Big, Big Week For The Talk Shows

Talk shows, led by Dr. Phil for the sixth consecutive week, were the star syndication performers in the session ending Feb. 22. In fact, a number of talkers raced to double-digit, week-to-week or even year-to-year increases as the February sweep entered its home stretch.

Phil showed the way, maintaining a first-place 3.5 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating and improving 13% from last year at this time.

Runner-up Live with Kelly & Michael hit a new season high 3.4, up 6% for the week and 17% for the year, while third-place Ellen DeGeneres grew 11% to a 3.1.

Among women 25-54, Phil, Live and Ellen finished in a three-way tie for the lead at a 1.8 demo rating.

Other big movers in talk included:

• Steve Harvey, which matched its season high with a 5% advance to a 2.1 household rating.
• Wendy Williams, which picked up 5% to a new series high 2.0 and rose 25% from last year.

• Rachael Ray and Dr. Oz, which each surged 14% to a 1.6 and equaled their best marks of the season.
• The Doctors, which clocked a new season high 1.3 and scored the largest weekly increase of any talk show, leaping 18%, and also shooting up 18% from last year.
• Newcomer Celebrity Name Game, which climbed 7% to a new season high 1.5 and jumped 13% to another new high in the women 25-54 sales demo.

• Meredith Vieira, which rose 9% to a 1.2 in households and rocketed 40% among women 25-54, matching its season high 0.7.

Elsewhere, Entertainment Tonight led the magazines with a 3.9, which was up 15% from last year, the biggest annual gain in the top tier.

Also of note, Access Hollywood Live, which is not yet cleared nationally, climbed 12% in its 16 metered markets to a 0.9 rating/3 share average, including a 30% spike in New York to a 1.3/4 on WNBC at 11 a.m.

Topping the list of all syndicated shows was Wheel of Fortune with a 7.6, up 3% from the week before and up 9% from the same time last year.

It was also a good week for Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud, Wendy Williams and Celebrity Name Game, with each setting or tying ratings records.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.8, +6% from the week before), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (1.8, +20%) and Live with Kelly & Michael (1.8, +13%)
• Maury (1.4, -7%), tied with Wendy Williams (1.4, unchanged)
• Steve Harvey (1.1, +10%)
• Steve Wilkos (1.0, -9%), tied with The Real (1.0, 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 mean not applicable.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.5 NC

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 3.4* +6%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 3.1 +11%

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.1 NC

4. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 2.1 +5%

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 2.0* +5%

7. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.6 +14%

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.6 +14%

9. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.5 NC

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.4 NC

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.3* +18%

12. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 +10%

13. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.1 -50%

ROOKIES

1. Hot Bench (CTD) 1.8 NC

2. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.5* +7%

3. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 1.2 +9%

3. The Real (WBDTD) 1.2 NC

5. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.8 -11%

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.7 +13%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.3 NC

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 -6%

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

5. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.4 +8%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.9 +3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.4 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 2.2 +5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.9 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.6 -6%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.3 -7%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.1 NC

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 +50%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 7.6 +3%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 7.4 +4%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 7.2 +11%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.8 -5%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.4 +5%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.6 -8%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.3 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.6 NC

5. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 2.5 NC

6. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.4 +4%

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.2 +5%

8. The Middle (WBDTD) 2.0 NC

9. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.9 NC

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.7 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 6.7* +12%

2. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.4 -2%

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.1 -19%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.0 NC

5. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.8 +13%

6. The Mentalist (WBDTD) 1.6 -6

6. The Closer (WBDTD) 1.6 +14