Sheen Pumps Tiger Blood Into Mag Ratings

Coverage of the Charlie Sheen nuclear attack on Two and a Half Men showrunner Chuck Lorre boosted ratings for the syndicated magazines — almost all of which were up — in the week ending Feb. 27.

Magazine Shows

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) was the category leader, climbing 3% from the week before to a 4.0. Inside Edition (CTD) added 14% to a 3.3; Access Hollywood (NBCU) improved 5% to a 2.0 in households and surged 17% among women 18-34; TMZ (WBDTD) also gained 5% to a 2.0; The Insider (CTD) held firm at a February sweeps high 1.8; and Extra (WBDTD) jumped 6% to a 1.7 in households and rose 14% in the women 18-49 demo.

Game Shows

Elsewhere in access, Wheel of Fortune (CTD) ruled the game shows in the session that included the third full week of the sweep. Wheel rolled up a 4% increase from the prior week to a 7.8. On the other hand, second-place Jeopardy (CTD) was the only strip in first-run syndication to decline, sinking 11% to a 6.4. Of course, the show’s ratings were inflated in the previous week by Watson, the game-playing supercomputer.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) advanced 5% to a 2.3; Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) climbed 13% to a 1.8; and Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? (Twentieth) added 11% to a 1.-0.

Talk Shows

In daytime, the soon-to-conclude Oprah (CTD) rose 2% to a 5.7. Dr. Phil (CTD) was unchanged at a 3.1, although up 19% from last year. Live with Regis and Kelly (Disney-ABC) was flat at a 2.6; Dr. Oz (Sony) picked up 4% to a 2.4; Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) was up 9% to a 2.4; Maury (NBCU) tacked on 5% to a 2.1; The Doctors (CTD) saw a healthy 6% rise to a 1.9; and Rachael Ray (CTD) cooked up a 6% increase to a 1.7 in households, while its women 18-49 demo jumped 14%.

Court Shows

Judge Judy (CTD) blew by the court shows, growing 2% to a 4.6 in households and 10% to a 2.2 among women 25-54. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) spiked 11% to a 2.1 after seeing a 26% increase to a 2.4 for a Feb. 21 case about an ex-boyfrind who sues his former lover and her mother for trashing his belongings after he ended the relationship.

People’s Court (WBDTD) and Judge Mathis (WBDTD) were flat at 1.9 and 1.6, respectively, while Judge Alex (Twentieth) recovered all of its previous week’s losses with a 27% rebound to a 1.4.

First-Run Freshmen

Swift Justice with Nancy Grace (CTD) was the only first-run newcomer to improve from the week before, jumping 8% to a 1.4. Nate Berkus (Sony), Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Twentieth), Judge Karen’s Court (Litton) and America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) were all unchanged at 1.0, 0.7, 0.6 and 0.3, respectively.

Meanwhile, slow rollout Access Hollywood Live (NBCU) clocked a 1.1 rating/4 share in its 13 metered markets for the week ending March 2. That was up 10% in households over its year-ago time periods and 75% over last year among women 18-49.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Among off-net sitcoms, leader Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) retreated 2% to a 5.9; Family Guy (Twentieth) upticked 2% to a 4.1; Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) fell 4% to a 2.7; My Wife and Kids (Disney-ABC) dropped 7% to a 2.5; and Seinfeld (Sony) lost 4% to a 2.5.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

Among weekly hours, Criminal Minds (CTD) regained the lead with a 19% leap to a 3.2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) dropped 10% to a second-place 2.6 and three shows tied for third place at a 2.2: Without a Trace (WBDTD) forged ahead 16%, while Monk (NBCU) and Numbers (CTD) were both flat.