top 30 averaged a 0.6 rating/2 share and declined 25% from its lead in and fell 14% from its year-ago time periods.
