Some Syndies Thrive Despite Lower PUTs

PUT levels made a U-turn in the week ending Nov. 21, declining by more than 5 million viewers from the prior session, yet four talkers — Maury, The Doctors, Steve Wilkos and Wendy Williams — jumped to new season highs.

Talk Shows

Top gabfest Oprah (CTD) dropped 5% to a 5.8; in second place, Dr. Phil (CTD) eased 3% to a 2.9; Live with Regis and Kelly (Disney-ABC) fell 8% to a 2.4; Dr. Oz (Sony) slid 4% to a 2.4; and Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) rounded out the top five with an unchanged 2.3.

Maury (NBCU) added 5% to new season high 2.1 and The Doctors (CTD) scored a new record high for second week in a row with a 6% leap to a1.9, its best rating in 38 weeks.

Ninth-place Steve Wilkos Show (NBCU) advanced 7% to a personal best 1.5 and 11^th-place Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) added 9% to a new season high 1.2.

First-Run Freshmen

Among the closely watched newcomers, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace (CTD) remained at its series high 1.4 for a second week and led the first-run rookie field by a margin of 544,000 viewers on average per program. Second-place Nate Berkus (Sony) was flat at a 1.0 rating, while Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Twentieth), Judge Karen’s Court (Litton) and America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) were unchanged at 0.9, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively.

In the metered markets, Access Hollywood Live (NBCU) spiked 25% in households from last year’s time period average to a 1.0 rating/4 share for the third full week of the sweep and surged 100% among women 18-34.

Off-Net Freshmen

Among the new off-net and off-cable strips, How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) gained 4% to a new season high 2.4. Also moving up were The New Adventures of Old Christine (WBDTD), which advanced 8% to a 1.3; True Hollywood Stories, which jumped 14% to a 0.8; Curb Your Enthusiasm (WBDTD), which surged 17% to a 0.7; and Real Housewives (NBCU), which was up 20% to a new series high 0.6 in households and grew 25% in every key female demo.

Magazine Shows

Extra (WBDTD) was the only news magazine strip up from last year, growing 6% for both the week and the year to a new season high 1.8, while companion Extra Weekend was up 30% over last year to a 1.3. News mag leader Entertainment Tonight (CTD) dipped 2% from the week before to a 4.2; Inside Edition (CTD) recovered 11% to a new season high 3.1; Access Hollywood (NBCU) scored a new season high with a 5% improvement to a 2.0 in households and an 11% spike in the women 18-49 demo; TMZ (WBDTD) was up 6% to a 1.9; while The Insider (CTD) slipped 10% to a 1.8.

Court Shows

Judge Judy (CTD) easily topped the court shows by a 119% margin with a steady 4.6. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) perked up 5% to a 2.1; People’s Court (WBDTD) moved up 6% to a 1.9; Judge Mathis (WBDTD) gained 7% to a 1.6; Divorce Court (Twentieth) tacked on 8% to tie the unchanged Judge Alex (Twentieth) at a 1.3; and Judge Jeanine Piero (WBDTD) was flat at a 1.0.

Game Shows

Game shows were led by Wheel of Fortune (CTD), although it slipped 1% to a 7.4. Jeopardy (CTD) gained 2% to a new season high 6.0; Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) increased 5% to a 2.3; while Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) grew 6% to a new season high 1.7. Trailing the category, Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? (Twentieth) was up 11% to a 1.0.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) topped the off-net sitcoms, inching up 2% to a new season high 6.1. Family Guy (Twentieth) dropped 9% to a 3.1; Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) was stable at a 2.8; Seinfeld (Sony) upticked 4% to a new season high 2.7; while My Wife and Kids (Disney-ABC) lost 4% to land in a tie with Seinfeld.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

Criminal Minds (CTD) paced the off-net weekly hours with a 2.8, but lost 3% from the week before. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) held firm at a 2.4, tying Monk (NBCU), which added 4% to a 2.4; The Closer (WBDTD) surged 21% to a new season high 2.3; and there was a three-way tie for fifth at a 2.2 with Numbers (CTD) up 5%, Bones (Twentieth) up 10% and Without a Trace (WBDTD), which was down 12%.