Premier Numbers For Many Season Premieres

The week ending Sept. 21 featured several fresh entries on the national syndication list, while a number of long-running veterans returned with strong season premieres.

Hot Bench, a new court show created by Judge Judy, got off to a powerful start as the highest-rated rookie daytimer, scoring a 1.3 in the national household ratings for its opening frame. This was 8% ahead of new talker Meredith Vieira, which dipped slightly to a 1.2 in its second week, and 30% above freshman gabber The Real, which debuted at a third-place 1.0.

However, the 25-54 demo tells a different story. In that demo, The Real was No. 1 with a 0.8, Hot Bench came in No. 2 with a 0.7 and Meredith was No. 3 at a 0.6.

Access newcomer Celebrity Name Game bowed Sept. 22 averaged 0.7 rating/2 share for all telecasts in the metered markets, losing 30% of its lead-in and dropping 36% from its year-ago time periods.

Dr. Phil had no trouble holding onto first place among all talk shows in week two of its new season with a 3.1 in households and a top-rated 1.6 in the key women 25-54 demo.

Live with Kelly & Michael was the clear No. 2 in talk with a 2.8 household rating, a 1.4 in the demo and its most powerful start in seven years.

Ellen DeGeneres fell 11% to a third-place 2.5 in households after being tied with Kelly in its premiere week and sank 19% in the demo to a 1.3.

The 24^th season premiere week of Maury rounded out the top four, advancing 11% from the prior session to a 2.0 in households, and grew 8% among women 25-54 to tie Ellen in the demo.

Other talkers seeing significant week-to-week growth with their new-season premieres included:

• Steve Wilkos, up 14% to a 1.6, tied with Wendy Williams, which was up 45% to a 1.6. Both were up 23% from their premiere weeks last year, the biggest annual improvement among talk shows.

• Jerry Springer, up 17% to a 1.4.

• Rachael Ray, up 8% to a 1.3.

• Queen Latifah, up 22% to a 1.1. Queen also scored its strongest overnight ratings since the May sweep on Friday, Sept 26, with special guest Denzel Washington on for the entire hour. The show finished first or second in five of the top 20 markets and clocked year-to-year increases of 20% in New York, 50% in San Francisco and 157% in Cleveland.

Among veteran talkers that have already premiered, the only one to improve was The Doctors, which gained 11% in its second week to a 1.0.

Elsewhere, the top three access game shows kicked off their new seasons. Wheel of Fortune continued to lead with a 6.3, although that was down 2% from last year. Jeopardy clocked a 6.1, gaining 5% from last year. And Family Feud opened with a 5.1, up 11% from the same week one year ago.

Among the entertainment magazines, Dish Nation was posted a gain from one year ago, climbing 10%.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, in its second week with new host Terry Crews, posted a 1.9, down 14% from last year.

Judge Judy extended its streak as the highest rated syndicated show of any type to 26 consecutive weeks with a 7.1, holding steady with last year.

Divorce Court returned tied for the No. 2 courtroom, but posting the highest year-to-year gain by far in the genre, up 21%.

Also having a strong week was the new Internet video show, Right This Minute. Its 1.5 (up 7% from the previous week) put it ahead of Dr. Oz, Meredith Vieira, Rachael Ray, Queen Latifah, The Real, The Doctors and tied it with Extra.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.6, -6% from the week before)
• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.4, +8%)
• Maury (1.3, up 8%), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (1.3, -19%)
• Steve Wilkos (1.1, +22%), tied with Wendy Williams (1.1, +57%)
• Steve Harvey (0.9, unchanged), tied with Jerry Springer (0.9, +13%)

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) 3.1 -3%

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

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.5 -11%

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 +11%

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.8 -5%

6. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.6 +14%

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.6 +45%

8. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.4 -13%

8. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.4 +17%

10. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.3 +8%

11. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 +22%

12. The Doctors (CTD) 1.0 +11%

13. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.1 NC

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 -11%

2. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.7 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 -7%

5. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.0 NC

DAYTIME ROOKIES

1. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

2. Hot Bench  (CTD) 1.3 NA

3. The Real (WBDTD) 1.0 NA

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.8 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 2.0 +5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 -11%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 -6%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.1 NC

6. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.1 NC

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.5 +7%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.3 +9%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.1 +7%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 5.1 +2%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.9 -5%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.8 +2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.7 NC

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.1 +3%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.4 NC

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.3 +5%

6. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.9 NC

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.8 NC

7. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.8 +13%

9. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 3.4 NC

2. House (NBCU) 2.9 -3%

3. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 2.8 -15%

4. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.4 +14%

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.0 +25%

6. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.6 +14%