Syndication Takes The Big Sleep

The week ending March 7 was remarkable for syndication, not so much due to what happened in the national Nielsen household ratings, but for what didn’t. Roughly half of the major programs did not make a move — if the international scene at the middle of the last century had been similar, the League of Nations might still be in business.

For example, in the closely watched talk race, the big news is that Live with Kelly and Ryan (1.9, +6%) and Dr. Phil (1.8, -5%) swapped places to where they were two weeks earlier, each moving one-tenth of a rating point.

Next in line there was a three-way tie with Maury, Ellen DeGeneres and Wendy Williams all holding steady at a 1.0.

25 Words or Less made the biggest news among the game shows with a 13% drop from a 0.8 to a 0.7. Leader Jeopardy was unchanged at a 5.9 while Wheel of Fortune applied the brakes a mere 2% to a 5.7, landing in a tie with the unchanged Family Feud.

Court shows took a slight breather. Perennial leader Judge Judy gave back 5% to a 5.4; Hot Bench retreated 11% to a 1.6; and People’s Court backtracked 10% to a 0.9.

Almost all the major magazines were unchanged. Inside Edition stayed at 2.4, Access Hollywood held its own at a 1.0, TMZ posted a 0.8 for the second week in a row, while Extra and Daily Mail TV continued to tie at 0.7.

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

• Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.8)
• Dr. Phil (0.6)
• Maury and Wendy Williams (both 0.5)
• Ellen DeGeneres, Kelly Clarkson, Tamron Hall and Steve Wilkos (all 0.4)

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) 1.9 +6%

Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.8 -5%

Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

Maury (NBCU) 1.0 NC

Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.0 NC

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCU) 0.9 -10%

Rachael Ray (CMV) 0.8 NC

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 0.8 NC

Tamron Hall (Disney-ABC) 0.8 -11%

Dr. Oz (Sony) 0.6 -14%

The Real (WBDTD) 0.4 NC

The Doctors (CMV) 0.2 NC

Jerry Springer (NBCU) 0.2 NC

FIRST-RUN ROOKIE

Drew Barrymore (CMV) 0.5 -17%

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CMV) 5.4 -5%

Hot Bench(CMV) 1.6 -11%

People’s Court (WBDTD) 0.9 -10%

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

Judge Jerry (NBCU) 0.6 -9%

Divorce Court (20th Television) 0.6 -9%

Protection Court (Trifecta) 0.2 -33%

GAME SHOWS

Jeopardy (CMV) 5.9 NC

Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.7 -2%

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 5.7 NC

25 Words or Less (CMV) 0.7-13%

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.4 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CMV) 2.4 NC

Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.3 -4%

Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.0 NC

TMZ (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Extra (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

Daily Mail TV (CMV) 0.7 NC

Dish Nation (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 2.6 -4%

Last Man Standing (Disney-ABC) 1.8 NC

Modern Family (Disney-ABC) 1.0 -9%

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

Family Guy (Disney-ABC) 1.0 NC

The Goldbergs(Sony) 0.9 NC

Seinfeld (Sony) 0.8 NC

Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 0.7 -13%

Mom (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

Black-ish (Disney-ABC) 0.6 -14%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 3.3 -13%

Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 1.8 +13%

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 1.3 NC

NCIS: New Orleans (CMV) 1.1 +22%

NCIS (CMV) 1.0 +11%