‘Live With Kelly & Michael’ Takes Top Talk Slot

Several talk shows sparkled in the July 4 holiday week. Live with Kelly and Michael shot up 9% from last year at this time and finished first among the gabbers in the week ending July 7, passing an all-repeat week from usual leader Dr. Phil.

Katie opened up its widest margin over the rookie field in 17 weeks. Rachael Ray and Wendy Williams scored the biggest week-to-week increases in talk, while The Doctors also had a healthy advance in an otherwise difficult session for most strips.

At the very top of the syndication chart, Judge Judy was in repeats but was nevertheless the highest-rated program in first run for the 10th week in a row.

The week’s top nationally rated talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:

• Live with Kelly and Michael (1.5, unchanged from the week before)
• Dr. Phil (1.2, -20%), tied with Maury (1.2, -14%)
• Wendy Williams (1.1, +22%)
• Dr. Oz (1.0, -9%), tied with Ellen (1.0, -9%)
• Steve Wilkos (0.8, -13%), tied with Rachael Ray (0.8, +14%)
• Katie (0.7, -13%)

In the metered markets, day 3 of the summer tryout runs for the two newest talkers saw Warner Bros.’ The Real (1.0 household rating/3 share), jump 11% from day 2, while Twentieth Television’s Kris (0.8/3) sank 20% from the day before. Both shows began their trial runs on Monday, July 15.

Compared to year-ago time period averages, day 3 of The Real was up 25% in households, while day 3 of Kris was down 27%. Among women 25-54, The Real (0.8/6) was up 60% from last year’s time periods on Wednesday, while Kris (0.7/5) was flat. In the women 18-49 demo, The Real (0.8/6) was up 60% on day 3 compared to year-ago time periods, while Kris (0.4/3) was down 33%.

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. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.5 +4%

2. Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.2** -12%

3. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 -9%

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.9 -5%

5. Ellen (WBDTD) 1.7** -6%

5. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.7 +6%

7. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 +17%

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 +17%

9. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 NC

9. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 NC

11. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.2 NC

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.2 +9%

13. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

14. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.1 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.7 +6%

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.2 NC

3. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0** -12%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.5** -7%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.7 -11%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.4 -18%

5. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.2** -14%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.2** -8%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 -10%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.0 -5%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 -11%

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.2 -8%

4. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.2 NC

6. America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) 0.6 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) 5.5** -5%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.2** -5%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.2 -5%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.3 +5%

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.1 +10%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.8 -12%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.1** -5%

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.2 +3%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.4 -4%

5. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 2.1 -9%

6. Friends (WBDTD) 2.0 -5%

6. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.0 NC

8. Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) 1.7 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.1 +2%

2. House (NBCU) 2.9 +53%

3. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.4 -4%

4. Law & Order (NBCU) 2.1** -25%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.1 +11%

6. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.0 NC

6. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.0 +11%