‘Dr. Phil’ The Post-Sweeps Ratings Bright Spot

The session ending March 13 was the first week after the February sweeps, and, as usually happens in frames following survey periods, most syndicated shows moved sideways to down slightly.

A bright spot was Dr. Phil, which was in reruns for most of the session but still won the talk show race for the 10th week in a row despite giving back 9% to a 3.0 live plus same day national Nielsen rating. Live with Kelly & Michael was right behind, flipping 6% to a 2.9.

However, among women 25-54 Kelly & Michael tied Phil for first place in talk with a 1.4 in the key demo.

Ellen DeGeneres dropped 8% to a third place 2.4 HH rating, while Steve Harvey rounded out the top four holding steady at a 1.7.

Among the newcomers to national syndication, rookie champion Crime Watch Daily finished first for the 26th consecutive week, holding steady at a 1.0 and averaging more than 1.4 million viewers per day.

Fellow freshmen FabLife and Crazy Talk, which will both end production shortly, were flat at 0.8 and 0.5 respectively.

In access, Entertainment Tonight was the No. 1 magazine for the 15th week in a row, holding firm at a 3.3.

At the very top of the Nielsen chart, Judge Judy was in repeats on three of the five days, and dipped 5% to a 7.2. However, the courtroom queen rose 6% from last year at this time and remained the highest rated strip in syndication overall for the 37th time in the past 38 weeks.

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

•  Dr. Phil (1.4 average, -7%), tied with Live with Kelly & Michael (1.4 average, unchanged)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1.2 average, -14%)
• Wendy Williams (1.1 average, -8%)
• Maury (1.0 average, unchanged)

In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the previous week; * indicates a new season-high rating; ** indicates a new season low; NC indicates no change from the previous week; NA mean not applicable.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.0 -9%

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.9 -6%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.4 -8%

4. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.7 NC

5. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.5 NC, tied with Maury (NBCU) 1.5 ** and Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.5, -12%

8. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.4 -7%

9. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.1 NC

12. The Real (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

13. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 0.8,** -11%

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Crime Watch Daily (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

2. FABLife (Disney) 0.8 NC

3. Crazy Talk (NBCU) 0.5 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.2 -5%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.4 -8%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 -11%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 -7%

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.2 -8%

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.9 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 7.0 +1%

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.6 -6%

3. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.4 -2%

4. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.3 -7%, tied with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.3, -7%

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.1 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.3 NC

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.0 -3%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.6 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 -6%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.3 NC

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 NC

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.0 +2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.2 -6%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.7 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.1 NC, tied with Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 2.1 NC and Two Broke Girls 2.1 NC

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.8 -5%, tied with The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.8*, +6%

9. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.5** -6%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.4 +8%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.8 +4%

2. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.8 +8%

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.0 -9%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.8 +13%

5. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.5 NC

6. The Good Wife (CTD) 1.3 NC, tied with The Mentalist (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%