What A Difference A Year Makes

The majority of talk shows held even with the week before in the July 4 holiday session ending July 9, but there were some huge changes compared to last year at this time.

On the positive side, talk leader Dr. Phil saw its ratings skyrocket 23% from the same week one year ago to a first-place 2.7 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, topping the talkers for the 44^th consecutive frame despite being in repeats all week.

The only other show in the category with a double-digit gain was sophomore true-crime series Crime Watch Daily, which though also in reruns, shot up 13% to a 0.9, increasing its audience by nearly 200,000 viewers per day.

On the down side, Ellen DeGeneres declined 6% for the week and 12% for the year to a new season-low 1.5 with encore episodes, and fell into a third-place tie with Maury, which was unchanged at a 1.5.

Both Ellen and Maury finished well behind second-place Live with Kelly and Ryan, which was rock-solid at a 2.0 for the third straight week.

In access, among game shows Wheel of Fortune skidded 4% to a new season-low 5.1, but wound up tying sister show Jeopardy, which sank 7% to a 5.1. Of course, neither could match game champ Family Feud, which slipped 3% to a 6.0.

At the top of the chart, Judge Judy was the No. 1 show in syndication, maintaining its stranglehold on first place for the fifth week in a row and the 14^th time in 15 weeks despite dipping 2% with reruns to a 6.3.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.1, unchanged from the week before)
• Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.9, unchanged), tied with Maury (0.9, unchanged)
• Ellen DeGeneres (0.7, unchanged), tied with Steve Wilkos (0.7, unchanged) and Wendy Williams (0.7, -22%)

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) 2.7 NC

2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.0 NC

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.5** -6%

3. Maury (NBCU) 1.5 NC

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

5. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.2 NC

5. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

8. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.1 -21%

8. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.1 NC

10. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.0 NC

11. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.8 NC

13. The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Harry (NBCU) 0.8 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.3 -2%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.2 NC

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.1 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.0 +11%

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 -13%

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.0 -3%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.1** -4%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.1 -7%

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

5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.1 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.3 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.4** -8%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.3** -4%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.2 -8%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.0** -17%

4. Extra (WBDTD) 1.0 -9%

6. The Insider (CTD) 0.8** -11%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.6 NC

8. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.3 -10%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.5 NC

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.2 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 1.8 NC

5. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.5 -6%

7. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%

7. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.3 +8%

9. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.2 NC

10. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.1** -8%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.3 +2%

2. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.9 -10%

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.8 +6%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.2 _14%

4. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.2** -14%

4. Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.2 +20%