Boston Coverage Keeps Many Syndies Down

The week ending April 21, the final session prior to the start of the May sweep, was marked by massive preemptions due to heavy news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, manhunt and eventual capture of the second suspect.

Not surprisingly, most syndicated shows declined from the week before with several hitting new season lows. In daytime, the only one out of 17 talk shows able to improve from the week before was rookie leader Katie, which scored its highest rating since the week of March 4.

Dr. Phil was the No. 1 talker despite not airing numerous times in various markets. Live with Kelly and Michael and Ellen tied for second and were up 4% and 14%, respectively, year to year.

In access, magazine shows devoted much of their airtime to reports on the bombings and were mostly steady to higher despite preemptions and breakouts. Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition and Access Hollywood all improved week to week, while Extra was the only mag to grow from last year at this time.

Among women 25-54, Dr. Phil (1.7 demo rating, unchanged from the week before) topped the talk shows. Ellen (1.5, -6%) was a strong second, followed closely by Live with Kelly and Michael (1.4, unchanged). Next were Maury (1.3 -7%), Wendy Williams (1.0,-9%), Dr. Oz (1.0, -23%) and rookies Katie (0.9, unchanged) and Steve Harvey (0.9, -10%).

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 -3%

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.4 -4%

2. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.4 NC

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.2 -4%

5. Maury (NBCU) 1.9** -14%

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.8 +6%

7. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.4 -7%

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 -7%

9. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

10. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.2** -14%

10. The Doctors (CTD) 1.2 -8%

10. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.2 NC

13. Anderson Live (WBDTD) 0.7** -22%

14. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.6 NC

14. 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) 1.8 +6%

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.4 -7%

3. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.6 NC

3. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.6 NC

5. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.6 +3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.0 +3%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 -10%

3. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 +6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

6. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.4 NC

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 -9%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.2 -7%

2. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) 2.0** -9%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.5 +7%

6. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.1** -15%

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.2 -8%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.5 -4%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.7 -5%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.3 -4%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.1 -13%

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.1 +10%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.6 -10%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.6 +2%

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.5 -3%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.5 +4%

5. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 2.3 -4%

6. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.1 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.2 +3%

2. Law & Order (NBCU) 2.8 -10%

3. House (NBCU) 2.7 +35%

4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.5 NC

5. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.4 -4%

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.4 +4%