Talk was
up in the week ended July 25.
CBS
Television Distribution's Oprah came
back 7% from her all-time series low to a 3.0 live plus same day household
average, according to Nielsen Media Research. That was still down 21% from last
year at this time, marking the biggest year-to-year decline of any returning
first-run syndicated strip. Oprah remains
the top-rated talker for the 586th week in a row - or more than 11
years - as the show enters its 25th and final season.
Disney-ABC's
Live with Regis and Kelly held steady
at a 2.3. CTD's Dr. Phil had talk's
largest gain, jumping 11% to a 2.1 and tying NBC Universal's Maury, which was the second most-watched
talker, behind only Oprah. Sony's Dr. Oz was the only talk show to decline
on the week, dipping 5% to a 2.0. Warner Bros.' Ellen, and CTD's The Doctors
and Rachael Ray all were flat at 2.1,
1.6, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively. NBCU's Jerry
Springer climbed 7% to a 1.5, that show's highest rating in almost three
years. NBCU's Steve Wilkos was up 8%
to a 1.4, and up 27% year to year. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams held steady at a 1.1. Warner Bros.' Bonnie Hunt and NBCU's Martha, both of which are ending their
runs, also were unchanged at a 0.6 and 0.5 respectively.
CTD's Judge Judy remained atop the daytime
standings, hitting that mark for the 17th time in the past 19 weeks.
Judy was unchanged from the prior
week at a 4.3, but up 10% from last year. CTD's Judge Joe Brown was the second-place court, gaining 5% to a 2.1.
Warner Bros.' People's Court, Warner
Bros.' Judge Mathis, Twentieth's Judge Alex, Twentieth's Divorce Court, Warner Bros.' Judge Jeannine Pirro and Litton's Street Court, in its final weeks on the
air, all were unchanged at 1.9, 1.7, 1.4, 1.3 and 1.1, respectively.
CTD's
magazine leader, Entertainment Tonight,
dipped 3% to a 3.6, although ET Weekend's
ratings jumped 31% from last year and 5% from last week to a 2.1, with
extensive coverage of Lindsay Lohan's jail term and Mel Gibson's abusive rants.
That gain was the biggest year-to-year increase of anything in syndication,
although Wilkos came close. CTD's Inside Edition fell 4% to a 2.7. Warner
Bros.' TMZ was flat at a 1.8. NBCU's Access Hollywood dropped 11% to a 1.7.
CTD's Insider and Warner Bros.' Extra each were unchanged at a 1.6.
Game
shows were flat or a bit down. CTD's game leader Wheel of Fortune held at a 5.8, while its Jeopardy! dipped 2% to a 4.9. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire depreciated 4% to a 2.2.
Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud and
Twentieth's Are You Smarter Than a Fifth
Grader each were flat at a 1.5 and 1.2, respectively.
Off-net
sitcoms were mixed. Warner Bros.' Two and
a Half Men inched up 2% to a 4.2. Twentieth's Family Guy and CTD's Everybody
Loves Raymond each were flat at a 3.1 and 3.0, respectively. Warner Bros.' George Lopez leaped 8% to a 2.6. Sony's Seinfeld was steady at a 2.5.
Twentieth's King of the Hill slipped
4% to a 2.2. Warner Bros.' Friends rose
5% to a 2.1. Sony's King of Queens
climbed 15% to a 1.5. Debmar-Mercury's House
of Payne dropped 7% to a 1.4, tying CTD's Frasier, which was flat.
Among the
rookie sitcoms, NBCU's The Office
grew 8% to a 2.7, and was the top show in syndication among young women 18-34
at a 2.5. CTD's Everybody Hates Chris
was up 6% to a 1.7 and Twentieth's My
Name is Earl was flat at a 1.5.
