Season highs abounded for syndicated programming the week ending Nov. 15. Talkers Dr. Phil, Ellen DeGeneres, Maury,
and Steve Wilkos all scored new
season highs, as did the same number of game shows. Rookie off-net sitom The Office also made some noise,
cracking a 3 rating for the first time.
The Oprah Winfrey Show,
which will be ending its syndie run after next season, surged 18% to a
5.8 (from a 4.9 the week before) and topped the talkers for the 550th week
in a row. Driving that surge was a trio of episodes. Oprah scored a 6.0 for her much-discussed Nov. 11 show on the woman
horribly disfigured in a chimpanzee attack. That was higher than the
5.7 the show drew for the Nov. 10 episode featuring a
murderer on death row, but was easily topped by the 6.9 for her Nov. 9
program featuring Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi discussing their
same-sex marriage.
Dr. Phil was up 7%
to a 3.1; Ellen was up 4% to a 2.4; Maury was up 11% to a 2.0; and Steve Wilkos was up 9% to a 1.2.
Meanwhile, Live With Regis & Kelly
was flat at a 2.7, as was The Doctors with
a 2.0, while Rachael Ray dipped
6% to a 1.5, Jerry Springer was up 8%
to a 1.3, Bonnie Hunt was up 13%
to a 0.9, and Martha Stewart was
steady at a 0.6.
Elsewhere, The Office
was hot, cracking a 3 rating for the first time with a 7% increase to a new
series high of 3.1. Among the other off-net newcomers, My Name Is Earl was unchanged at a 1.9 while Everybody Hates Chris rose 6% to a new series high 1.9.
America's Funniest
Home Videos and Cold Case Files
were unchanged at a 0.7 and a 0.4, respectively.
Among first-run rookies, Dr.
Oz was flat at a 2.7 for a third straight week; Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader was flat at a 1.7; Wendy Williams was up 18% to a 1.3, and Street Court climbed 17% to a 0.7.
Judge Judy
continued to dominate the court shows by more than a two-to-one margin with a
steady 4.6. Judge Joe Brown was
unchanged at a 2.1; People's Court
was up 11% to a new season high 2.1, tying Joe
Brown; Judge Mathis was up 6% to
a 1.7; Judge Alex dropped 7% to a
1.4; Divorce Court also lost 4%
to a 1.4; and Judge Jeanine Pirro
trailed with a 1.0 for the fifth consecutive week.
In access, The Insider
had the biggest week-to-week increase among the magazines, up 6% to a 1.8
on the strength of a 12% increase on both Nov. 10 and 11 for a two-part report
on the alleged extortion plot against David Letterman. Leader Entertainment Tonight remained at its
season high of a 4.7, which it set the week before. Inside Edition inched up 3% to a season high 3.3 Access Hollywood
and TMZ were flat at a 2.1 and a
1.9, respectively, and Extra fell 5%
to a 1.8.
Game Shows had game, with Wheel of Fortune registering a 4% gain to a new season high of 7.5.
Jeopardy! was up 7%, also to a new
season high 6.3. Who Wants to be a
Millionaire added 4% to a new season high 2.6. Family Feud followed with an 8% advance to a new season high 1.3,
while Deal Or No Deal was down 8% to
a 1.1.
