It Was A Cold February Week For Syndies

Most of the syndication stars were hit with minor losses in the session ending Feb. 12, even though the frame featured several major television attractions including the Super Bowl, the State of the Union address and the Grammy Awards.

The only talkers in the top five able to resist the household rating downtrend were Disney’s duo of Live with Kelly and Ryan and Tamron Hall, which both hung tough at a 1.6 and a 0.8 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen, respectively.

Live has had a stranglehold on the talk show lead for the last 22 weeks and has finished first or tied for first in the category 75 times in the past 90 weeks.

Up and comer Tamron has bloomed into a strong talk contender, improving 33% from last year at this time when it was retitled with the rest of the yak pack for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Dr. Phil fell 7% to a 1.3; Kelly Clarkson ticked down 10% to a 0.9; and Drew Barrymore was minus 11% to a 0.8, although the show jumped into a tie with Dr. Phil and Sherri in the key women 25-54 demo.

The big game shows also lost ground. Jeopardy sank 7% to a 5.6 and Wheel of Fortune faded 5% to a 5.2 to tie Family Feud, which fell back 4%.

The only strip in the category climbing into positive territory was newcomer Pictionary, which plowed ahead with a 25% gain to a 0.5.

The story was the same with the five most popular magazines where leaders Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition both conceded 4%, although challengers Extra, Access Hollywood and TMZ all held their ground and refused to decline.

Even Judge Judy, which has crushed the court shows every single week since it began back in 1996, was not immune. The legal legend was fined 4% to a 4.4, but that was still more than triple the rating of anything else in the venue.

The top talk shows for the week among women 25-54 were:

• Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.6, unchanged from the week before)
• Dr. Phil (0.4, -20%), tied with Drew Barrymore (0.4, +33%) and Sherri (0.4, 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 means not applicable.

TALK SHOWS

Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC

Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.3 -7%

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCU) 0.9 -10%

Tamron Hall (Disney-ABC) 0.8 NC

Drew Barrymore (CMV) 0.8 -11%

Rachael Ray (CMV) 0.7 NC

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 0.6 NC

Maury (NBCU) 0.5 NC

Jerry Springer Combo (NBCU) 0.3 -25%

FRESHMAN SHOWS

Sherri (CMV) 0.7 NC

Jennifer Hudson (WBDTD) 0.6 -14%

iCrime with Elizabeth Vargas (Trifecta) 0.5 NC

Pictionary (CMV) 0.5 +25%

Karamo (NBCU) 0.4 NC

We the People with Judge Lauren Lake (CF Entertainment) 0.3 NC

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CMV) 4.4 -4%

Hot Bench(CMV) 1.2 NC

People’s Court (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Divorce Court (Fox First Run) 0.5 NC

Relative Justice (EW Media Group) 0.3 NC

GAME SHOWS

Jeopardy (CMV) 5.6 -7%

Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.2 -5%

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 5.2 -4%

You Bet Your Life (Fox First Run) 0.7 NC

25 Words or Less (Fox First Run) 0.7 -13%

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.4 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CMV) 2.3 -4%

Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.2 -4%

TMZ (Fox First Run) 0.8 NC

Access Hollywood (NBCU) 0.8 NC

Extra (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Dish Nation (Fox First Run) 0.2 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 1.9 -5%

Last Man Standing (Disney-ABC) 1.2 +9%

Young Sheldon (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

Modern Family (Disney-ABC) 0.7 -13%

The Goldbergs(Sony) 0.7 NC

Family Guy (Disney-ABC) 0.7 +17%

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 0.6 -14%

The Neighborhood (CMV) 0.6 NC

Seinfeld (Sony) 0.5 -17%

American Housewife (Disney-ABC) 0.4 NC

Black-ish (Disney-ABC) 0.4 NC

Mom (WBDTD) 0.4 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 3.7 NC

Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 1.9 +6%

Chicago Fire (NBCU) 1.1 -8%

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 1.1 +22%

Magnum P.I. (CMV) 0.7 -13%

9-1-1 (Disney-ABC) 0.7 NC

The Rookie (Disney-ABC) 0.7 NC