Post-Sweep Depression Hits Most Syndies

The traditional letdown following the May sweep was apparent in the week ending June 2, with many shows going into repeats. Ratings were also depressed by the Memorial Day holiday, summer-like temperatures across much of the country and preemptions for French Open tennis coverage.

There were a few positives, however. Top talker Dr. Phil was in reruns in four of the five days but still managed to tie Live with Kelly and Michael for the lead. Phil was up 4% from last year at this time, while Live was up 8%.

Ellen continued to improve, finishing just one-tenth of a point behind the leaders while growing 25% year to year, the most of any talk show.

And rookie champ Katie opened up its widest margin in seven weeks over main challenger Steve Harvey.

At the top of the first-run chart, Judge Judy was the No. 1 show for the fifth straight week.

The week’s top nationally rated shows in the women 25-54 demo were: Ellen (1.7 demo rating, unchanged from the week before); Dr. Phil (1.5, -21%), tied with Live (1.5, +7%); Maury (1.3, -13%); Dr. Oz (1.0, -23%); Steve Wilkos (0.9, -10%); and rookie Katie (0.8, unchanged, tied with fellow freshman Steve Harvey (0.8, -11%) and veterans Wendy Williams (0.8, -20%, in repeats all week) and Rachael Ray 0.8, +14%).

In the household rating rankings that follow, * indicates a new season high rating; ** indicates a new season low; % change is from the previous week; NC indicates no change from the previous week.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.6 -16%

1. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.6 +4%

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.5 NC

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.0** -5%

5. Maury (NBCU) 1.9 -10%

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC

7. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.4 -7%

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.3 NC

8. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2** -8%

10. The Doctors (CTD) 1.2 NC

12. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.0 -17%

13. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

14. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.1 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.4 -7%

3. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.3 NC

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.6 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 -5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.6 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

6. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.3 NC

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 -9%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.2 -3%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.2 -8%

4. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.2 +9%

6. America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) 0.7 NC

7. Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez (Entertainment Studios) 0.4 NC

8. We the People with Gloria Allred (Entertainment Studios) 0.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.0** -2%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.5 -4%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.3 -2%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 3.3 -4%

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.0 -17%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.4 +5%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.2** -5%

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.2 -6%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.3 +5%

5. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 2.1 NC

5. Friends (WBDTD) 2.1 +5%

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.0 NC

8. Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) 1.8 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.8 +23%

2. Law & Order (NBCU) 3.0 +7%

3. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.7 +23%

4. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.4 +26%

5. House (NBCU) 2.3 -8%

6. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.9 -17%

6. The Closer (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%