“Dr. Phil” sole first-run strip on upswing in tough syndie session

Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the week ending April 4, 2021.

Brushing aside preemptions that stifled all other first-run syndicated strips in the session ending April 4, Dr. Phil (1.6 live plus same day national Nielsen rating, up 7% from the week before) jumped into a first place tie with recent talk leader Live with Kelly and Ryan (1.6, down 11%). “Live,” which was on hiatus, featured repackaged episodes all week.

Many programs lost part or all of their broadcasts on some days in some markets due to events including March Madness and a NASCAR Cup race, as well as coverage of the US Capitol lockdown and the Derek Chauvin trial.

Wendy Williams (0.9, down 10%) was next in line tied with Maury (0.9, down 10%), which equaled his worst rating to date.

Tied for fifth place on the talk show chart were recently renewed sophomore Kelly Clarkson (0.8, steady) and Ellen DeGeneres (new all-time low 0.8, down 11%).

In access time periods game shows were led for the third session in a row by Family Feud (5.1, down 6%).

 Further back Jeopardy (4.9, down 6%), guest-hosted by Dr Oz for a second week, fell into a tie with sister show Wheel of Fortune (4.9, unchanged).

Among newsmagazines Inside Edition (2.2, down 4%) and Entertainment Tonight (2.0, down 5%) were tops. Also of note, Access Hollywood (0.9), TMZ (0.8) and Extra (0.7) managed to hold all of their ratings in the face of preemptions.