[EDITOR’s NOTE:  Our earlier headline, in the part about Dr. Oz,  read "Dr. Oz Barely Gets Off Gound in Debut." This reflected what is in a story at TVNewscheck.com. However, that story compares Dr. Oz’s debut to shows that debuted six and seven years ago.

A more fair comparison is the traditional one, wherein one would compare the Oz show to what stations previously had been airing in that time slot a year ago.

By that measurment, as B&C points out, "Oz" is "up 31% compared to year-ago time periods and up 40% over its lead-ins, according to Sony."

Furthermore, B&C writes, "Dr. Oz performed especially well on Fox stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, improving time periods in those markets by an entire ratings point or more."

–Chuck Ross]

The much-ballyhooed season premiere of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," featuring the first half of a two-hour Whitney Houston interview, helped Oprah post a 55% jump in the ratings from last year, according to TVNewscheck.com.

The long-dominant syndicated talk show posted a 4.8 household rating/13 share in the early Nielsen overnights.

–Allison J. Waldman