The vast majority of new syndicated shows took their bows Monday on stations across the country. One first-run series showed time period growth, while the off-net bows of “Two and a Half Men” and “Family Guy” ran a tight race.
Among new first-run series, there were two winners depending on your point of view, with Warner’s newsmagazine “TMZ” scoring the highest debut among the rookies while NBC Universal’s “Steve Wilkos” was the only new show to show time period growth nationally, according to Nielsen Media Research in weighted overnight metered market ratings.
Of the five series to debut on Monday, “Steve Wilkos” earned a 1.1 rating and 4 share in 48 metered markets, up 22 percent from its 0.9/3 lead in and holding even with the 1.1/4 time period average from September 2006. These numbers come without the inclusion of the strip’s hometown, Chicago, where it was preempted for coverage of a makeup game for baseball’s Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.
“Wilkos” performed best in Charlotte, N.C., where it won the 2 p.m. time period outright on WCCB-TV with a 3.3/11, up 120 percent from its lead-in, and up 27 percent over year-ago time-period averages. In the country’s largest market, New York, airing on WPIX-TV, the series came in second at noon with a 2.1/9.
Scoring the highest rating among the new shows was newsmagazine “TMZ.” In 55 metered markets, the strip earned a 2.0/4, down 17 percent from its lead in and off 9 percent from September 2006 time-period averages. The celebrity-driven show performed best in St. Louis, where it scored a 5.2/10 at 10:30 p.m. on KTVI-TV. In New York, the series placed fifth among the broadcast stations, with a 1.9/4 at 6:30 on WNYW-TV.
Sony Pictures Television’s new “Judge David Young” earned a 0.9/3 in 51 metered markets, holding even with its lead-in, but down 10 percent from the timeslot’s year-ago 1.0/3 average. The court show scored best in Memphis, where it had a first-place 4.5/11 rating on WLMT-TV at 12:30 a.m.; it drew a fifth-place finish in New York on WWOR-TV with a 0.7/2.
Program Partners’ game show “Merv Griffin’s Crosswords” averaged a 1.0 rating/3 share in 52 metered markets with its debut, down 17 percent from its 1.2/3 lead-in and off 23 percent from the 1.3/4 average for the timeslot a year ago. The strip fared best in Tulsa, Okla., where it earned a 3.6/7 on KJRH-TV at 4 p.m.; it finished seventh in New York on WNBC-TV with a 0.7/2 at 4 p.m.
Twentieth Television’s “Temptation” game show pulled a 0.7/2 on its first day, down 13 percent from its lead-in of 0.8/3 and tumbling 36 percent from the year-ago timeslot average of 1.1/3. The show performed best in Dayton, Ohio, at 1:30 a.m., where it took first place with a 2.9/11. In New York, the series came in sixth in the timeslot with a 0.5/2 on WWOR.
Among off-net strips to debut on Monday, the showdown between “Two and a Half Men” from Warner Bros. and “Family Guy” from Twentieth proved close.
“Two and a Half Men” finished with a 2.0/4 in 55 metered markets, holding even with its lead-in average of 2.0/4 but down 13 percent from the September 2006 average of 2.3/4.
“Family Guy” scored a 1.9/4 in 54 metered markets, also holding even with its lead-in but off 5 percent versus a year-ago average of 2.0/4.
(Editor: Horowitz)