Syndication Ratings: Syndies Slow and Steady in Face of World Cup

In a week full of repeats, entertainment magazines saw some gains with coverage of Shia LeBeouf's arrest during a Broadway play in the week ending June 29.

Besides the magazines, most shows were flat or down and TV was dominated by the World Cup, including the U.S.' heartbreaker against Germany, and early rounds of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

CBS Television Distribution's Entertainment Tonight led the pack at steady at a 3.1 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. CTD's Inside Edition, in second place, also was flat at a 2.7. In third place, Warner Bros.' TMZ gained 6% to a 1.8. NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood held firm at a 1.4. Warner Bros.' Extra jumped 8% to a 1.3, tying CTD's The Insider, which also spiked 8% to a 1.3.

MGM's RightThisMinute, Twentieth's Dish Nation, and Trifecta's America Now and OK! TV all were flat at a 1.0 1.0, 0.3 and 0.3, respectively. Dish Nation has been stalled at a 1.0 for the past nine weeks, while the soon-to-depart America Now has been unchanged for six consecutive weeks and rookie OK! TV has been frozen at a 0.3 for 13 straight weeks.

Elsewhere in access, CTD's Wheel of Fortune stabilized after hitting season lows in the prior two sessions. Wheel pumped up its ratings by 3% for the week to a 6.1, while CTD's Jeopardy! remained at a 5.8 for a third week. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud inched up 2% to a 4.9, while Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire trailed at a flat 2.0 for a third consecutive week.

In daytime, the only two talkers in the top 12 to gain from the previous frame were NBCU's Maury, which climbed 6% with a four-repeat week to a 1.9 and CTD's Rachael Ray, which managed to ramp up 9% to a 1.2 in an almost all-repeat week. Maury moved up to third place for the first time this season in a non-Olympic week, tying Warner Bros. Ellen, which, in repeats, was flat at a 1.9.

CTD's Dr. Phil and Disney-ABC's Live with Kelly and Michael were tied for first place at a 2.5. Dr. Phil, in reruns, held steady, while Live, which has now been first or tied for first for three weeks in a row, dipped 4% from the prior week but still outperformed its year-ago mark by 4%.

Rounding out the top-five talkers for the second straight week was NBCU's Steve Harvey, which remained at a 1.7 in repeats but climbed 42% from last year at this time, the biggest annual increase of any talker. SPT's Dr. Oz, also in repeats, held steady at a 1.6. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams weakened 7% to a 1.4 with four original episodes. NBCU's Steve Wilkos and Disney-ABC's soon-to-conclude Katie were unchanged at a 1.3. NBCU's Jerry Springer stayed at a 1.2, tying Rachael Ray. CTD's The Doctors, NBCU's Trisha and Meredith's The Better Show all were flat at a 1.0, 0.5 and 0.2, respectively.

Among the season's newcomers, SPT's Queen Latifah, the only strip that will return for season two, was in repeats on four of the five days but held steady at a 1.0. Warner Bros.' Bethenny was flat at its season-low 0.6 for the fifth consecutive week, while CTD's The Test climbed 20% from its season-low 0.5 to a 0.6. In late night, CTD's Arsenio Hall, which is no longer in production, remained at a 0.5.

CTD's Judge Judy, in repeats, was the only court show to improve for the week, gaining 4% from the prior week and 11% from the prior year to a 7.0. Judy also topped the overall syndication chart for the 14th straight week and the 42nd time in the past 45 weeks. All the other shows on the court docket were steady. Warner Bros.' People's Court was flat at a 1.9. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis and Twentieth's Divorce Court both were unchanged at a 1.4. Twentieth's soon-to-depart Judge Alex was flat at a 1.3, while MGM's rookie, Paternity Court, was flat at a 0.9.

Among the off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory ticked up 2% to a 5.8. Twentieth's freshman Modern Family finished 6% ahead of the prior week at a 3.6. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men was flat at a 3.2. Twentieth's Family Guy gave back 10% to a 2.7. Twentieth's The Cleveland Show climbed 6% to a 1.9, tying SPT's Seinfeld, which was stuck at a 1.9 for a fourth week in a row. Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother lost 5% to a 1.8. Warner Bros.' Friends faded 6% to a 1.7. Warner Bros.' The Middle rebounded 14% to a 1.6, tying Twentieth's King of the Hill, which was flat.

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