There is a long list of syndicated celebrity talk shows that have crashed and burned after just one season the past few years, including “The Sharon Osbourne Show,” “The Jane Pauley Show” and “The Megan Mullally Show,” just to name a few.
That would seem to bode poorly for "The Bonnie Hunt Show." The actress-comedian is far less known, and she already has two failed broadcast sitcoms behind her. If people do know of her, it's as a guest on “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Yet of the more than half-dozen new syndicated programs premiering this month, "Hunt" is a show media people are actually optimistic about.
“Hunt,” debuting Monday, is being distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, also the syndicator behind “Ellen DeGeneres,” the most successful celebrity talk show launch in recent years.
“I think the chances are pretty good, given the fact that it’s being produced by the same folks who did ‘Ellen DeGeneres,’” says Bill Carroll, vice president and director of programming at Katz Television Group.
“What they were able to do with Ellen, and what they might be able to do with Bonnie, is produce to her strength, and her strength is that she has a great sense of humor. She comes across as accessible.”
What Hunt has going for her is improvisational experience from both her sitcoms and her years as a Second City performer. Osbourne had no interview experience, and Pauley seemed uncomfortable trying to take a folksy tone.
The show will be celeb-focused, and that will draw the audience, notes Carroll, but she'll also feature as guests regular people with extraordinary talents or stories to tell.
“Hunt” is one of two new talk shows debuting this fall.
The other is “The Doctors,” a spinoff of “Dr. Phil” being produced by Phil McGraw’s son and starring a panel of physicians, including a plastic surgeon, an OB-GYN and a pediatrician. Syndicated by CBS Television Distribution, the show is essentially “Dr. Phil” focusing on the body rather than the mind.
“It’s sort of a spinoff of ‘Dr. Phil,’” Carroll says. “They’re positioning it as ‘Dr. Phil’ for medicine.”
Two new judge shows will push the total of court skeins past a dozen, with Sony’s “Judge Karen” and Program Partners’ “Family Court With Judge Penny” debuting.
“I think if they’re done well, the shows will do fine,” Carroll says. “I think the one thing that does happen is they seem to work better in a block, two or three hours of court shows.”
NBC Universal Television Distribution’s spinoff of primetime hit “Deal or No Deal” is one of three new syndicated game shows. It’s chopped down to a half hour, and there are only two models on the show, but Carroll says it has attributes that make for a successful game show, including a faster pace than the original and strong audience participation elements.
“I’ve seen the show with groups of people screening it and everyone gets involved,” he says. “That’s for me the indicator of a potentially successful show.”
Other new game shows include “Inside the Box” and “Trivial Pursuit: America Plays.”
***
Meanwhile, in other dayparts for the week ended Aug. 24, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was once again first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 4.3 million tuning in and among viewers 25-54 with a 1.3 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 2.7 million and tied for second among 25-54s with a 0.7, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.49 million viewers and a 0.7 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” averaged 1.37 million viewers and a 0.5 rating among 25-54s.
In late night, CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” was first for the week with repeats, averaging 2.7 million total viewers and a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “Nightline” had 2.5 million total viewers and a 0.6 among 18-49s, while CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” tied for third, each with 1.3 million total viewers and a 0.4 among 18-49s (both were in repeats). NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Last Call with Carson Daly” were all preempted by the Olympics.
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 6.2 million total viewers and a 4.8 household rating and 18 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 3.8 million viewers and a 2.9/11. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.5 million total viewers and a 1.9/7.
CBS had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 3.45 million viewers, but was tied for second among women 18-49 with a 1.1 rating. NBC had the second-largest audience, averaging 2.91 million viewers, and was first among women 18-49 with a 1.2 rating. ABC had a full daytime audience of 2.42 million and was tied for second among women 18-49 with a 1.1 rating.
In evening network news for the week ended Aug. 31, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 7.8 million, and among 25-54s with a 2.0 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 7.1 million, and in 25-54s with a 1.8 rating, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with 5.4 million total viewers and a 1.4 25-54 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending August 24, 2008
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
3.2 |
10 |
1.3
|
4.300 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
2.0 |
6 |
0.7 |
2.698 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
1.9 |
5 |
0.7 |
2.484 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
1.0 |
3 |
0.5 |
1.374 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending August 24, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Late Show with David Letterman** |
CBS |
2.7 |
0.7 |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
2.5 |
0.6 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson** |
CBS |
1.3 |
0.4 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live** |
ABC |
1.3 |
0.4 |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno* |
NBC |
- |
- |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien* |
NBC |
- |
- |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly* |
NBC |
- |
- |
|
*Preempted due to NBC’s Olympics coverage
**Encore episodes
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending August 24, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
4.8 |
18 |
6.2 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
2.9 |
11 |
3.8 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
1.9 |
7 |
2.5 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending August 24, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.45 |
1.1 |
|
NBC |
2.91 |
1.2 |
|
ABC |
2.42 |
1.1 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending August 31, 2008
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
2.0 |
7.8 |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
1.8 |
7.7 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.4 |
5.4 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 17, 2008
|
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
CTD
|
6.0
|
6771
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
CTD
|
5.2
|
5823
|
|
3
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
CTD
|
4.3
|
4832
|
|
4
|
TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)
|
WB
|
4.2
|
4793
|
|
5
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
|
CTD
|
3.9
|
4410
|
|
6
|
FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)
|
2/T
|
3.7
|
4142
|
|
7
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
CTD
|
3.6
|
4027
|
|
8
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
CTD
|
3.2
|
3598
|
|
9
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
CTD
|
3.1
|
3450
|
|
10
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.0
|
3395
|
|
11
|
GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)
|
WB
|
2.7
|
3075
|
|
11
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)
|
CTD
|
2.7
|
3067
|
|
13
|
INSIDE EDITION
|
CTD
|
2.6
|
2978
|
|
14
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.5
|
2866
|
|
14
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.5
|
2827
|
|
14
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
2.5
|
2804
|
|
17
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
DAD
|
2.4
|
2742
|
|
17
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
DAD
|
2.4
|
2695
|
|
19
|
JUDGE JOE BROWN (AT)
|
CTD
|
2.3
|
2635
|
|
20
|
KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
2.2
|
2434
|
|
21
|
ACCESS
HOLLYWOOD (AT)
|
NBU
|
2.1
|
2424
|
|
21
|
PEOPLE'S COURT (AT)
|
WB
|
2.1
|
2329
|
|
21
|
GEORGE LOPEZ WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.1
|
2327
|
|
24
|
TWO-HALF MEN WKND B (AT)
|
WB
|
2.0
|
2262
|
|
25
|
MAURY (AT)
|
NBU
|
1.9
|
2138
|
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
