Talk Shows Get Pre-Christmas Gift

Talk shows got an early visit from Santa in the week ending Dec. 19 as seven of the strips were up from the prior week, with four of them hitting new season highs despite many of them being in repeats for all or part of the week.

Talk Shows

The only one of the 11 talkers to decline was Oprah (CTD), which sank 7% to a new season low 4.2. Rachael Ray (CTD) and Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) scored the biggest increases, with Ray jumping 13% to a 1.7, its highest ratings in 40 weeks, after seeing a 20% spike to a 1.8 for an appearance by the Second Lady of the U.S. Jill Biden on Dec. 15.

Ellen also grew 13% to a personal best 2.7. Other gabfests hitting new season highs were Live with Regis and Kelly (Disney-ABC), which advanced 7% to a 2.9; and Jerry Springer (NBCU), which climbed 7% to a 1.5.

Oprah, in its final season, still topped the yakkers, but lost the top spot in the daytime standings by more than 600,000 viewers to Judge Judy (CTD). Dr. Phil (CTD) improved 4% from the week before to a 2.8; Dr. Oz (Sony) also upticked 4% to a 2.4; Maury (NBCU) added 5% to a 2.1; while The Doctors (CTD), Steve Wilkos Show (NBCU) and Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) all held firm at 1.8, 1.3 and 1.1, respectively.

First-Run Freshmen

Among the closely watched newcomers to syndication, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace (CTD) led the rookies for the 14^th week in a row, gaining 8% in households from the previous frame to a 1.3 and clocking demo gains of 25% among women 18-34, 17% among women18-49 and 33% among women 25-54.

Taking over second place was Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Twentieth), which gained 11% to a new season high 1.0. Nate dropped to third with a flat 0.9, followed by Judge Karen’s Court (Litton) and America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios), which were both unchanged at 0.6 and 0.4, respectively.

Court Shows

Judge Judy, with approximately 6.4 million viewers, not only took the daytime ratings crown from Oprah, which had about 5.8 million viewers, but also ruled the court shows by a wide margin despite a 2% dip from the week before to a 4.4 with a mix of repeats and originals.

Judge Joe Brown (CTD) and People’s Court (WBDTD) held steady at 2.0 and 1.8, respectively, while Mathis dropped 6% to a1.5.

Magazine Shows

Among magazines, Entertainment Tonight (CTD) was No. 1 for the 752^nd straight week and one of only two mags up from the week before. ET climbed 3% to a 4.0 after getting a 10% ratings boost to a 4.3 from its coverage of the Golden Globe nominations on Dec. 14.

Inside Edition (CTD) tacked on 7% to a 3.1; Access Hollywood (NBCU) took third with a steady 2.0; TMZ (WBDTD) flat at a 1.9; The Insider (CTD) slipped 6% to a 1.7 and landed in a tie with Extra (WBDTD), which held steady at a 1.7 in households but rose by double digits in every key female demo.

Game Shows

Game shows were all down or flat. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) slid 1% from the previous session to a 7.2; Jeopardy (CTD) and Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) were unchanged at 6.1 and 2.3, respectively; Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) fell 6% to a 1.7; and Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? (Twentieth) trailed with a flat 1.0.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Among off-net sitcoms, Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) led with an unchanged 6.0; Family Guy (Twentieth) grew 2% to a new season high 4.2; My Wife and Kids (Disney-ABC) was even with the week before at a 2.9; Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) was up 4% to a 2.9; while Seinfeld (Sony) was flat at a 2.7.

Off-Net Freshmen

Among the new off-net and off-cable strips, How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) slipped 4% to a 2.5; Meet the Browns (Debmar-Mercury) and The New Adventures of Old Christine (WBDTD) were both unchanged at 1.4; while Ugly Betty (Disney-ABC) picked up 13% to a 0.9.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) took over the lead among the off-net weekly hours with a 10% hike to a new season high 3.2. Criminal Minds (CTD), which was the recent genre leader, lost 12% to a second-place 3.0; Bones (Twentieth) ballooned 9% to a 2.4, tying Monk (NBCU), which surged 14% to a 2.4. And right behind them, Without a Trace (WBDTD) remained steady at a 2.3.