Talkers Triumph For Two Weeks In A Row

Talkers fared well in syndication in the week ending Oct. 24, despite headwinds from Major League Baseball League Championship Playoffs and a retransmission consent dispute, which made Fox’s WNYW and WWOR unavailable to Cablevision subscribers in the nation’s top market, New York.

Talk Shows

Among shows on the move, No.2 talker Dr. Phil (CTD) scored its highest rating in 21 weeks, up 13% from the week before (the biggest gain of all talk show), to a new season high 2.6. Phil’s Oct. 18 show on “controlling spouses” was his best of the week, jumping 22% to a 2.8.

Rachael Ray (CTD) spiked 7% to a new season high 1.6, its best rating in 23 weeks. The icing on the cake for Ray was a visit from Whoopi Goldberg, which pushed ratings up 20% to a1.8 on Oct. 18.

Among the other gainers, genre-leader Oprah (CTD) had a 6% advance to a 5.2 and Dr. Oz (Sony) was up 5% to a fourth place 2.3.

Most of the other gabfests held firm, with Live with Regis and Kelly (Disney-ABC) posting a third-place 2.4, while Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) and Maury (NBCU) continued to tie at a 2.0.

Magazine Shows

News magazines strips were, for the most part, steady with the previous week. Leader Entertainment Tonight (CTD) was firm at a 3.9; Inside Edition (CTD) was unchanged at a 2.8; The Insider (CTD) and Access Hollywood (NBCU) remained tied at 1.8 for the fourth consecutive week; and Extra (WBDTD) was stable at a 1.6 in households, although up 20% among women 18-34 (companion Extra Weekend was up 33% from the same week a year ago to a 1.2 and was even with its prior week performance).

The notable exception to the overall solid magazine show results was TMZ (WBDTD), which fell 17% from the prior week to a 1.5, its lowest rating ever, due in part to the Fox-Cablevision dispute. In New York, where TMZ is seen on WNYW, it lost 70% of its pre-dispute weekly average overnight rating.

First-Run Freshman

Swift Justice with Nancy Grace (CTD), which is also seen on WNYW, held firm at a 1.3, despite being unavailable to Cablevision customers, and continued to lead the rookie first-run strips by a margin of more than 500,000 viewers. Like TMZ, Swift Justice also lost 70% of its prior week’s pre-dispute average overnight rating in New York.

Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Twentieth) advanced 13% to a 0.9, to tie Oprah spinoff Nate Berkus (Sony), which slid 10% to a 0.9; Judge Karen’s Court (Litton) skidded 14% to a new season low 0.6; and America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) was flat at a 0.4.

Court Shows

Judge Judy (CTD) continued to preside over the court shows, holding firm week to week at a 4.3. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) and People’s Court (WBDTD) both dipped 5% to a 1.9; Judge Mathis (WBDTD) rose 7% to a 1.6; and Judge Alex (Twentieth) was unchanged at a 1.3.

Game Shows

In the game show arena, Wheel of Fortune (CTD) was down 5% from the prior session to a 6.3; Jeopardy (CTD) dipped 2% to a 5.4; stock in Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) closed the week 10% higher than the previous week with a new season high 2.3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) and Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? (Twentieth) remained flat at 1.5 and 0.9, respectively.

Off-Net Freshman

New off-net and off-cable strips were led by How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) with a 2.2, down 4% from the prior week. The New Adventures of Old Christine (WBDTD) and Meet the Browns (Debmar-Mercury) were unchanged at 1.3 and 1.2, respectively; while True Hollywood Stories gained 14% to tie the flat Ugly Betty (Disney-ABC) at 0.8; Curb Your Enthusiasm (WBDTD) was up 17% to a 0.7, tying Entourage (WBDTD), which was unchanged at 0.7; and Real Housewives (NBCU) held steady at a 0.5.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Among the returning off-net sitcoms, The Office (NBCU), which is seen on TBS, which also carried the baseball championship games, skyrocketed 91% from the prior week to a 4.2 to claim second place. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) continued to lead the category with a 5.2, although it dropped 4% from the week before; Family Guy (Twentieth) was stable at a 3.0; Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) lost 7% to a 2.6, tying My Wife and Kids (Disney-ABC), which added 8% to a 2.6.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

Weekly off-net hours were paced by Criminal Minds (CTD), which upticked 4% from the week before to a 2.9. Without a Trace (WBDTD) grew 5% to a new season high 2.3; and five shows tied for third at a 2.1: Bones (Twentieth) and Monk (NBCU) were stable; Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) and Numbers (CTD) both rose 5%; and The Closer (WBDTD) jumped 11%.