DeGeneres
A trio of talkers saw strong results during the February sweeps period. "Ellen," "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil" posted solid results during a frame that was less generous toward off-net sitcoms.
Overall, numbers declined 3% from the same period last year, roughly 600,000 households, according to Nielsen.
"Ellen" continued to earn props as rookie of the year, rating a 2.1 for the sweeps period. Increase is 31% from November sweeps result, and more than 75% higher than closest frosh rival, "Sharon Osbourne." "Osbourne" netted a 1.2 for the period, off 20% from November.
Remaining freshman, "On Air With Ryan Seacrest," settled for a 1.1, up 10% from its January debut. Show continues to be the youngest-skewing daytime strip in syndication, with a median viewer age of 33.2.
Both "Starting Over" and "Living It Up With Ali & Jack," inched up 10%.
Among the talk veterans, "Oprah" led with a 7.8, a 16% upswing from February last year. With a 5.7, "Dr. Phil" ticked upward 4%. "Live With Regis and Kelly" notched a 4.1, off 2% from last year when a pregnant Kelly Ripa boosted numbers.
"Martha Stewart" was off 14% from last year with a 1.2. "Ricki Lake" also saw sliding numbers, down 28% to a 1.3.
Robes rev up
In the courtroom, "Judge Greg Mathis" hit a 2.4, up 9%. Tying Mathis was "People's Court," creeping up 4%. "Judge Hatchett" swung his gavel to a 2.0, an 11% increase. Gaveler leader "Judge Judy" was off 5% to a 5.3.
In access, "Seinfeld" overtook "Friends" which led the off-net sitcoms last year, but at a 6.6, "Seinfeld" was down 13%. "Friends" took in a 6.3, a dip of 18%, while "Everybody Loves Raymond" saw a double-digit drop of 14% to a 5.7.
Slides were also felt by "Will & Grace," down 19% to a 3.5, and "King of the Hill," which clocked in a 3.3, off 11%.
"That '70s Show" was the only series to buck the trend, up 5% to a 4.1.
"Wheel of Fortune" led the gameshows. With a 9.6, numbers slid 7% from last February sweeps results. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" scored its best sweeps results with a 3.9, up 11%. "Family Feud" surveyed a 2.3, up 21%.
Top-ranked magazine "Entertainment Tonight" pulled in a 6.2, a 6% dip from last year. Skein's best single-day rating was a 7.6 for its Oscar post-mortem. For the frame, "Inside Edition" netted a 3.9, "Access Hollywood," yielded a 3.2 and "Extra" rated a 2.9.
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