Gossip Shows Get a Bump from Oscars

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Many syndicated shows in the various genres saw their ratings dip during the first full week following the February sweep with the exception of the newsmagazines, which managed to hold steady or increase slightly thanks to their post-Oscar coverage.

The top two newsmagazines both saw increases for the week ending March 12, which included coverage of the March 5 Oscar ceremony. Entertainment Tonight averaged a 5.6 household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. That figure represents a 4% increase from the previous week. Inside Edition rose 3% to a 3.7.

The Insider (2.9), Access Hollywood (2.7) and Extra (2.4) all held steady for the week.

Elsewhere, weekly movie review show Ebert & Roeper, hosted by critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, didn't actually feature a special Oscar-themed episode but still managed to jump 29% to a 2.2.

Meanwhile, Wheel of Fortune was the top syndicated show overall. The game show averaged a 9.0, off 2% from the previous week.

The Oprah Winfrey Show remained the top talker and also managed to increase 4% to a 7.3.

No. 1 court show Judge Judy was down 2% week-to-week to a 4.9.

Top off-network sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond was down 3% to a 6.4, while CSI: Crime Scene Investigation remained the top off-network weekly, holding steady at a 4.9.