Syndication Hit With Post-Sweep Blahs

The first session following the May sweep is traditionally a challenging one, and the week ending June 1 was a downer for most syndicated shows as French Open tennis coverage created preemptions and average PUT levels plunged by well over 4 million viewers.

In access, viewer interest in Kim Kardashian’s lavish May 24 wedding failed to boost any of the major magazines, most of which were down, while Wheel of Fortune fell behind Jeopardy for the first time in nearly a decade. Family Feud was down from the previous week, but recorded a 9% gain over the same week last season.

In daytime, many talk shows went into repeats and all were down or flat week to week. Dr. Phil topped the talkers for the 40 time in the past 44 weeks despite airing almost all reruns and slipping from the final frame of the sweep. Compared to last year, however, Phil was up 8%. Wendy Williams also put up a year-to-year increase, growing 20%.

Live with Kelly & Michael was a close second and rose 4% from the year-ago week, while third-place Ellen was flat, both week to week and year to year.

The big story among access game shows was Jeopardy inching up 2% to a 6.4, and overtaking Wheel of Fortune for the first time since 2004. Wheel skidded 3% to a second-place 6.1.

At the top of the syndication chart, Judge Judy was No. 1 overall as usual with a 7.0, up 13% from last year at this time.

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

• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.5, +7% from the week before), tied with Ellen (1.5, unchanged)
• Dr. Phil (1.4, -18%)
• Maury (1.3, -7%)
• Dr. Oz (1.0, unchanged)
• Steve Wilkos (0.9, -10%)
• Wendy Williams (0.8, -27%)

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) 2.8 -15%

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.7 -4%

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.5 NC

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 NC

5. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.7 -6%

6. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5 -12%

7. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.4 NC

8. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

9. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.2 -20%

9. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.2 -8%

9. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

12. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 -15%

12. The Doctors (CTD) 1.0 -9%

14. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.6 -14%

14. Arsenio (CTD) 0.6 NC

14. The Test (CTD) 0.6 NC

17. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 -15%

2. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.6 -14%

2. Arsenio (CTD) 0.6 NC

2. The Test (CTD) 0.6 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.0 -3%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.9 NC

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 +15%

4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.4 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 -7%

6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.0 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.1 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.7 -7%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 -5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.5 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%

5. The Insider (CTD) 1.3 NC

7. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.1 NC

8. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

9. America Now (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

9. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.4 +2%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.1 -3%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.7 -2%

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

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.7 -5%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.0 -5%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.2 -9%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.9 +7%

5. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.8 NC

5. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.8 NC

7. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.7 NC

8. Friends (WBDTD) 1.6 -6%

8. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.6 -6%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.5 -6%

11. Rules of Engagement (Sony) 1.4 +8%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.8 +6%

2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 3.3 -8%

3. House (NBCU) 3.1 -3%

4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.4 +26%

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.1 NC

5. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.1 +17%