Maury tied Dr. Phil and Live with Regis and Kelly to make it a three-way tie for first among the talkers.
With summer in full swing, almost all syndicated talk shows went into repeats and thus declined in the week ending June 19.
Each of the top three shows tied for a 2.3 live plus same day average household rating. CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil, which has been the talk leaders since the end of Oprah on May 25, declined 15% from the prior week after airing in only 88% of the country on June 16 and 17 due to coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly dropped 4%, while NBCUniversal's Maury, always a strong summer performer, gained 5%. Maury also was the top talk show across all of the key female and adult demographics.
CTD's Oprah, in repeats as the show wraps its 25-year run, dropped 16% to a 2.1, a new series low. Sony's Dr. Oz also skidded to a new season low, sinking 10% to a 1.9. Warner Bros.' Ellen remained at its season low 1.6 for the second week in a row. NBCU's Jerry Springer -- which, like Maury, performs well in the summer -- tacked on 8% to a 1.4. CTD's The Doctors slipped 7% to a new season low 1.3, tying CTD's Rachael Ray and NBCU's Steve Wilkos, both of which were flat. In last place, Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams dropped 11% to a new series low 0.8.
CTD's Judge Judy continued to lead all of syndication despite dipping 4% from the prior session to a 6.6. CTD's Judge Joe Brown was flat at a 2.6. Warner Bros.' People's Court gained 6% to a 1.9. Twentieth's Judge Alex faded 12% to a 1.5, tying Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis, which was flat. Twentieth's Divorce Court eroded 13% to a 1.4, while Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine Pirro was unchanged at a 0.8.
CTD's Wheel of Fortune topped the games at a flat 5.9, while CTD's Jeopardy! inched up 2% to a 5.1. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud jumped 9% to a 2.5. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire fell 4% to a 2.2. Twentieth's Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader was flat at a 1.1.
None of the magazine shows improved over the prior week. CTD's leader Entertainment Tonight eased 3% to a 3.4. CTD's Inside Edition faded 4% to a 2.7. Warner Bros.' TMZ was unchanged at a 2.0. NBCU's Access Hollywood was off 6% to a 1.7. Warner Bros.' Extra and CTD's The Insider each were preempted in several major and each show fell 7% to new season-low 1.4s.
Among the rookies, CTD's Swift Justice held steady at a 1.6. Twentieth's Don't Forget the Lyrics tied Litton's Judge Karen's Court for second place at a 0.8. Lyrics declined 11% while Karen improved 14%. In fourth place for the first time this season, Sony's Nate Berkus tumbled 22% to a new series low 0.7. Entertainment Studios' America's Court was flat at a 0.3.
Among the off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men advanced 5% from the previous week to a 6.1. Twentieth's Family Guy ticked up 2% to a 4.5. Disney-ABC's My Wife and Kids increased 6% to a 3.4. Warner Bros.' George Lopez, CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond and Sony's Seinfeld all tied for fourth place with Lopez dropping 4%, and Raymond and Seinfeld gaining 4% and 8%, respectively. NBCU's The Office was flat at a 2.4. Twentieth's King of the Hill ascended 4% to a 2.4. Warner Bros.' Friends, just renewed for a third cycle by Tribune, improved 5% to a 2.0.
Among the new off-net and off-cable strips, Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother climbed 7% to a 2.9. Warner Bros.' The New Adventures of Old Christine surged 23% to a 1.6. Debmar-Mercury's Meet the Browns was flat at a 1.3.
