syndication ratings

Most series are flat or down in the week ending March 10. The few gainers from the previous week include People’s Court, Jeopardy and Big Bang Theory.

But bucking the overall down trend to report year-to-year increases were a number of first-run veterans including Dr. Phil, Steve Wilkos, Judge Judy and Trisha, as well as newcomers Katie, Steve Harvey and Jeff Probst.

The week ending Feb. 24 had many syndicated shows bouncing back from flat or down performances in the week before. Nine of the top 10 talkers posted gains and other genres also had an up week. Among shows reporting new season highs were Dr. Phil, Steve Harvey, Steve Wilkos, Judge Judy, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Castle.

More people spent time away from their TVs in the week ending Feb. 17 and most shows were down or flat from the previous frame. Among the few shows posting weekly gains were Trisha and Baggage.

All the magazines were either up or flat. Wheel of Fortune is the No.1 show in first run. In addition, the week ending Feb. 10 saw new season highs for Inside Edition, Judge Judy, Criminal Minds and CSI: Miami.

The fake girlfriend hoax episode on Jan 31 powers it to top of the talkers. Other genre leaders for the week ending Feb. 3 include Entertainment Tonight, Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, Big Bang Theory and Law & Order: SVU.

Other genre leaders in the week ending Jan. 27 include: Dr. Phil, Entertainment Tonight, Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, Big Bang Theory and Law & Order: SVU.

All of the entertainment news strips posted gains in the week ending Jan. 14 thanks to the awards show coverage. Judge Judy is tops in daytime while the off-net Big Bang Theory is No. 1 overall.

Katie Couric’s Thursday talk with the Notre Dame football star sent the freshman syndie’s metered market household ratings up 30% from its past four-week average to a 2.6/7.

In the week ending Jan. 13, Dr. Phil regained the top spot among talkers while Steve Harvey climbed 14%. Other strong performers included Ellen, OMG Insider, Judge Judy, Wheel and Big Bang.

Most of the genre turned in strong increases in the week ending Jan. 6. Other shows doing well included a number of talk shows, Judge Judy, Family Feud and Law & Order: SVU.

Some of the few first-run syndicated shows to post ratings gains in the week ending Dec. 30 are Live with Kelly and Michael, Rachael Ray, Steve Wilkos, Jeff Probst, The Doctors and People’s Court.

Other shows bucking the ratings downtrend in the week leading up to Christmas included TMZ, Maury, Family Feud and the top off-net sitcoms.

Most of the chat fests and entertainment magazines post gains in the week ending Dec. 16, with several topping or tying their season highs.

Most shows are flat to down in the week ending Dec. 9. Exceptions include Ellen, Katie, Rachael Ray and some off-net weekly hours.

Stories on Lindsay Lohan and Larry Hagman help drive most of the genre to new season ratings highs in the week ending Dec. 2.

Other strong performers in the month included Ellen, Maury, Katie, Judge Judy, ET, Family Feud, Big Bang Theory and Law & Order: SVU.

The week ending Nov. 18 saw a number of show setting new season highs, especially among the talkers and entertainment magazines.

Most of the genre posted gains in the week ending Nov. 11 compared to two weeks earlier, since there were no ratings in the week immediately prior due to Hurricane Sandy.

The one-two punch of Hurricane Sandy and the following nor’easter wipe out ratings for nationally-aired shows in the week ending Nov. 4.

The judge was syndication’s top show again, posting an 8% gain in the week ending Oct. 28. And the doctor was the top talker for the seventh straight session in the first days of the November sweep.

Among the bright spots in the week ending Oct. 21 were Dr. Phil, Steve Wilkos, Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition.

TMZ is the only entertainment magazine to post a week-to-week gain in the frame ending Oct. 14. And that performance also put it up 36% from this time last year. Couric’s talker gets a boost from an appearance by the “Long Island Medium.”

The syndicated newsmagazine strip from Raycom and ITV Studios America is posting strong year-to-year gains across metered markets in the first six weeks of season.

Among this season’s newcomers, Katie slips from the prior week but still is No. 1. Dr. Phil is the top talker for the fourth week in a row. And Live with Kelly and Michael was the only talk show to show a gain from the week before.

Other standouts in the week ending Sept. 30 include Judge Judy and Entertainment Tonight, with freshmen entries Trisha, Ricki Lake and Dish Nation all posting gains.

The freshman talk show scored a new series high 1.1 rating/3 share average on Monday for its primary runs.

Katie Couric has certainly gotten the hype for her new syndicated talk show. But if media buyers and planners had to pick the heir to Oprah Winfrey, they’d say it’s Ellen DeGeneres, not Couric.

Among the chat fest thriving in the week ending Sept. 23 are Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, Live with Kelly and Michael, Maury and Steve Harvey, while Trisha makes its debut.

Live with Kelly and Michael takes the talk show crown in the week ending Sept. 9, the show’s highest season premiere in nine years.

Warner Bros.’ Ellen was No. 1 among the talk shows with a 2.8 household rating, while Live, which introduced former New York Giants Michael Strahan as Kelly Ripa’s co-host in its season start on Sept. 4, had a 2.8 household rating last week. Among the newcomers, Katie did best, averaging a 2.3 household rating, flat to last September when ABC’s soap General Hospital was on the air in many of Katie’s time slots.

In its fourth airing on Thursday, Katie Couric’s new syndicated talk show dropped 26% in households to a 1.7/5 in the metered markets and 38% to a 0.8/5 in the key women 25-54 demographic. In households, Katie still finished first among the freshman daytime talk shows but by a smaller margin. In W25-54, it was edged by Steve Harvey (0.9/6 in W25-54, 1.3/4 in HH), which finished as No.1 for the first time since the launch of Katie.

Coverage of 9/11 memorials on Tuesday cut into the numbers of Katie, Jeff Probst and Ricki.

Judge Judy continues to reign in the week ending Sept. 2, with strong performances coming from many courts and talkers.

The new syndicated newsmagazine from Twentieth Television launched Monday with a 0.7 rating/2 share. Among its high points are Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta and Houston.

Most syndicated shows declined during the week ending Aug. 26 from the prior week with many people outside enjoying the last days of summer vacation or shopping for back-to-school supplies. The Aug. 24 to the Empire State Building shootings also disrupted normal daytime viewing.

Without the competition and preemptions from the London Games, many shows turned in strong ratings gains in the week ending Aug. 19.

Either competing against, or preempted by, the games, the rest of TV didn’t stand a chance against the first week of the London extravaganza.

News following the killings in Colorado drive up numbers for syndicated magazine shows in the week ending July 29.

Talk shows, some courtrooms, a couple of games and off-net sitcoms show some ratings improvement in the week ending July 20.