Daytime syndie ratings drop 3% for week

Nighttime gameshows in jeopardy

By ZACHARY PINCUS-ROTH

Top syndie skeins showed no particular trend during the week of Nov. 15-22, as nine of the 25 highest-rated strips increased their national rating, nine dipped, and seven stayed put. But average daytime viewing was down by 597,000 households, or 3%, from the previous week.

"Jeopardy" dropped 11% to a 7.5 while running a college tournament in place of episodes featuring long-running (but recently defeated) champ Ken Jennings. (Jennings was on only two of five episodes the previous week.) "Wheel of Fortune," which usually comes before or after "Jeopardy," slipped 5% to 9.1.

Among rookie skeins, "Larry Elder" showed the only increase, rising a tenth of a point to 0.9. "Tony Danza" (1.3) and "Ambush Makeover" (1.0) each dropped a tenth, while "The Insider" (2.8), "Jane Pauley" (1.5), "Pat Croce" (0.7) and "Life & Style" (0.5) stayed flat.

"Entertainment Tonight" was the only newsmag to increase, rising a tenth to a new season high of 5.6. Top yakker "Oprah Winfrey" was down 6% to 8.1 and "Dr. Phil" was down a tenth to 5.5. Top off-nets generally improved, and "Everybody Loves Raymond" remained on top of that category by jumping 10% to 7.6.