February Sweep Down For Many From ’12

Storms and power outages in much of the country as well as widespread preemptions for the Christopher Dorner California manhunt and the State of the Union address depressed viewing for many syndicated shows in February. However, there were a number of success stories in the first-run results of the February sweep (Jan. 31-Feb.27) which were released today.

Among talk shows, Dr. Phil was No. 1 for the fourth consecutive sweep, while Steve Wilkos scored the biggest year-to-year improvement.

Katie was the top talk newcomer, while Steve Harvey showed dramatic growth.

Judge Judy dominated the court shows by a full five-point margin.

Game show Family Feud with host Steve Harvey saw its ratings mushroom 66% over last February, and Entertainment Tonight was the highest rated magazine for the 90^th sweep in a row, spanning more than 22 years.

Let’s Ask America was the sweep’s biggest growth story among shows not yet nationally rated, increasing 19% over its premiere week in households.

In other metered market news, an interview with terminally ill actress Valerie Harper yesterday sent ratings for The Doctors surging 20% to a new season high 1.8 rating/5 share with a preliminary estimate of about 2.3 million viewers.

In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is comparing the average for this February sweep to 2012’s February sweep. Shows that weren’t in syndication in February 2012 are marked New. NC indicates no change from the previous sweep.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.4 NC

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.8 NC

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.7 +4%

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.5 -17%

5. Maury (NBCU) 2.4 -8%

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.9

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.6 NC

7. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.6 +14%

7. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.6

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.5 NC

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.4 -18%

12. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.3 +8%

13. Anderson Live (WBDTD) 1.1 -27%

14. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.8 New

15. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.7 New

16. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6 New

16. Jeremy Kyle (Debmar-Mercury) 0.6 -14%

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.9 -5% (compared to its premiere)

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.6 +33% (compared to its premiere)

3. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.8 +14 (compared to its premiere)

4. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.7 NC (compared to its premiere)

5. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6 +50% (compared to its premiere)

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 4.0 -5%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.3 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 2.1 -5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.9 -14%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.6 -11%

6. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.5 -21%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 +25% (compared to its premiere)

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.5 NC

2. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) 2.5 -17%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.9 -17%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.5 -12%

5. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.4 -26%

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.4 -7%

7. America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) 0.8 -20%

8. Justice for All (Entertainment Studios) 0.4 New

9. We the People with Gloria Allred (Entertainment Studios) 0.2 -60%

GAME SHOWS

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

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.8 +8%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 5.3 +66%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.6 -4%

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.1 New

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 7.7 +4%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 5.4 -14%

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.7 -18%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.8 -13%

5. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.4 -11%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.1 +71%

2. Law & Order (NBCU) 2.8 +4%

3. Castle (Disney-ABC)

4. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.5 New

5. House (NBCU) 2.3 +64%

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.3 New