Syndie bench mark

'Court,' 'Martha' sparkle in overnights

By VARIETY STAFF

The new-model "People's Court" and "Martha Stewart Living" got off to a good start Monday as the first wave of the season's syndie daytime crop premiered.

Warner Bros.' "People's Court" pulled in a 3.0 rating and 9 share in Nielsen's 38 overnight metered markets. With former Gotham mayor Ed Koch taking on the Joseph Wapner role, the show essentially held its average lead-in rating (3.0/10) and matched its May '97 time period average (2.8/9).

Eyemark Entertainment's "Martha Stewart" scored a 2.7/11, dipping slightly from its average lead-in (2.9/12), but bettering its May '95 timeslot average by a share point (2.4/10). "Martha" ranked first or second in her timeslot in 18 of the 38 overnight markets.

Veteran syndie biz observers cautioned Tuesday that little can be gleaned from first-day ratings. "At this stage of the game, stations are looking more at the quality of the show than the size of the numbers," said Jack Fentress, VP and director of programming for Petry National Television.

Good to be 'King'

"The Gayle King Show," Eyemark's half-hour companion to "Martha Stewart Living," scored high marks from Fentress and others for serving up solid production values and a likable host. In the first outing of her issues-oriented talkshow, the veteran Connecticut news anchor garnered a 2.4/10, compared with an average lead-in of 2.8/12 and a year-ago timeslot benchmark of a 2.6/11.

It was a tough opener for Twentieth TV's "Home Team With Terry Bradshaw." The show, fronted by the NFL Hall-of-Famer, bowed with a 1.0/4, down from its 1.6/6 lead-in average and its 1.5/6 year-ago timeslot average. All American TV's talk-variety chatfest "Arthel and Fred" weighed in with a 0.9/4, losing steam from its 1.5/6 lead-in average and its 1.4/6 year-ago timeslot average.

Locally, "People's Court" notched the strongest performance of all the newcomers, scoring a 4.0/13 to rank third in its 1 p.m. timeslot on KCAL. "Martha" and "Gayle" drew a 1.8/6 and 1.6/5, respectively, from 2-3 p.m. on KCBS, landing in second-to-last place behind KNBC's struggling new soap "Sunset Beach" for the hour.

"Home Team," on Fox O&O KTTV, and "Arthel & Fred," on KNBC, tied for last place at 10 a.m. with a 0.9/4.

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