Viewers Take A Holiday From Syndies

Ratings for syndicated shows were slammed by numerous preemptions for French Open tennis coverage in the session ending May 31. And making matters even worse, the week included Memorial Day, when many viewers spent the holiday outdoors and away from their sets.

Not surprisingly, lots of shows went into repeats in what was the first frame following the May sweep survey period.

In access, Wheel of Fortune dropped 5% to a 6.1 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating and was tied for first place in the game show race by Jeopardy, which fell 3% to a 6.1 in households. 

Only one-tenth of a point behind the top two was Family Feud with an unchanged 6.0. Year to year, Feud was up 28%, Wheel was flat and Jeopardy was down 5%.

Celebrity Name Game was flat from the week before with a 1.4 household rating, but posted a 0.9 among women 25-54.

Among magazines, usual leader Entertainment Tonight was tied by its sister show Inside Edition for the third straight week, as each strip dipped 6% to a 2.9.

In daytime, only two talk shows were up — Rachael Ray, which rallied 8% both week to week and year to year to a 1.3, with encore telecasts all week), and Dr. Oz, which recovered 8% from its all-time low to a 1.3, but was still down 24% from last year with a week of mostly repeats.

Wendy Williams posted a week-to-week decline of 19% to a 1.3, matching its season low, with a full week of reruns. (Wendy distributor Debmar-Mercury announced just yesterday that Wendy will continue to produce original episodes during the summer).

Dr. Phil made it 20 weeks in a row (including two ties) as tne No. 1 talk show, despite going into reruns on four of the five days and slipping 13% to a 2.8. Nonetheless, Phil maintained the same rating it did last year at this time.

Live with Kelly & Michael backtracked 7%, but was a strong second at a 2.7. However, among women 25-54, Kelly & Michael finished first with a steady 1.5.

Ellen DeGeneres sank 15% in households to a third-place 2.2.

The top strip on the syndicated ratings chart for fifth consecutive was supreme court show Judge Judy, scoring a 6.5, which represents a 2% decline with a mixture of repeats and originals. Judy’s creation Hot Bench was the second-highest rated gaveler, holding steady at a 2.0 with an all-rerun week.

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

• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.5, unchanged from the week before)
• Dr. Phil (1.3, -19%), tied with Maury (1.3, -7%)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1.2, -14%)
• Wendy Williams (0.9, -18%)

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 -13

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.7 -7%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.2 -15%

4. Maury (NBCU) 1.9 NC

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5** -12%

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.3 -19%

6. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 NC

6. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.3 +8%

6. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.3 +8%

6. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 NC

11. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 1.0 NC

11. The Real (WBDTD) 1.0 -9%

13. The Doctors (CTD) 0.9 -10%

14. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.1 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.3** -7%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.5 -2%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.0 NC

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

4. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.4  -7%

5. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.2 NC

7. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.9 =+13%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.9 -6%

1. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 -6%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.5 -12%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.2 -8%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

8. Intelligence for Your Life (IFYL) 0.2 NC

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.1 -5%

1. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.1 -3%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 6.0 NC

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC

5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.4 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.3 NC

2. Modern Family (Twentieth)  3.5 +9%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.7 -4%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.5 NC

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.3 +10%

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

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.0 +5%

8. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

9. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.6 +7%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.5 +7%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 6.7 -1%

2. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.6 +10%

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.2 NC

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.9 NC

5. Good Wife (CTD) 1.5 -6%

6. The Mentalist (WBDTD) 1.4 -7%