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Post-Sweeps Syndie Strips See Declines, First-Run Show Increases

Jul 6, 2005  •  Post A Comment

For the first full week after May sweeps, which included the Memorial Day holiday, a presidential press conference and the French Open, the majority of top-rated syndicated strips saw declines, while a host of first-run one-hour weekend shows grew week to week.

For the week ended June 5, the No. 1 show in syndication, King World’s “Wheel of Fortune,” declined 6 percent from the previous week to a season-low 7.6 national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. That was still up 1 percent over the same week last season. The second-highest-rated show for the week, King World’s talk strip “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” dropped 15 percent for the week to a 6.6, a 6 percent increase over the same week last year. “King World’s “Jeopardy!” rounded out the top three, scoring a 6.5, a 20 percent decline from the previous week and a 7 percent increase over its performance last year.

Among first-run weekend hours, “Entertainment Tonight Weekend” hit a 3.4, a 13 percent increase over the previous week and a 48 percent increase over the same week last year, a significant yearly jump that could be attributed to last year’s widespread pre-emptions for coverage of the death of President Ronald Reagan. Tribune’s “Andromeda” grew 33 percent for the week to a 1.6, a 7 percent increase over last year. NBC Universal’s “Access Hollywood” also scored a 1.6, a 7 percent increase for the week and a 78 percent increase over last year. The weekend run of Warner Bros.’ “Extra” was up 15 percent for the week to a 1.5, even with its performance last year. MGM’s “Stargate: SG-1” declined 6 percent for the week to a 1.5, a 17 percent drop from last year.

“Oprah” wasn’t the only talker to see declines. Spinoff “Dr. Phil” dropped 16 percent to a 4.9, a 2 percent increase over last year. Buena Vista’s “Live With Regis and Kelly” was flat for the week and the year with a 3.5, while NBC Universal’s “Maury” dropped 3 percent for the week and grew 4 percent for the year to a 2.9. Paramount’s “The Montel Williams Show” was down 4 percent for both the year and the week to a 2.3, while NBC Universal’s “Jerry Springer” was flat for the week and the year with a 2.3.