syndication ratings

The ratings battle for the most popular syndicated talk show is shaping up to be a tight one this fall, with a rising Ellen and Live With Kelly & Michael now within striking distance of Dr. Phil.

In the week ending Oct. 13, talk shows were all either flat or up from the previous week, while the entertainment magazines were all either flat or down.

Lost amid all the ratings news about freshman talk shows (Queen Latifah, Arsenio et al.) is that veteran yakker Wendy Williams is putting up strong numbers in the new season.

At the top of the talk list, Dr. Phil and Live with Kelly and Michael tied for first place honors, but neither was up from the week before. Among the closely watched daytime rookies, Queen Latifah was the No. 1 new talker for the third consecutive week, holding steady from the previous frame.

Entertain magazines get a boost from their Emmy coverage, while Modern Family’s off-net debut is the biggest syndication premiere in more than 10 years.

For the week ending Sept. 22, many chat shows posted week-to-week or year-to-year gains. Other strong performers included Judge Judy and freshman Queen Latifah.

Most of the top chat fests posted gains in the week ending Sept. 8 while syndication’s other genres were mostly flat or down.

Queen Latifah syndication debut generated a 1.7 household rating and 5 share, up 31% from its year-ago time slots average and up 21% from its lead-in average. And the season two return of Steve Harvey got the same 1.7/5, up 13% from its year-ago time slots average and up 13% from its lead-in.

The new latenight talk show entry from CBS Television Distribution grew 40% from its lead-in (0.5 rating/2 share) and also jumped 40% over its year-ago time period average (0.5/2) among adults 18-49 to a 0.7/3 demo rating.

Coverage of her VMA performance boosts all the top magazines in the week ending Sept. 1. Dr. Phil takes the top talk slot, while Judge Judy retains the first-run leadership crown.

The Warner Bros. talker  averaged a 0.6/4 among women 25-54, up 20% from both its lead-in rating and its year-ago time slots average. Ellen kicked off its 11^th season with a 3.1/8 in households, up 63% from its lead in and up 41% from last September.

His CTD syndicated talker was Monday’s top-rated latenight broadcast program in adults 18-49 and 25-54. In households, Arsenio clocked a 1.9/4, which was up 90% from its year-ago time period averages.

The good judge takes the first-run crown again. Dr. Phil was the only one of the 14 talk shows to grow in the final week of the season. Only two courtrooms and two game shows posted gains in the frame ending Aug. 25.

In the week ending Aug. 18, the second of the TWC-CBS blackout, PUT levels were down and Steves Wilkos, The Doctors and Wendy Williams were the only chat fests to post wee-to-week gains.

Kanye West’s appearance and photo of his new daughter shot up ratings for the Twentieth Television talk show’s summer tryout on six Fox O&Os.

Other top-tier chatfests moving higher included Maury and rookie champ Katie while many shows in the other genres finished the week ending Aug. 11 flat or down. Among the first-run gainers were Wheel of Fortune, Dish Nation and Entertainment Tonight.

Dr. Phil was the only talker to increase in the week ending Aug. 4 from the previous session. Three court shows, led by Judge Judy, and only one game show turned in gains.

A lot of first-run shows tread water with flat ratings in the week ending July 28. Among those posting gains were Wendy Williams, Steve Wilkos, Access Hollywood, Dish Nation, Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Most in the genre show increases in the week ending July 21. Others on the up side include Judge Judy (again the top show in all of first-run syndication), Inside Edition, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Baggage.

The summer tests of the two syndie talkers show The Real up in households and the women 18-49 and 25-54 demos from the first week and year-ago time period averages, while Kris is lower.

Following a depressed Fourth of July week, most genres in syndication posted ratings gains in the week ending July 14. Among the strong performers were the majority of the entertainment magazines, talk shows, game shows and off-net sitcoms.

The two syndicated shows getting tryouts on some Fox O&Os both generated women 25-54 demo increases from their lead-ins year-ago timeslot averages.

Other chat fest posting gains in a generally slow week ending July 7 included Katie, Wendy Williams, Rachael Ray and The Doctors. Most shows in the other genres were down with a number of new season lows set.

The two syndicated shows getting tryouts on some Fox O&Os both generated a 1.1 rating/3 share in households for their debuts Monday and posted time-slot gains in the female demos.

In the week ending June 30, most of the shows in those two genres turned in week-to-week ratings gains. Many of the talkers were up also.

Top weekly hour ET Weekend surged 23% to a 1.6; Extra Weekend spiked 43% to a 1.0, matching its season high; and the new OMG Insider Weekend jumped 13% to a 0.9. The rest of syndication was mostly flat or down in the week ending June 23.

About half of the chat shows reported week-to-week ratings gains in the frame ending June 16. The rest of syndication was mostly flat or down, including genre leaders Dr. Phil and Judge Judy.

The week ending June 9 saw few show escaping from the summer Nielsen blahs. Among the first-run shows able to claim ratings gains from a week earlier were Dr. Oz, Wendy Williams, Inside Edition, TMZ, Extra, Judge Judy and Wheel of Fortune.

The week ending June 2 saw few higher Nielsens. Among the upbeat from a week earlier were Live with Kelly and Michael, Divorce Court and off-net Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Friends and some weekly hours.

Many shows were down in the May sweeps compared to their May 2012 results. Among first-run shows posting gains included Wendy Williams, Live with Kelly and Michael, Ellen, Jeopardy and Family Feud.

Katie and Steve Harvey are only talkers to post week-to-week gains. Other first-run shows breaking the flat-to-down trend include TMZ, Dish Nation, Jeopardy and Baggage.

Live with Kelly and Michael posted a double-digit gain in the week ending May 12, joining Wendy Williams and Anderson Live as the only talkers to record gains.

The courtroom is No. 1 in households in a week that saw few gains from the week before. Other to post gains included Ellen, Jeopardy, Dish Nation, CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds.

Others doing well in the week ending April 28 include some game shows as well as off-net sitcoms and weekly hours.

The extensive preemptions for news reports in the week ending April 21 kept ratings flat or down, with the exception of some of the magazine shows, which featured a lot of coverage of the aftermath of the Boston bombings.

There weren’t a lot of week-to-week gains outside of the chat shows in the frame ending April 14. The gainers included three entertainment magazines, OMG Insider, Dish Nation and TMZ, as well as a few off-net sitcoms and weekly hours.

Also posting week-to-week gains in the week ending April 7 are Inside Edition, People’s Court, Judge Mathis. Jeopardy and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Wheel of Fortune claimed first place among the first-run shows.

In a mostly flat or down week, standouts include five talk shows, Access Hollywood, Judge Judy, Everybody Loves Raymond and House compared to the previous week.

Preemptions for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament give a different look to the ratings in the week ending March 24. The top show in first-run syndication is Wheel of Fortune, while Live with Kelly and Michael dethroned Dr. Phil atop the talkers list.

The first week of Daylight Saving Time, coupled with preemptions for pope coverage, sent ratings tumbling for many shows. Among the exceptions to the downturn were Wendy Williams (which posted a 20% week-to-week gain), Dish Nation (up 10%), Baggage (up 9%) and several off-net weekly hours.