Syndie Season Ends With ‘Judy’ No. 1

Dr. Phil was the standout as 2012-13 season officially came to a close in the session ending Aug. 25. Phil was the only one of the 14 talk shows to grow in the final week of the season, scoring both double-digit week-to-week and year-to-year increases. And, for the second year in a row, it was the No. 1 talker for the entire season with a 3.0 rating in households and a first-place 1.6 among women 25-54.

Live with Kelly and Michael wrapped up a dynamite first season as a team and captured second place for the year with a 2.6 average. Ellen, which turned in a powerhouse performance in its 10^th season, finished third with a 2.4, followed closely by Dr. Oz, which recorded a 2.3 in its fourth season.

Next in line was Maury at a full-season 2.2 household average, with the best younger demos of all, finishing first in talk among both women 18-34 and women 18-49.

Katie, which was clearly talk’s rookie champion with a 1.8 average for the season, followed Maury.

Judge Judy was the final week’s top court show with ratings greater than the next five gavelers combined and the season’s No. 1 program overall in first-run syndication for the third straight season with a 7.0 rating for the year.

Among magazines, Extra had the most improvement of the season’s final week, hitting its strongest ratings since early July. TMZ also came up big in the last stanza of the year with its best delivery in nine weeks. However, Entertainment Tonight ruled the category for the 891^st consecutive frame and took top honors for the entire season with a 3.6 average.

Wheel of Fortune continued to be the weekly game show leader and clocked a first-place 6.8 for the season. Jeopardy slipped to a new season low for the third straight week as the year came to a close, but finished the season as the No. 2 game with a 6.1 average.

Meanwhile, Family Feud with host Steve Harvey landed in a rapidly closing third place with a 4.6 average.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.6, +23% from the week before)

• A repackaged week of Live with Kelly and Michael (1.2, -20%), tied with Maury (1.2, unchanged)

• Ellen (1.1, unchanged)

• Dr. Oz (1.0, unchanged)

• Steve Wilkos (0.9, +13%)

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) 2.7 +13%

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.3** -8%

3. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.9 NC

3. Maury (NBCU) 1.9 NC

5. Ellen (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.5 NC

7. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 NC

8. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.2 NC

8. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.2 NC

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.0 -9%

11. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.0 NC

13. Trisha (NBCU) 0.4 NC

14. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.5 NC

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.2 NC

3. Trisha (NBCU) 0.4 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.2 NC

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 +13%

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 +8%

4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.1 -8

4. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.1 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 -20%

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

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.2 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.6 -7%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.5 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.4 +8%

6. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.2 -8%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.7 -2%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 4.9** -2%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.5 NC

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.3 NC

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.0 -17%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.3 +5%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.3 +5%

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.4 NC

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.4 -8%

5. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 2.3 NC

6. Friends (WBDTD) 2.2 NC

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.0 -5%

8. Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) 1.8 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.6 NC

2. Law & Order (NBCU) 2.7 -13%

3. House (NBCU) 2.4 -20%

4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.1 -9%

4. CSI Miami (CTD) 2.1 NC

6. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.0 -9%