‘Jeopardy’ Is Syndication’s Answer To Who’s No. 1

Syndicated shows did a good job holding most or all of their robust recoveries from the Beijing Winter Olympics in the session ending March 6, despite running into preemptions for coverage of the State of the Union address in some cases.

For example, Dr. Phil kept all of its double-digit increase from the week before and took over sole possession of first place in talk with a steady 1.7 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating as Live with Kelly and Ryan gave back a relatively minor 6% to a still powerful 1.6.

Not far behind, Kelly Clarkson and Ellen DeGeneres both did well to sustain their previous hefty improvements and hold their ground at a 0.9.

Also of note, Tamron Hall made a monster 50% upward move to match its season high in the advertiser-coveted women 25-54 demo.

In access, four of the top five magazines — Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Extra — all hung on to their prior week’s gains, although TMZ slipped 13% to a 0.7.

Elsewhere, the major game shows were slightly lower across the board. Jeopardy retained the overall syndication lead but lost 3% to a 5.7; Family Feud fell 4% to a 5.5; and Wheel of Fortune skidded 5% to a 5.3.

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

• Dr. Phil (0.6, unchanged from the week before), tied with Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.6, -14%)
• Kelly Clarkson (0.4, +33%), tied with Maury (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

Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.7 NC

Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 1.6 -6%

Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCU) 0.9 NC

Rachael Ray (CMV) 0.8 NC

Maury (NBCU) 0.7 -13%

Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 0.7 -13%

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 0.6 NC

Tamron Hall (Disney-ABC) 0.6 NC

Drew Barrymore (CMV) 0.5 NC

The Good Dish (Sony) 0.4 NC

Nick Cannon (CMV) 0.4 NC

Jerry Springer (NBCU) 0.3 NC

The Real (WBDTD) 0.3 NC

The Doctors (CMV) 0.2 NC

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CMV) 4.6 -4%

Hot Bench(CMV) 1.5 NC

People’s Court (WBDTD) 0.7 -22%

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Divorce Court (Fox First Run) 0.5 NC

Judge Jerry (NBCU) 0.4 MC

Relative Justice (EW Media Group) 0.4 NC

GAME SHOWS

Jeopardy (CMV) 5.7 -3%

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 5.5 -4%

Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.3 -5%

You Bet Your Life (Fox First Run) 0.7 -13%

25 Words or Less (Fox First Run) 0.7 NC

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.3 -25%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CMV) 2.3 NC

Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.1 NC

Access Hollywood (NBCU) 0.8 NC

TMZ (Fox First Run) 0.7 -13%

Extra (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Daily Mail TV (CMV) 0.5 NC

Dish Nation (Fox First Run) 0.2 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 2.0 -5%

Last Man Standing (Disney-ABC) 1.4 +8%

Young Sheldon (WBDTD) 0.9 -10%

Modern Family (Disney-ABC) 0.8 -11%

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Family Guy (Disney-ABC) 0.8 NC

The Goldbergs(Sony) 0.7 -13%

Seinfeld (Sony) 0.7 NC

Black-ish (Disney-ABC) 0.5 NC

Mom (WBDTD) 0.5 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 2.7 +4%

Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 1.2 +9%

Chicago Fire (NBCU) 1.2 +9%

Monk (NBCU) 1.0 NC

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 0.9 -25%

Castle (Disney-ABC) 0.8 +14%