March Madness -- otherwise known as the NCAA college
basketball tournament -- finally came to an end in the week ending April 14 with
top-ranked Louisville presiding over Michigan in the tourney's final game. The
much-watched contest preempted syndies on CBS affiliates in many markets,
representing stronger than usual competition for programs on non-CBS stations
and overall affecting all of syndication. In addition, levels of people using
television were down due to longer, sunnier days.
Shows that aired in access -- predominantly magazines and
games -- were mostly flat or down, although all of the magazines managed to hold
their own, while all of the games were down.
CBS Television Distribution's leader Entertainment
Tonight was steady at a 3.5 live plus same day rating, according to Nielsen
Media Research, while CTD's Inside Edition, NBCUniversal's Access
Hollywood, and Warner Bros.' Extra all held firm at a 2.9, 1.7 and
1.5, respectively.
Three magazines managed to gain from the prior week: Warner
Bros.' TMZ, which scored its highest ratings since the week of March 11,
and gained 5% from the previous session to a 2.0; CTD's new omg! Insider,
which had the biggest increase of any veteran access strip, improving 8% to a
1.4; and Twentieth's newcomer Dish Nation, which had syndication's
largest gain, adding 10% to a 1.1. Dish Nation also hit a high in
viewers, averaging 1.5 million for the week.
CTD's game leader, Wheel of Fortune, wobbled for the
third week in a row, slipping 1% to a 6.8. CTD's Jeopardy! lost 3% from
the prior week to a 6.0. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud faded 6% to a 4.5.
Disney-ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire fell 4% to a 2.4. NBCU's
rookie, Baggage, dropped 9% to a 1.0, equaling its series low.
In daytime, several talkers advanced. CTD's Dr. Phil widened
its lead, gaining 4% from the prior week to a 2.9. Phil also led the
race among daytime's key demographic of women 25-54 at a 1.7. In second place,
Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael declined for the first time in
four weeks, dipping 4% to a 2.5. Warner Bros.' Ellen, in third place,
gained for the third consecutive week, adding 4% to a 2.4. SPT's Dr. Oz was
flat at a fourth place 2.3.
In fifth place, NBCU's Maury added 5% to a 2.2, its
best showing since the week of March 18. Maury also led the genre in the
women 18-49 and women 18-34 demographics, scoring a 1.4 in each demo.
CTD's Rachael Ray rallied 7% to a 1.5, clocking its
strongest ratings in five weeks. NBCU's Steve Wilkos and Jerry
Springer both remained at a 1.4. CTD's The Doctors slipped 7% to a
1.3, while Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams improved 9% to a 1.2.
The two veterans that will depart after this season --
Warner Bros.' Anderson Live and Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle --
were each flat at a 0.9 and 0.4, respectively.
The freshman talk class was relatively stable, although
CTD's soon-to-depart Jeff Probst fell 14%, declining a tenth of a point
to a 0.6 from a 0.7.
Disney-ABC's Katie was steady at a 1.7, but climbed
24% compared to the prior week to a 2.1 on April 8 when the show featured a
reunion with the cast of TheMary Tyler Moore Show, including
Valerie Harper, who was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. That's
the show's highest single-day rating since Feb. 11.
NBCU's Steve Harvey, Twentieth's Ricki Lake and
NBCU's Trisha Goddard all were unchanged at a 1.5, 0.6, and 0.5,
respectively. Harvey, however, beat Katie among women 25-54 for
the third time in four weeks at a 1.0, up 11% over the prior week, while Katie
was flat at a 0.9 in the demo. The two shows tied in the demo in the prior
week.
CTD's Judge Judy dipped 1% to a 6.7. In a distant
second, CTD's Judge Joe Brown, which is leaving the bench, was flat at a
2.2. Warner Bros.' People's Court tumbled 16% to a 1.6, while Judge
Mathis eroded 7% to a 1.4. Twentieth's Judge Alex was flat at a 1.3,
tying Divorce Court, which added 8%. Entertainment Studios' America's
Court, Justice for All, and We the People all were flat at a
0.7, 0.4 and 0.2, respectively.
Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory continued
to prevail among the off-net sitcoms, adding 3% to a 7.3 to top all of
syndication. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men sank 4% to a 4.5.
Twentieth's Family Guy picked up 3% to a 3.6, while How I Met Your
Mother was flat at a 2.4, tying King of the Hill, which added 4%.
SPT's Seinfeld, recently renewed in most of the country through 2014,
slid 5% to a 2.1, tying Warner Bros.' Friends, which was flat. CTD's Everybody
Loves Raymond remained at a 1.9.
