A summer of repeats and preemptions due to the U.S. Open golf tournament and news of Tim Russert’s death saw little change in the top ranks of syndication. Traditional leaders “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” as well as hot-shot rookie “Two and a Half Men” maintained their grip atop the ratings charts as the top three shows in syndication with scores of 6.5, 5.5 and 4.6, respectively.
“Jeopardy!” was the only show in syndication to grow year-to-year, posting a 6% gain.
Meanwhile, a true race opened up among the talk shows, as “Dr. Phil” narrowed the gap with “Oprah” to just two-tenths of a point.
Of course, holding true to summer tradition in recent years, all of the talk shows were down year-to-year, with “Oprah” dropping the most among the leaders, down 18% from the same week in 2007 and down 11% from the previous week to a 4.0.
Running a close second was “Dr. Phil,” down 10% from a year ago but holding steady week-to-week with a 3.8. In season-to-date ratings, “Dr. Phil” has cut “Oprah’s” lead by half a point, scoring a 4.5 to “Oprah’s” 5.4 average.
Third-place “Live With Regis and Kelly” also was even for the week, but it was down 13% compared with the same week in 2007 at a 2.6. “Ellen” was up 13% for the week to a 1.8. She was followed by “Maury’s” 1.8 score (holding even week-to-week) and “Rachael Ray,” which grew 6% to a 1.7 for the week.