Regis Philbin tribute ignites 19% “Kelly and Ryan” surge to No. 1

Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the week ending August 2, 2020.

Fueled by an emotional tribute to late co-host Regis Philbin on July 27 Live with Kelly and Ryan (seven-week high 1.9 live plus same day national Nielsen rating, up 19% from the week before) soared to the top of all syndicated talk shows in the session ending August 2.

In addition, on July 31, “Live” featured a much-anticipated encore presentation of the heartfelt “Regis Farewell Celebration Special” from November 8, 2011.

The huge jump for the increasingly popular “Kelly and Ryan” came in a sluggish summer week where almost everything else in syndication was flat to down from the prior frame amid widespread preemptions for coverage of the death and funeral of Representative John Lewis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The only other talk show anywhere near “Live” was  Dr Phil (1.8, steady) which had led the talkers since the week ending June 21.

Far behind the top two in third was Maury (1.1, unchanged), which has been stuck at that low level for eight weeks in a row.

Ellen DeGeneres (1.0, unchanged) remained at the worst rating in its 17-year history for a second straight week.

Steve Wilkos (0.9, down 10%), which had been tied with “Ellen” in the prior frame, fell further back equaling its lowest score of the season. Following “Wilkos,” the rest of the talk shows were all stable to somewhat lower at diminished levels.

On the positive side, iconic daytime champ Judge Judy (5.6, down 2%) took only a minor dip with reruns on all five days and significant preemptions but was still ranked number one as the highest rated show in all of syndication.