It’s a syndication edition of T Dog’s Grab Bag. Reach in! Is this a sign Oprah’s relationship with CBS Television Distribution is over? Ms. Winfrey’s production company is developing a new talk show with designing expert Nate Berkus – and Sony Pictures Television, the company that’s syndicating Dr. Oz. with Harpo Productions. Berkus has been on The Oprah Winfrey Show […]
Inauguration ratings; Litton clears Street Court in New York and Chicago; Erica Cobb has a new gig. – The Inauguration of Barack Obama scored in the ratings yesterday, with the most watched swearing-in ceremony since President Reagan in 1981, with a 29.2 rating in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen on an “overnight” basis. In Chicago, here’s how the household […]
Broadcasting & Cable is reporting that two Sony-distributed courtroom strips (Judge David Young and Judge Karen) are expected to be canceled soon. Young will exit after two seasons and Karen after only one. The possible moves come as the tough economy has taken a toll on the first-run syndication business, as ratings and revenue coming in are very low for […]
This is the 1,200th post. Hurray for the blog! Three syndicated freshman strips from Warner – Two and a Half Men, TMZ, and George Lopez scored gains in the just-concluded May sweeps, according to Nielsen. Men ranked as the top off-network sitcom in syndication last month, while Lopez surprised everyone by finishing fifth among all off-net sitcoms, jumping up 41 […]
A big race is shaping up for off-network sitcom supremacy. Yours truly has been following the syndication business since 1984, and I haven’t seen a race like this since The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and Married… With Children were all battling for the crown in the early ’90’s. Three sitcoms – Warner’s Two and a Half Men, Twentieth’s […]
In what may be encouraging signs for Warner Bros. Two and a Half Men and Twentieth Television’s Family Guy, ratings for both off-network programs in syndication are up from the previous week in metered markets, ever so slightly. Both look like they’re keepers. Law & Order: Criminal Intent scored a 1.0/3 as a strip in off-network syndication in its first […]
The first week results for the new programs (and freshman off-network shows) in syndication are in the book: Program RTG/SHR 9/06 TP Lead-in First- Run: TMZ 1.5/3 2.0/4 1.8/6 Morning Show- Mk-Jul 1.1/4 1.5/6 1.9/7 Steve Wilkos 1.1/4 1.2/3 1.0/3 David Young 0.9/3 0.9/3 0.9/3 Crosswords 0.8/2 1.3/4 1.0/3 Temptation 0.5/2 1.1/3 0.6/2 Off-Network Two and a Half Men 2.0/4 […]
For the three day-averages of the new first-run and off-network series in syndication, click here. TMZ continues to lead the rookies in day three, but continues to be down from lead-in and year-ago time period. Another new off-network show to tell you about, Reno 911!, averaged a 0.6/2, down 25 percent from year-ago time slots and lead-in (time periods are […]
For results on the new first-run and off-network strips, click here. To sum it all up, it may be curtains for Merv Griffin’s Crosswords and Temptation sooner than we think, while I have one word about the ratings for the three new off-network sitcoms that debuted this week: disappointing.
To no one’s surprise, the five first-run strips that debuted yesterday got off to a mixed start, with only one (Steve Wilkos) up from its lead-in and all down from year-ago time period averages. Here’s a metered-market ratings rundown of the five new syndicated first-run strips from Monday: Program Rtg/Shr Lead-in 9/06 TP Best performer TMZ 2.0/4 1.9/4 1.9/4 St. […]
Five new shows debut today, including the highly anticipated game show Merv Griffin’s Crosswords and magazine TMZ . Other new shows include Temptation, Judge David Young, and The Steve Wilkos Show (which debuts in Chicago on WGN tomorrow at 2 p.m. A Cardinals-Cubs game is airing in that time slot today.) Don’t forget, the debut of two new off-network sitcoms […]
Have WGN’s and WFLD’s weekday fall lineup, courtesy of Zap2it. Among the changes starting Sept. 10 (unless otherwise noted): WGN: -As noted before, Family Guy will air at 6:30 and 10, and Two and a Half Men will air at 6 and 10:30. – Teacher vs. student – The Steve Wilkos Show will air at 2 p.m. -up against Jerry […]
The syndication business hopes that three new shows can break the losing streak the platform has had for the last few years. The most controversial of the three is Warner’s TMZ, the anti-celebrity website that has grown in popularity in the last few months. The trash-celeb show, reminiscent of Hard Copy, premieres Sept. 10 locally on Fox-owned WPWR-TV and WFLD-TV. […]