Down Is The New Black For Syndie Shows

Most of syndication declined in the session ending March 16, as PUT levels dropped sharply in the second week of Daylight Saving Time, and coverage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared March 8 with 239 passengers and crew drove viewers to news networks and away from syndicated shows.

For example, only one of 18 talk shows was up from the week before, namely Trisha, which gained 20% to a 0.6. However, several talkers still scored strong increases over last year at this time including Dr. Phil, which finished first for the 10^th week in a row and improved 18% over last year.

Second-place Live with Kelly and Michael also grew, surgieng 16% year to year. The biggest gainer in talk was sophomore Steve Harvey, which jumped 38% from the same week last year.

Among the rookie talkers, Queen Latifah continued to reign and actually extended its big lead over the freshmen field.

In access, most of the top-tier magazines were down week to week after getting a big boost from the Acacdemy Awards in the prior frame. The only show in the top six to resist the downtrend was Extra, which held steady while advancing 14% from last year, the most of any magazine show.

At the top of the syndication chart for the seventh consecutive week was Judge Judy, which rose 8% from last year.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.8, down 10% from the week before)
• Live with Kelly and Michael (1.5, -12%), tied with Ellen (1.5 -17%)
• Maury (1.2, unchanged)
• Dr. Oz (1.1 unchanged), tied with Wendy Williams (1.1, unchanged)
• Steve Harvey (1.0, unchanged)
• Steve Wilkos (0.9, -10%)

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) 3.3 -6%

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.9 -12%

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.6 -13%

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.0 -9%

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 NC

6. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.8 NC

7. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.5** -12%

8. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 NC

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 -18%

10. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 -13%

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.2 -8%

12. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.1 -21%

12. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.0 NC

14. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.7** -13%

14. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 -13%

16. The Test (CTD) 0.6 NC

16. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6 +20%

18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.7** -13%

1. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 -13%

3. The Test (CTD) 0.6 NC

4. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.0 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.1 -9%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.8 -10%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 -6%

4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.4 -18%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 -18%

6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.0 -9%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.5 -13%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.1 -6%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 -5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.6 -16%

4. Extra (WBDTD) 1.6 NC

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.3 -19%

7. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.1 -8%

8. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

9. America Now (Trifecta) 0.3 -25%

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

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.9 -5%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.6 -7%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 5.2 -10%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.2 -8%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.9 -8%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.3 -7%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.4 -11%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.9 -3%

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.0 -9%

6. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.9 NC

7. Friends (WBDTD) 1.8 NC

7. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.8 NC

9. Rules of Engagement (Sony) 1.5 -12%

9. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.5** -6%

9. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.5 -6%

12. Community (Sony) 0.5 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.4 -8%

2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 3.1 -6%

3. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.5 +9%

4. House (NBCU) 2.3 -18%

5. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.2 -4%

6. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.1 +5%