Sweeps Get Started And Talk Shows Gain

Ratings for syndication newcomers Hot Bench and Meredith Vieira saw significant increases, and veteran talk rallied, in the week ending Nov. 2 as the important sweeps period (Oct. 30-Nov. 26) got underway.

Hot Bench clocked its highest ratings ever, jumping 7% to a 1.6, and dominated the new, first-run strips in households for the seventh straight week.

Meredith, which has already been green-lit for year two, surged 9% to a 1.2. Household ratings for the other new shows were unchanged: Celebrity Name Game remained at a 1.2, tying Meredith. In fourth place, The Real was flat at a 1.0 for the fifth consecutive week, and Judge Faith stayed at a 0.7.

In terms of total audience Bench was easily best, drawing a record high 2.185 million viewers on average; Celebrity Name Game had 1.627 million; Meredith lured 1.496 million; The Real reached 1.272 million; while Judge Faith attracted 962,000.

Hot Bench also outperformed all rookies among women 25-54, hitting a new season high 0.9 demo rating, up 13% from the prior week.

Name Game rose 17% to a 0.7 in the demo, tying The Real, which was flat at a 0.7. Meredith held steady at a 0.6; and Faith was unchanged at a 0.4.

Veteran Dr. Phil led all talkers for the ninth week in a row, matching its season-high 3.2 with gains of 3% week to week and year to year.

In the key women 25-54 demo, Phil jumped 6% to a 1.7, tying Ellen for first place. Ellen was up 13% in the demo to a 1.7.

Live with Kelly & Michael leaped 7% to a new-season-high 3.1 after scoring a 3.6 national rating on Oct. 31 with its highest rated Halloween special in eight years.

Ellen was up 8% to a third-place 2.8, but declined 3% from last year at this time. Maury grew 5% for both the week and year to a 2.0; and Steve Harvey rounded out the top five with weekly and annual growth of 6% to a 1.9 in households and an 11% increase in the key demo.

Also making significant gains were Queen Latifah, which advanced 10% to a 1.1 in households and 20% among women 25-54, and The Doctors, which rose 10% to a new-season-high 1.1 in households.

The biggest gainers among the access magazines were leader Entertainment Tonight, up 6% to a 3.4, and its sister show The Insider, which was up 8% to a new-season-high 1.3.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.7, +6% from the week before), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (1.7, +13%)
• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.5, +7%)
• Maury (1.3, unchanged)
• Wendy Williams (1.1, unchanged)
• Steve Wilkos (1.0, +11%), tied with Steve Harvey (1.0, +11%)
• Jerry Springer (0.9 +29%)

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) 3.2 +3%

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 3.1* +7%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.8 +8%

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 +5%

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.9 +6%

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.6 NC

7. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.5 NC

8. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.4 NC

9. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.3 NC

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

11. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 +10%

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.1* +10%

13. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

ROOKIES

1. Hot Bench (CTD) 1.6* +7%

2. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury) 1.2 NC

2. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 1.2 +9%

4. The Real (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

5. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.6 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.9 NC

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 +6%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 +8%

5. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.3* +18%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.4 +6%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 +4%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.6 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.3* +8%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.9* +6%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.5* +3%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 6.2* +5%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.8 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.4 +2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.6 +3%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.0 +3%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.4 NC

5. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.3 +5%

6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 2.1 +5%

7. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.9 -5%

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.9* +6%

9. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.6** -6%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.3** -7%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.4* +16%

2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 3.6 -16%

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.6 +13%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.7 -6%

5. The Good Wife (CTD) 1.6 NC

5. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.6 +7%