Live with Kelly and Ryan avoided the World Cup blues to improve in the week ended December 11, picking up 7% to lead the talkers and match its season-high at a 1.6 live-plus-same-day national household rating, according to Nielsen.
The long-running talk strip was the week's only talker in original production to gain ground, making it 29 weeks in a row at the top of the competitive category, including eight ties with CBS Media Ventures' Dr. Phil. In the last 115 weeks, Live with Kelly and Ryan has finished first or tied for first 94 times.
Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, Live also led, leaping 20% to a 0.6, followed by Dr. Phil at a 0.4.
The World Cup on Fox -- which was carried for seven hours beginning at 9 a.m. ET on December 5, 6 and 9 -- caused plenty of preemptions for some daytime shows and provided much stronger than usual competition for others. Nine first-run strips were retitled as World Cup specials during the week in order to have their ratings removed from their season averages.
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Dr. Phil, which had improved 27% in the prior week, gave back 7% to land a second-place 1.3.
NBCUniversal’s Kelly Clarkson lost 10% to a 0.9 but remained the third-highest rated talker in households. Disney's Tamron Hall declined 13% to a 0.7, tying CBS's Drew Barrymore and Rachael Ray, both of which stayed put. Reruns of NBCU's out-of-production Maury regained 25% to a 0.5, tying NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which held steady for a third week. NBCU’s repackaged Jerry Springer talk-and-court combo flat at a 0.3 for the 13th straight week.
The three talk rookies — Debmar-Mercury’s Sherri, Warner Bros.’ Jennifer Hudson and NBCU’s Karamo — were all coded out and retitled as World Cup specials, keeping those ratings out of those shows’ season averages.
In access, game shows were little changed. CBS’s syndication leader Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune were flat at a 5.7 and a 5.2, respectively. Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud inched ahead 2% to a 4.7. CBS’s newcomer Pictionary, starring Jerry O’Connell, preserved its 0.4 for a third straight week. Allen Media Group’s Funny You Should Ask abated 25% to a 0.3. Fox’s 25 Words or Less and You Bet Your Life with host Jay Leno were both retitled as World Cup specials for a third week.
Magazines were mostly higher. CBS’s leader Inside Edition added 4% to a 2.4. CBS’ Entertainment Tonight was steady at a 2.2. NBCU’s Access Hollywood hammered out a 14% increase to a 0.8. Warner Bros.’ Extra strengthened 20% to a 0.6.
Fox’s TMZ and Fox’s Dish Nation were both retitled and coded out for the week due to the World Cup.
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Repeats of CBS’s Judge Judy grew 3% to a three-week high 4.0 to lead the court shows. CBS’s Hot Bench broke even at a 1.1. Warner Bros.’s People’s Court climbed 17% to a 0.7. Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis stood pat at a 0.5 for a third week. Wrigley Media’s Relative Justice was remanded to a 0.3 for a sixth consecutive week, tying Allen Media Group’s We the People with Judge Lauren Lake, which held steady for a fourth week.
Fox’s Divorce Court was again gaveled out for the World Cup as was Trifecta’s true-crime show iCrime with Elizabeth Vargas.
Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory spiked 6% to lead the off-network sitcoms at a 1.9. Disney’s Last Man Standing, Warner Bros.’ Young Sheldon, Disney’s Modern Family and Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men maintained their prior week’s 1.0, 0.7, 0.7 and 0.7, respectively. In a Festivus miracle, Sony Pictures Television’s Seinfeld rose 20% to a 0.6, tying Sony’s The Goldbergs, which was flat for the eighth straight week. Disney’s Family Guy, CBS’s rookie The Neighborhood and Disney’s Black-ish all held steady at a 0.5, a 0.5 and a 0.4, respectively. ■
