‘Phil’ And ‘Kelly’ Tie As Top Talkers

Dr. Phil in reruns and Live with Kelly fought off the summer doldrums plaguing most of syndication in the session ending July 31 and battled to a first-place tie atop the talk shows.

Both strips grew 4% to a 2.4 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, and were the only talkers among the top nine moving up in a difficult week, which was further complicated by preemptions and time period shifts due to coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

For Kelly, this marks the eighth time in nine weeks that the show has been first or tied for first in households. In addition, it was also tops in talk among women 25-54 with a 1.2 demo rating.

Further back, third-place Ellen DeGeneres slipped 6% to a new season low 1.6.

Judge Judy, while in repeats on four days, was the only one of the six court shows on the chart getting a favorable Nielsen verdict, improving 2% to a 6.4 and coming within two-tenths of a point of overall syndication leader Family Feud.

In the metered markets, the No. 1 rated syndication newcomer of the summer, Page Six TV, which premiered July 18, completed the third and final frame of its preview, maintaining its series high 1.0 rating despite competing with the Aug. 5 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

At the same time, it was 233% ahead of its last remaining challenger, the 0.3 rating of the So Me test, which had somewhat lesser time periods than Page Six.

In addition, if there had been full national coverage of both shows, Page Six would have drawn approximately 2.1 million more daily viewers than So Me.

Among women 25-54, the final Page Six week set new series records in nearly half of its seven markets and was especially sharp in Tampa, Fla., where both its ratings and key demos rose 40% week to week.

Back in the national ratings, Family Feud declined 6% to a6.6, but continued to top the syndication leader board while trouncing all game show competitors for the 14^th consecutive week.

Wheel of Fortune held on to second place in the category but was down 2% to a 5.2, its lowest rating in nearly four years.

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

• Live with Kelly (1.2, +20% from the week before)
• Dr. Phil (1.1, unchanged)
• Maury (1.0, +11%)
• Ellen DeGeneres (0.9, unchanged)
• Steve Wilkos (0.8, 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) 2.4 +4%

1. Live with Kelly (Disney-ABC) 2.4 +4%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.6** -6%

4. Maury (NBCU) 1.5 NC

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.4 -7%

6. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.2 NC

6. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.2 NC

6. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.2 NC

9. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.1** -21%

9. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.1 +10%

11. The Doctors (CTD) 0.9 -11%

12. The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 -13%

13. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 0.5** -17%

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Crime Watch Daily (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

2. FABLife (Disney) 0.6 NC

3. Crazy Talk (NBCU) 0.4 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.4 +2%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.1 -5%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 0.9 -10%

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.6 -6%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.2** -2%

3. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.1 +2%

4. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.3 +8%

5. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.2 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.0 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.5** -4%

1. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.5** -4%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.1** -8%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 0.9** -10%

6. The Insider (CTD) 0.8** -20%

6. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.8 +14%

8. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.7 +2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.6 NC

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.3 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.1 NC

5. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.8 -5%

7. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.7 NC

8. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.6 NC

9. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.5 -6%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.4 +8%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.3 +10%

2. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.7 NC

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.9 +6%

4. The Mentalist (WBDTD) 1.5 +7%

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.4 -7%

6. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.2 -20%

6. Rizzoli & Isles (WBDTD) 1.2 -14%