Daytime's newest talk entry, Sony Pictures Television's Queen Latifah, marked the second-best daytime talk launch since SPT's Dr. Oz in 2009, premiering on Sept. 16 with a 1.7 rating/5 share primary-run household average in the weighted metered markets. Only Disney-ABC's Katie, which premiered at a 2.0 in that measure, opened stronger.
Latifah's opening day was up 31% from its year-ago time periods and up 21% from its average lead-in. In daytime's key demographic of women 25-54, Latfiah surged 80% from last year and 29% from its lead-ins to a 0.9/5.
Latifah also turned in good performances on the CBS Owned Stations, which form the show's launch group. On WCBS New York, Latifah took its 9 a.m. time period up 60% in the demo to a 0.8/5. On KCBS Los Angeles at 2 p.m., the show gained 200% in the demo to a 0.9/7. On KYW Philadelphia at 3 p.m., Latifah climbed 117% to a 1.3/7. On KTVT Dallas-Ft. Worth at 2 p.m., Latifah improved its demo rating by 260% to a 1.8/11.
Overall, talkers were syndication's sturdiest shows in the week ending Sept. 8, which included the Labor Day holiday as well as preemptions for the US Open tennis tournament, the Deutsche Bank golf tournament and the kick-off of the NFL season.
Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael, which premiered on Labor Day with a taped show, kicked off the new season with a 9% advance to a 2.5, tying CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil for first place among the talkers. Phil, the new season of which didn't start until Sept. 9, grew 4% from the prior week.
In third place, Sony Pictures Television's Dr. Oz improved 6% to a 1.9, tying NBCUniversal's Maury, which slipped 5%. Both shows were still in repeats.
In fifth place, Disney-ABC's sophomore Katie clocked its highest Nielsens in four weeks, climbing 7% to a 1.6, tying Warner Bros.' Ellen, which dropped 6% to its lowest ratings in a year. Both Katie and Ellen ran all-rerun weeks.
NBCU's Steve WIlkos was steady at a 1.3. NBCU's Steve Harvey and CTD's Rachael Ray remained at a 1.2, tying NBCU's Jerry Springer, which was off 8%, and CTD's The Doctors, which climbed 9%, that show's healthiest numbers in five weeks.
Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, in repeats, was flat at a 0.9. NBCU's Trisha held firm at a 0.4, while Meredith's The Better Show trailed at an unchanged 0.2.
Elsewhere in daytime, CTD's Judge Judy, still in repeats, topped all of syndication at a 6.2, down 2% for the week but up 9% from last year at this time. Warner Bros.' People's Court, in distant second among the gavelers, was flat at a 1.6. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis was unchanged at a 1.4. Twentieth's Judge Alex and Divorce Court each added 8% to a 1.3. Entertainment Studios' America's Court and Justice for All each were flat at a 0.6 and a 0.4, while We the People lost 33% from a 0.3 to a 0.2.
Preemptions forced the magazines to settle down after having been the hottest genre in the previous week. CTD's leader, Entertainment Tonight, down-ticked 3% to a 3.3. CTD's Inside Edition sank 7% to a 2.5. Warner Bros.' TMZ eroded 10% to a 1.8. NBCU's Access Hollywood, which had the largest increase in the prior week, gave back 18% to a 1.4. Warner Bros.' Extra, which was preempted 29 times by golf and tennis and was broken out completely by football, slipped 7% to a 1.4. CTD's omg! Insider eased 8% to a 1.2. Twentieth's sophomore, Dish Nation, was flat at a 0.9.
Game shows were mostly down in the holiday week, with some shows seeing numerous preemptions.
For example, Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which opened its new season with host Cedric the Entertainer taking over for Meredith Vieira, did not air 26 times in the top 50 markets alone and declined 9% from the prior session to a 2.1. CTD's leader, Wheel of Fortune, skidded 7% to a 5.5. CTD's Jeopardy! fell to its lowest rating since September 2012, sliding 6% to a 4.8, while Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud, starring Steve Harvey, inched up 2% to a 4.4. NBCU's Baggage dropped 18% to a 0.9.
Top off-net sitcom, Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory, softened 6% to a 5.9. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men added 5% to a 4.2. Twentieth's Family Guy weakened 6% to a 3.4. Twentieth's How I Met your Mother rose 4% to a 2.4. Twentieth's King of the Hill dipped 5% to a 2.1. SPT's Seinfeld sagged 5% to a 2.0. Warner Bros.' Friends fell 5% to a 1.9, tying SPT's Everybody Loves Raymond, which rallied 6%.
