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Syndication Gains as NCAA Tourney Ends

Apr 7, 2009  •  Post A Comment

Syndication ratings mostly rebounded after last week’s heavy preemptions across daytime due to the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, with only two shows posting declines in first-run programming for the week ending March 29.
The declines came from the entertainment newsmagazine genre, as CBS Television Distribution’s “Entertainment Tonight” dipped 2% to a 4.3 household rating while “The Insider” dropped 16% to a 1.6.
“Insider” suffered from numerous preemptions as the Final Four continues to wind down. The rest of the newsmag field was flat except for Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution’s “TMZ,” which crept up by 5% to a 2.3.
CBS’ “Dr. Phil” made the largest gain in syndication, with a 16% increase week-to-week to a 3.6 household rating. The entire talk show genre made significant strides, with seven shows posting gains, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (up 8% to a 5.3), Disney-ABC Domestic Television’s “Live With Regis and Kelly” (up 8% to a 2.8) and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution’s “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (up 5% to a 2.3).
Both Warner Bros.’ “The Tyra Banks Show” and NBC Universal Television Distribution’s “The Steve Wilkos Show” increased by 9% to a 1.2 rating, tying their season highs.
For the first-year pack, CBS’ “The Doctors” is at the front of the group for the 10th week straight, increasing 6% to a 1.9. NBC Universal’s “Deal or No Deal” increased 6% to a 1.8 household rating, while Warner Bros.’ “The Bonnie Hunt Show” lifted up by 11% to a 1.0. The rest of the field held steady.
In court, CBS’ “Judge Judy” gained by 7% to a 4.4, followed by “Judge Joe Brown” with a 5% increase to a 2.3. The rest of the genre was unchanged from last week, except for Warner Bros.’ “Judge Mathis” (up 6% to a 1.7), Twentieth Television’s “Judge Alex” (up 7% to a 1.6) and “Cristina’s Court” (up 10% to a 1.1).
Game shows made slight returns during the week, as CBS’ “Wheel of Fortune” ticked up by 1% to a 7.3, followed by a 4% gain from “Jeopardy” to a 5.7 and Disney-ABC’s “Millionaire” to a 2.4.
Warner Bros.’ “Two and a Half Men” continued its streak in the off-network genre, holding 75 weeks as the No. 1 syndicated comedy, posting a 4.9 household rating. Adding to the milestone, “Men” does not have an additional cable run factored into its ratings, meaning that all of its ratings are coming solely from broadcast airings.

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