Mueller steals syndie shine

Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the week ending July 28.

Most syndicated shows in daytime were dragged lower in the session ending July 28 due in large part to heavy preemptions from the wall-to-wall coverage of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s July 24 Congressional testimony. 

For example top talker Dr. Phil (2.0 live plus same day national Nielsen rating, down 9% from the week before), in repeats on all five days, slipped to a new season low but still led the category for the 151^st week in a row. 

Live with Kelly and Ryan (1.9, steady) was right behind the leader, cementing its standing as the second highest member of the chat pack for the 22^nd straight week. 

Rounding out talk’s big five were Ellen DeGeneres (1.4, unchanged), Maury (new all-time low 1.1, down 8%) and Wendy Williams (1.1, down 8%).

Meanwhile usual ratings leader Judge Judy caught its breath, airing only reruns on all five days and giving back 10% to a still daytime dominant 5.7.

In access, where the Mueller preemptions were much less of a factor, shows were narrowly mixed. Among the games Family Feud (5.8, down 3%) finished first followed by Jeopardy (5.4, down 2%), Wheel of Fortune (5.0, down 2%), and Who Wants to be a Millionaire (1.4, down 7%).

In news of first-run trials, week three of a scheduled six-week test that began July 15 for comedic game show Punchline (0.3/1 weighted metered market average) sank 50% from its lead-ins and dropped 40% from its year-ago time periods.