Regis and Kelly November’s Top Talkers

With Regis Philbin going out in a blaze of Nielsen ratings glory, Live with Regis and Kelly (Disney-ABC) squeaked by Dr. Phil (CTD) in the November sweep.

However, season to date, Phil holds a commanding lead over all talk shows and averages nearly 600,0o0 more daily viewers than Live does.

The official results of the sweep period (Oct. 27-Nov. 23), which were released today, gave Live a narrow 1/10 of a rating point victory over Phil. Regis and Kelly pulled a 3.3 sweep average, up 32% from last November, to Phil’s 3.2, up 7% from last year. Of course, the Philbin finale captured a huge 6.7 rating on Nov. 18.

Dr. Oz (Sony) landed in third place with a 2.8 average, up 17% from the November 2010 sweep; Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) added 9% to a 2.5; Maury (NBCU) picked up 20% to a 2.4 (while finishing as the No. 1 talker in the women 18-34 and 18-49 demos); and Rachael Ray (CTD) rounded out the top six with a 6% improvement to a 1.7.

Freshmen Shows

Anderson (WBDTD) was the highest-rated newcomer in first run, growing 27% from its September debut to a 1.4 sweep average. Anderson maintained more than a 2-1 rating margin over its nearest freshman daytime competition, Jeremy Kyle (Debmar-Mercury), which got a 0.6, up 20%.

We the People with Gloria Allred (Entertainment Studios), which was up 25% to a 0.5, followed. Excused (CTD), the new latenight dating show, rose 17% from its debut to a 0.7.

Access Hollywood Live (NBCU), a slow rollout, earned 0.9 rating/3 share average in its 17 metered markets, which matched last November, while seeing double-digit growth in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, and triple-digit gains in San Francisco.

Rookie off-net sitcom Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) was up 31% from its debut to a 5.9. 30Rock, which airs in mostly lower-rated late-fringe time periods, was off 7% to a 1.3; It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Twentieth) and Till Death (Sony) were unchanged at 1.2 and 0.6, respectively.

Court Shows

Among the veteran court show, Judge Judy (CTD) rocketed 64% from last November to a 7.2 sweep average. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) was also hot, spiking 45% to a second-place 2.9.

People’s Court (WBDTD) tacked on 11% to a 2.1; Judge Mathis (WBDTD) was flat at 1.6; Judge Alex (Twentieth) climbed 23% to a 1.6; Divorce Court (Twentieth) was up 15% to a 1.5; and Swift Justice with Jackie Glass (CTD) grew 8% to a 1.4, while averaging a new season high 1.5 in the final week of the sweep.

Game Shows

Among game shows, Wheel of Fortune (CTD) inched up 3% to a 7.4; Jeopardy (CTD) increased 7% to a 6.2; Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) ballooned 88% to a 3.0; and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) strengthened 14% to a 2.5.

Magazine Shows

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) led the magazines for the 85^th consecutive sweep with a 4.0 average, which was off 5% from last year when ET featured the explosive jailhouse confrontation between Beth Holloway and Joran Van der Sloot, the last person to see her daughter alive.

Inside Edition (CTD) was up 10% to a 3.2; Access Hollywood (NBCU) jumped 11% to a 2.1; TMZ (WBDTD) was up 11% to a 2.0; The Insider (CTD) matched its best November sweep rating since 2008, equaling November 2010’s 1.8 household delivery. Extra (WBDTD), which had 39 major market preemptions for news and football during the sweep, nevertheless held steady at a 1.7.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) topped the veteran off-net sitcoms with a 6.3 average, up 11% from last year. Family Guy (Twentieth) gained 22% to a 3.9; How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) surged 43% to a 3.3; Seinfeld (Sony) added 4% to a 2.6; Friends (WBDTD) rose 33% to a 2.4; while Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) lost 18% to a 2.3.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

The off-net weekly hour list was headed by Law & Order (NBCU) with a 3.1 average. Criminal Minds (CTD) was right behind at an unchanged 3.0; Monk (NBCU) and Without a Trace (WBDTD) each grew 4% to a 2.4; and The Closer (WBDTD) climbed 15% to a 2.3.