Talk Shows Take Off At Sweeps’ Midpoint

Talk shows were on fire at the halfway point of the November sweep, with Dr. Phil, Ellen DeGeneres, Maury and Queen Latifah all hitting new season highs in the week ending Nov. 16.

Among the rookies in first run, leader Hot Bench set a new record high, improving 31% from its debut.

Phil finished first in talk for the 11^th consecutive session, scoring a season best 3.5, up 3% from the prior frame and up 9% from last year at this time. Phil was also tops in the category among women 25-54 with a 1.7 demo rating.

In second place, Live with Kelly & Michael stayed at its season high 3.1 in households and grew 7% from last year.

Ellen posted a new season high 2.9, up 4% for the week and unchanged from last year.

And Maury clocked its highest Nielsens of the season, racing to a 2.1, up 5% week to week.

Other talkers with big weeks included Steve Harvey, up 12%; Dr. Oz, up 7%; Rachael Ray, up 8%; and Queen Latifah, which scored its highest rating of the season, leaping 9% to a 1.2.

In court, Judge Judy and Paternity Court both hit new highs, with Judy at a 7.4 and Paternity at a 1.4.

It was a record-setting week for Family Feud, with the game show hitting a new all-time high in household ratings with a 6.4 — a gain of 8% and 640,000 total homes over the prior week— and a 23% increase over the same week last season.

Freshman champ Hot Bench surged 13% to a 1.7, its highest rating yet. Bench, also finished first in the women 25-54 demo, tied with The Real.

Already renewed Meredith Vieira was a strong second in households at a 1.2, tied with Celebrity Name Game, which remained at a 1.2 for the sixth straight week.

The Real was unchanged at a 1.0 household rating for the seventh straight week, while Judge Faith recovered 17% from the previous week to a 0.7.

In terms of total audience, Hot Bench attracted a record 2.412 million viewers on average. Celebrity Name Game seen by 1.779 million; Meredith drew 1.560 million; The Real reached 1.378 million; while Judge Faith finished with 899,000.

Among magazines, Extra Weekend had the largest increase, surging 14% from the week before.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.7, -6% from the week before)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1.6, -6%)
• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.5, +7%), tied with Maury (1.5, +7%)
• Steve Wilkos (1.1, unchanged), tied with Wendy Williams (1.1, unchanged)
• Steve Harvey (0.9, +13%)
• Dr. Oz (0.8, unchanged), tied with Rachael Ray (0.8, unchanged) and The Real (0.8, +14%)

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) 3.5* +3%

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 3.1 NC

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.9* +4%

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.1* +5%

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.9 +12%

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.6 NC

6. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.6 NC

6. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.6 +7%

9. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 +8%

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 NC

11. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.2* +9%

12. The Doctors (CTD) 1.0 NC

13. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

ROOKIES

1. Hot Bench (CTD) 1.7* +13%

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

2. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 1.2 NC

4. The Real (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

5. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 +17%

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.7 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.4* +4%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.8 +6%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 +8%

4. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.4* +17%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.5 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.1 -3%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 2.0 +5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.2 -8%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 -9%

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 7.4* +3%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 7.0* +4%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 6.4* +8%

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

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.1 -3%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.0 -7%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.1 +7%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.5 -4%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.5 NC

6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 2.3* +5%

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.8 NC

8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

9. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.5 +15%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.4 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 4.7 +4%

2. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.4 NC

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.6 +13%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.2 +10%

5. The Good Wife (CTD) 1.9* +27%

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