Syndies were slow in the week ended June 2 as they left
sweeps, headed into Memorial Day and then settled into the slow summer months.
The top three talk shows, however, were all up from last
year at this time, although only one of them managed to gain from the prior
week.
CTD's Dr. Phil, the season's talk leader, was in
repeats four out of the five days and slipped 16% from the sweep's final week
to a 2.6 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media
Research. Though down for the week, the show was still up 4% from last year.
Tying Dr. Phil was an all-original week of
Disney/ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael, which featured an appearance
by former top talker Oprah Winfrey on May 28. Live! improved 4% from the
prior week and 8% from last year at this time.
Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres saw talk's year-to-year
largest increase, growing 25% from last year to a 2.5, and held steady for the
week.
In fourth place, Sony Pictures Television's recently renewed
Dr. Oz dropped to a new season-low 2.0, down 5% for the week and 17% for
the year.
NBCUniversal's Maury eased 10% to a 1.9, while its Steve
Wilkos gave back 7% to a 1.3, tying CTD's Rachael Ray, which was
flat. NBCU's Jerry Springer yielded 8% to a new season-low 1.2, tying
CTD's The Doctors, which was unchanged.
In repeats, Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, also
recently renewed on the Fox stations, saw the biggest week-to-week decline of
any talker, skidding 17% to a 1.0, the show's lowest rating in three months. Wendy
also dropped the most year-to-year, tumbling 23%.
Trailing behind the rest of the talk field, Meredith's The
Better Show was flat at a 0.1.
Disney/ABC's Katie, in originals, held firm at a 1.6,
gaining steam over NBCU's Steve Harvey, which was off 7% to a 1.4. Steve
Harvey was preempted by NBC's coverage of the French Open tennis tournament
in several major markets, while low Memorial Day ratings were broken out of Katie's
weekly average.
Elsewhere, CTD's Judge Judy remained first-run's top
show for the fifth straight week, despite dipping 3% to a 6.2. Warner Bros.' People's
Court and Judge Mathis were flat at a 1.7 and 1.4, respectively.
Twentieth's Judge Alex eroded 8% to a 1.2, tying its Divorce Court,
which added 9%. Entertainment Studios' America's Court, Justice for
All, and We the People all were unchanged at 0.7, 0.4 and 0.2,
respectively.
Game shows all declined for the week. CTD's Wheel of
Fortune dipped 2% to a new season-low 6.0. Likewise, CTD's Jeopardy!
softened 4% to a 5.5. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud fell 2% to a 4.3.
Disney/ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire depreciated 4% to a 2.2,
while NBCU's rookie, Baggage, was tagged with a 17% decline to a 1.0.
Magazines were mostly stable despite some preemptions for
French Open tennis coverage. CTD's leader, Entertainment Tonight, CTD's
Inside Edition, NBCU's Access Hollywood, Warner Bros' Extra
and CTD's revamped omg! Insider all held steady for the week at a 3.3,
2.6, 1.6, 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. Warner Bros.' TMZ was off 5% to a
1.8, while Twentieth's newcomer, Dish Nation, dropped back 9% to trail
the field at a 1.0.
Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory, which
won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy on Monday night (June 10), gained
5% to a 6.4.. Conversely, Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men lost 5% to a
new season low 4.2. Twentieth's Family Guy faded 6% a 3.2, while its How
I Met Your Mother grew 5% to a 2.3. Twentieth's King of the Hill was
flat at a 2.1, tying Warner Bros.' Friends, which added 5%. SPT's
Seinfeld and CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond remained at a 2.0 and
1.8, respectively.
