Syndies Show Some Ratings Resiliance

Daytime syndication rebounded in the week ending July 27, after seeing preemptions in the prior session for news coverage of the missile strike on a Malaysian passenger jet.

For example, six of the top nine talkers were up from the previous frame, led by Live with Kelly & Michael. It was tops in talk for sixth time in the past seven weeks, and scored its best ratings since early June.

Dr. Phil, which was in reruns all week, slipped to second; Maury unleashed a double-digit advance and tied third-place Ellen DeGeneres, which saw an uptick.

Dr. Oz also saw a ratings spike, surging 11% in the key women 25-54 demo with mostly previously aired episodes and rounded out the top five.

Others on the upswing were: Katie, in its penultimate week of original production, and Rachael Ray, which rallied despite being in repeats for most of the week.

In access, Entertainment Tonight had the biggest increase among the top-tier magazine strips, while Right This Minute moved up, and weeklies Extra Weekend and The Insider Weekend each grew by 14%.

Judge Judy, which gained 6% from the week before and 15% from last year with five reruns, was easily the highest-rated show in syndication overall for the 18^th straight week.

In the metered markets, a 10-city, 13-week test on select Fox stations of the weekend comedy show Laughs premiered modestly with a 0.4 rating/1 share average, falling 50% from its lead-in and dropping 33% from its year-ago time period average. Among adults 25-54, Laughs posted a 0.2/1 average, sinking 60% from its lead-in and declining 50% from its year-ago time periods.

The trial run of Hollywood Today Live after three full weeks averageda  0.4/1 on nine Fox stations, down 50% from its average lead-in and down 42% from its year-ago time periods.

The three-week average for The Daily Helpline test was a 0.1/0, down 66% from its lead-in and down 80% from its year-ago time period average.

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

• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.5, up 7% from the week before)
• Dr. Phil (1.3, unchanged)
• Maury (1.2, +9%)
• Wendy Williams (1.0, -9%), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (1.0, unchanged) and Dr. Oz (1.0, +11%)
• Steve Wilkos (0.8, unchanged)
• Rachael Ray (0.7, unchanged), tied with Steve Harvey (0.7, +17%) and Jerry Springer (0.7, +17%)

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

2. Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.5 -7%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

3. Maury (NBCU) 1.9 +12%

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

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 -7%

6. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.4 NC

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.4 +8%

9. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.3 +8%

10. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 1.0 NC

13. Queen Latifah (Sony) 0.9 NC

14. The Test (CTD) 0.5 -17%

14. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.5 NC

14. Arsenio (CTD) 0.5 NC

17. Trisha (NBCU) 0.4 -20%

18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 +100%

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Queen Latifah (Sony) 0.9 NC

2. The Test (CTD) 0.5 -17%

2. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.5 NC

2. Arsenio (CTD) 0.5 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.9 +6%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.8 +6%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.4 NC

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

5. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.3 +8%

6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.0 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.1 +7%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.7 +4%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.4 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.2 -8%

5. The Insider (CTD) 1.2 NC

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 -9%

8. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.1 +10%

9. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

9. America Now (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.9 +2%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.6 NC

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.5 +2%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.0 +5%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.4 NC

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.6 +9%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.2 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.9 +7%

5. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.0 +5%

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.0 +11%

7. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.9 -5%

8. Friends (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

9. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

9. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.6 +7%

11. Rules of Engagement (Sony) 1.3 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 3.4 +13%

2. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.2 +23%

3. House (NBCU) 2.2 -21%

3. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.2 +5%

5. Criminal Minds (CTD) 1.9 -10%

6. CSI: Miami (CTD) 1.7 -15%