Big Week For Top Talker ‘Dr. Phil’

Dr. Phil reached a milestone in the session ending Aug. 29, winning the talk show race for the 50^th week in a row. Despite being in reruns on all five days, Phil grew 4% for the week to a 2.8 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, and jumped 33% from last year, which was the strongest annual increase of any talk show.

Live with Kelly and Ryan, which was on hiatus, was the only other talker hitting — or anywhere near the — 2 rating level, scoring a steady 2.0 and grabbing second place.

Only two other shows in the category besides Phil were on the upswing: True crime series Crime Watch Daily, which rose 13% for the week and spiked 29% from last year to a 0.9 even though it was in repeats, and The Doctors, which looked healthy, climbing 14% to a 0.8 with previously aired episodes.

The queen of daytime and overall syndication leader for the 10th time in 11 week (with two ties) was Judge Judy, which improved 8% to a 13-week high 6.7 and averaged more than 9.5 million daily viewers.

Judy’s creation Hot Bench was also on a roll, strengthening 5% to a six-week high 2.3 while in reruns on four of the five days.

In access, Family Feud fell 2% to a 6.2 and finished second to overall champ Judy. However, Feud continued to lead the game shows, rolling over Wheel of Fortune, which faded 2 to a 5.3.

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, unchanged)

• Maury (0.8, -11%), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (0.8, +14%)

• Steve Wilkos (0.7, -13%), tied with Jerry Springer (0.7, unchanged) and Wendy Williams (0.7, 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) 2.8 +4%

2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.0 NC

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

4. Maury (NBCU) 1.4 -7%

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.2 NC

5. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

5. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

8. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.1 NC

8. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.1 NC

10. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.0 NC

11. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen (WBDTD) 0.9 +13%

13. The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.8 +14%

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Harry (NBCU) 0.8 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.7 +8%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.3 +5%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.1 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 0.9 NC

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.2 -2%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.3 -2%

3. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.1 -2%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.5 NC

5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.0 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.3 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.7 NC

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.5 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.2 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.1 +10%

6. The Insider (CTD) 0.9 NC

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.6 NC

8. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.9 +2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.6 +4%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.2 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 1.8 NC

5. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

5. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.6 NC

7. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%

8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.2 NC

9. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.1 -8%

9. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.1 -8%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.3 +2%

2. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.9 +12%

3. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.8 -10%

4. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.4 +8%

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.3 +8%

6. Rizzoli & Isles (WBDTD) 1.1 +10%

6. Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.1 -8%

6. Elementary (CTD) 1.1 +38%