April Starts Off Strong For Talk Shows

Most of the top-tier talk shows had something to shout about in the Easter holiday week ending April 7.

Those on the upswing included Dr. Phil, which was No. 1 for the 25^th time in the season, growing 6% in the key women 25-54 demo, to a first-place 1.7 and climbing 4% in households from last year at this time; Live with Kelly and Michael, which was a strong second, improving 8% from last year; Ellen, which had the biggest week-to-week increase in talk and gained 10% year to year, despite airing only four originals during the session; and rookie leader Katie, which advanced for the second straight week even though the show was still in reruns for part of the frame.

At No. 8 with a bullet on the talk list, Steve Wilkos scored the largest increase from last year of any show, climbing 27%.

In access, most magazines and game shows were narrowly mixed, although the new OMG Insider Weekend surged 33% from the week before.

In the household rating rankings that follow, * indicates a new season high rating; ** indicates a new season low; % change is from the previous week; NC indicates no change from the previous week.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.8 NC

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.6 +4%

3. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.3 NC

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.3 +10%

5. Maury (NBCU) 2,1 NC

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.7 +6%

7. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5 NC

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 NC

8. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.4 NC

8. The Doctors (CTD) 1.4 NC

8. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.4 +8%

12. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.1 -15%

13. Anderson Live (WBDTD) 0.9 -10%

14. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.7 NC

15. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.6 NC

16. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

17. Jeremy Kyle (Debmar-Mercury) 0.4 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.7 +6%

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5 NC

3. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.7 NC

4. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.6 NC

5. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.5 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 +4%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.9 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

6. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.3 -7%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.8 NC

2. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) 2.2 NC

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.5 +7%

5. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.3 NC

6. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.9 -4%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.2 +5%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.8 NC

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.5 +4%

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.1 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 7.1 -4%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.7 NC

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.5 +6%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.4 NC

5. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 2.3 NC

6. Seinfeld (Sony) 3.3 +5%

7. Friends (WBDTD) 2.1 +5%

8. Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) 1.9 -5%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.8 +3%

2. Law & Order (NBCU) 3.0 +20%

3. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.5 +32%

4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.4 +20%

5. House (NBCU) 2.3 -18%

6. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.2 NC

7. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.0 +18%