A bit of glimmer for syndicated television

'Iyanla' host Iyanla Vanzant

'Crossing Over with John Edward' host John Edward

A bit of glimmer
for syndicated television

Too bad it's in 2002. This season looks weak.

By Kevin Downey

    After years of falling ratings, syndicated television may finally be headed for something of a rebound.
    With shows like "Millionaire," "Weakest Link," and Oprah’s "Dr. Phil" coming in 2002, syndicated television is at the very least perking up interest among media buyers.
    There's one problem, though: Syndicated television still has to get through the 2001 season.
    And the fall season, which unofficially kicked off yesterday with the premiere of the Barbara Walters-produced "Iyanla," is looking like another season with few hits and fewer apparent successors to aging staples like "Oprah" and "Seinfeld."
    "Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like it will be a very strong year, from a programming standpoint," says Deana Myers, an analyst at Paul Kagan Associates.
    The talking-to-the-dead show, "Crossing Over with John Edward," is premiering on August 27^th.
    Like "Iyanla," that show is coming with fairly high expectations because it’s already airing on the Sci-Fi channel and has become that network’s highest-rated daily original series.
    A big problem for syndication is that it relies in large part on reruns of network shows, or the so-called off-network shows, for its new lineup every year.
    But with few breakout hits moving over from the networks, syndicated television has been starting off its season for the past few years in a weak position.
    This year’s lineup of off-network programs includes a group of lackluster performers, such as "Just Shoot Me," "King of the Hill," and "Two Guys & a Girl."
    The biggest hope for an off-network hit is "Everybody Loves Raymond," which is being distributed by King World.
    "Next year there is ‘Dharma & Greg’; ‘Will & Grace,’ which could do well in syndication; and ‘That '70s Show,’" says Myers.
    "Those are all pretty strong, but we just haven’t had a ‘Seinfeld’ or ‘Friends’ lately. ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ could be the exception this year."
    Perhaps more troubling for syndication are the lack of strong talk shows and the slew of empty slots to fill.
    Rosie O’Donnell is leaving her show after this coming season but will be replaced as host by Caroline Rhea.
    But "Sally Jessy Raphael" and "Jenny Jones" are thought to be winding down, since they have had ratings declines of 22 and 13 percent, respectively.
    This year’s talk shows include "Ananda Lewis," hosted by a former MTV personality; "Talk or Walk," something of a hybrid between a talk and relationship show; and "The Other Half," which is like "The View," only hosted by men.
    "Iyanla," however, is getting the most attention. That’s due to its relatively early premiere and big-name producers.
    "I think they are thinking it will be an ‘Oprah’ type of talk show and they’re probably trying to compete, although they are going after a slightly different audience," says Myers. "And Barbara Walters is a good name to attach to anything."
    While off-network and talk shows serve as anchors for syndication’s lineup, there is typically a programming fad to boost ratings.
    In the past few years that has been court shows. But with last year’s glut of shows and falling ratings, like the 12 percent decline for "Judge Judy" this year, syndication has moved on to its next attempt at something new.
    There are four dating shows premiering this year, with "Shipmates," "ElimiDate," "Rendez-View," and "The 5^th Wheel" joining others like "Blind Date," which had a 16 percent rating increase last season.
    Game shows, another staple of syndicated TV, are in short supply for 2001, though.
    Only "Card Sharks" is premiering this fall.
    But in 2002, "Pyramid," an update of the Dick Clark show hosted by Donny Osmond, and possibly a new "Let’s Make a Deal" will join "Millionaire" and "Weakest Link."

SYNDICATED TV FALL 2001/2002 PROGRAMMING
Regular Series	Syndicator	Show Type	Daypart	Coverage % of US
NEW
Ananda Lewis Show	King World	Talk	-	-
Shipmates	Columbia TriStar Television	Dating	-	-
Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Weekend Access	98
Card Sharks	Pearson Television	Game	Daytime	85
Chicken Soup for the Soul	Pearson Television	Drama	Weekend Fringe	85
Crossing Over with John Edward	Studios USA	Reality	Daytime	90
Elimidate	Warner Bros.	Dating	Late Night	90
Everybody Loves Raymond	King World	Off Network	-	-
Game Warden Wildlife Journal	Studios USA	Adventure	Weekend	80
Hard Knox	Tribune Entertainment	Action Hour	Primetime/Fringe	85
Hot Ticket	Paramount	Movie Variety	Weekend	85
Iyanla	Buena Vista Television	Talk	Early Fringe/Daytime	85
Just Shoot Me	Columbia Tristar Television	Off Network	Access/Late Fringe	95
King of the Hill	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Prime Access	99
Mad TV	Warner Bros.	Off Network	Late Night	90
Mutant X	Tribune Entertainment	Sci-Fi	Primetime/Fringe	90
P. Allen Smith Gardens	Pearson Television	Home	Weekend Access/Fringe	80
Rendez-View	Paramount	Dating	Late Fringe	85
Steve Harvey	Columbia Tristar Television	Off Network	Access/Late Fringe	95
Talk or Walk	Tribune Entertainment	Talk	Daytime	90
The 5th Wheel	Tribune Entertainment	Dating	Late Fringe	85
The 5th Wheel Wknd	Tribune Entertainment	Dating	Late Fringe	85
The Bravest	Tribune Entertainment	Reality	Primetime/ Fringe	85
The Other Half	Tribune Entertainment	Talk	Daytime	90
The Pet Shop	Tribune Entertainment	Information	Weekend	85
The Practice	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Weekend Access/Fringe	98
The Source Sound Lab	African Heritage Network	Dance / Performance	Saturday Afternoon	85
The Source: All Access	African Heritage Network	Entertainment Magazine	Weekend Late	75
Tracker	Twentieth Television	Action Hour	Weekend Access/Fringe	90
Two Guys & A Girl	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Fringe	95
World's Wildest Police Videos	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Weekend Access/Fringe	95
RETURNING
3rd Rock from the Sun	Buena Vista Television	Off Network	Prime Access	95
7th Heaven	Paramount	Off Network	Early Fringe	90
Access Hollywood	Warner Bros.	Entertainment Magazine	Prime Access	84
Access Hollywood Wknd	Warner Bros.	Entertainment Magazine	Prime Access	84
Animal Rescue	Tribune Entertainment	Reality	Weekend	80
BeastMaster	Tribune Entertainment	Action Hour	Primetime/Fringe	95
Blind Date	Tribune Entertainment	Dating	Late Fringe	90
Blind Date Wknd	Tribune Entertainment	Dating	Late Fringe	75
Change of Heart	Warner Bros.	Dating	Late Night	95
Clueless	Paramount	Off Network	Early Fringe	90
Cops	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Late Fringe	92
Cosby	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Daytime	94
Divorce Court	Twentieth Television	Court	Daytime/Early Fringe	97
Drew Carey	Warner Bros.	Off Network	Prime Access	90
Ebert & Roeper and The Movies	Buena Vista Television	Film Review	Fringe	95
Entertainment Tonight	Paramount	Newsmagazine	Prime Access	95
Entertainment Tonight Wknd	Paramount	Newsmagazine	Prime Access	95
Extra	Warner Bros.	Entertainment Magazine	Prime Access	92
Extra Wknd	Warner Bros.	Entertainment Magazine	Prime Access	92
Family Feud	Pearson Television	Game	Early Fringe	90
Famous Homes & Hideaways	Tribune Entertainment	Entertainment	Weekend	85
Frasier	Paramount	Off Network	Access	95
Friends	Warner Bros.	Off Network	Prime Access	98
Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda	Tribune Entertainment	Sci-Fi	Primetime/Fringe	98
Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict	Tribune Entertainment	Sci-Fi	Primetime/Fringe	97
George Michael Sports Machine	Tribune Entertainment	Sports	Late Fringe	85
Grace Under Fire	Buena Vista Television	Off Network	Early Fringe	85
Hollywood Squares	King World	Game	-	-
Home Improvement	Buena Vista Television	Off Network	Prime Access	85
Inside Edition	King World	Entertainment Magazine	-	-
Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures	Pearson Television	Adventure	Weekend Access	95
Jamie Foxx Show	Warner Bros.	Off Network	Fringe/Access	80
Jenny Jones	Warner Bros.	Talk	Daytime	85
Jeopardy	King World	Game	-	-
Jerry Springer	Studios USA	Talk	Daytime	96
Judge Hatchett	Columbia Tristar Television	Court	Daytime/Early Fringe	90
Judge Joe	Paramount	Court	Early Fringe/Daytime	95
Judge Judy	Paramount	Court	Access/Early Fringe	95
Judge Mathis	Warner Bros.	Court	Fringe/Daytime	86
Judge Mills Lane	Paramount	Court	Daytime	90
Live! with Regis & Kelly	Buena Vista Television	Talk	Daytime	95
Mad About You	Columbia Tristar Television	Off Network	Late Fringe	95
Married with Children	Columbia Tristar Television	Off Network	Late Fringe	87
Martha Stewart Living	King World	Home Solutions	-	-
Maury	Studios USA	Talk	Daytime	97
Moesha	African Heritage Network	Off Network	Early Fringe	82
Montel	Paramount	Talk	Daytime	95
Moral Court	Warner Bros.	Court	Fringe/Daytime	81
Nash Bridges	Paramount	Off Network	Weekend	90
Oprah	King World	Talk	-	-
People's Court	Warner Bros.	Court	Fringe/Daytime	90
Power of Attorney	Twentieth Television	Court	Daytime/Early Fringe	96
Queen of Swords	Paramount	Action Hour	Weekend	85
Real TV	Paramount	Video	Access/Late Night	85
Relic Hunter	Paramount	Action Hour	Weekend	90
Ricki Lake	Columbia Tristar Television	Talk	Early Fringe/Daytime	95
Ron Hazelton's Housecalls	Tribune Entertainment	Home Solutions	Weekend	85
Rosie O'Donnell	Warner Bros.	Talk	Fringe	96
Sabrina Teenage Witch	Paramount	Off Network	Early Fringe	85
Sally Jesse Raphael	Studios USA	Talk	Daytime	98
Seinfeld	Columbia Tristar Television	Off Network	Access	99
Sheena	Columbia Tristar Television	Action Hour	Weekend Access/Fringe	95
Sister Sister	Paramount	Off Network	Early Fringe	85
Spin City	Paramount	Off Network	Access	95
Star Trek: Voyager	Paramount	Off Network	Primetime/Late Night	85
Suddenly Susan	Warner Bros.	Off Network	Fringe/Access	94
The Lost World	Tribune Entertainment	Action Hour	Primetime/Fringe	92
The Nanny	Columbia Tristar Television	Off Network	Daytime/Fringe	95
The Pretender	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Weekend Fringe	90
The Profiler	Buena Vista Television	Off Network	Fringe	90
To Tell the Truth	Pearson Television	Game	Early Fringe	90
US Farm Report	Tribune Entertainment	News	Weekend	96
V.I.P.	Columbia Tristar Television	Action Hour	Weekend Access/Fringe	95
Wheel of Fortune	King World	Game	-	-
X-Files	Twentieth Television	Off Network	Weekend Access/Fringe	99
Source: Syndicated Network Television Association; King World

-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.

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