Off-Net Sitcoms Perk Up In Summer Heat

Viewers appeared to take a vacation in the dog days of August session ending Aug. 26, as ratings wilted for most of first-run syndication thanks to declining PUT levels, numerous reruns and widespread preemptions for breaking news.

In daytime, repeats of Dr. Phil continued to dominate the talkers for the 103^rd straight week despite giving back 4% to a 2.5 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating.

And Live with Kelly and Ryan kept its own streak going, seizing sole possession of second place for the 10^th week in a row, although easing 5% to a 1.9.

Further back, Ellen DeGeneres was third with an unchanged 1.5.

Elsewhere, 2017-18 household rating season winner Judge Judy dipped 2% to a nonetheless top-ranked 6.5, which beat the other five nationally measured court shows combined and was also the week’s highest rated strip overall.

In off-net syndication it was a different story as several of the top sitcoms came to life.

While lead laugher Big Bang Theory was flat at a 4.1, Last Man Standing rose 5% to a 2.1; Modern Family forged ahead 6% to a 1.9; and Two and a Half Men moved up 7% to a 1.5, tying Family Guy, which also grew 7% to a 1.5.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.1, +10% from the week before)
• Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.9, +13%)
• Maury (0.7, -13%), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (0.7, unchanged)
• Steve Wilkos (0.6, -14%), tied with Jerry Springer (0.6, +20%)

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) 2.5 -4%
2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 1.9 -5%
3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.5 NC
4. Maury (NBCU) 1.3 NC
5. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.1 NC
6. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.0 -9%
7. Steve (NBCU) 1.0** -9%
8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.0 NC
9. Dr. Oz (Sony) 0.9 NC
10. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 0.8 NC
11. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen (WBDTD) 0.8 NC
12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.7 NC
13. Harry (NBCU) 0.5 -17%
14. The Real (WBDTD) 0.5 NC

FIRST-RUN ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Daily Mail TV (CTD) 0.8** -11%
2. Page Six TV(20th Television) 0.6 NC
3. Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.5 NC
4. Pickler & Ben(Disney-ABC) NA (being reprocessed)

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.5 -2%
2. Hot Bench(CTD) 2.0 -5%
3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.4 NC
4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.0 NC
5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 0.7 NC
6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.5 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.1 NC
2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.2** -2%
3. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.2 NC
4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.5 -6%

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.2** -8%

OFF-NET TRUE CRIME

1. Dateline M-F (NBCU) 1.1 -8%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.7 -4%
2. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.6 -4%
3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.2 +9%
4. Access (NBCU) 1.0 -9%
5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.0 NC
6. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.2 -33%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.1 NC
2. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 2.1 +5%
3. Modern Family (Twentieth) 1.9 +6%
4. The Goldbergs(Sony) 1.4 -7%
5. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.5 +7%
6. Family Guy (Twentieth) 1.5 +7%
7. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.2 NC
8. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.1 NC
9. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.0 NC
10. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 0.9 NC
11. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 0.9 NC
12. Mom (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 2.8 +4%
2. Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 2.3 -28%
3. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 1.7 +6%
4. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.7 +13%
5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.2 -8%
6. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.1 -15%
7. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.1 NC
8. Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.1 NC