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For more than 10 years fans of daytime soap operas have been coming to Soap Opera Network to find out how their favorite soap was faring in the weekly ratings report. From time to time we would also provide analysis of how they stacked up when compared to their broadcast counterparts in the talk show and game show genres, but we’ve never looked at how the broadcast soaps (and to a lesser extent the broadcast talk and game shows) compared to syndicated television. Not that it wasn’t easy to provide a comparison, it was just never something we found necessary. In recent months, with the introduction of several syndicated talk shows including “Katie” and “The Steve Harvey Show,” which together took over the 3:00 PM slot from “General Hospital” in much of the country this past September after “GH” moved to 2:00 PM, and the second season without “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” things have changed. Recently, Broadcasting & Cable came out with a report that showed how syndicated programs might be a solid alternative to our soaps in the key demographics when it comes to Madison Avenue buying advertising time. While we wouldn’t want advertisers to give up on our favorite shows, B&C does provide a solid rationalization and even highlights the value of soap operas when it comes to the all important key women demos (Women 18-49, Women 25-54, etc).

During its second week up against season premieres of nearly every other syndicated talker, newly-rechristened “LIVE! with Kelly and Michael” finished as the No. 1 talk show overall in Households (leading the premiere week of “Ellen” by 2 shares and tied in rating – 2.8/10 vs. 2.8/8). Its top-ranked position becomes even more impressive considering “LIVE! with Kelly and Michael” airs earlier in the day with lower overall HUT levels.

Debuting amidst one of the most competitive landscapes in years for syndicated talkers, “Katie” opened as the clear No. 1 freshman daytime talk show, winning all 5 days of its opening week in Homes. On average during the week, “Katie” held wide advantages over its freshman competitors in both Households (2.3/7) and Women 25-54 (1.2/7), including “Steve Harvey” (+64%/+33%), “Jeff Probst” (+188%/140%) and “Ricki Lake” (+229%/+200%).

For the first time since the show launched back in the 1980’s, the female co-host’s name in “LIVE!” will lead the shows permanent title when “LIVE! with Kelly” becomes “LIVE! with Kelly and …” That’s right folks, “LIVE!” has found its permanent co-host after nearly a year-long search.

A number of syndicated programs hit their season lows during the week of July 30, 2012 thanks to the Olympics on NBC, while others were so heavily preempted that Nielsen Media Research excluded them from the weekly ratings averages, which was the case for Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution’s (WBDTD)’ “Anderson,” “Ellen” and “Extra,” and CBS Television Distribution’s (CTD) “Rachael Ray” and “The Doctors.” In the case of daytime talker “Live! with Kelly,” however, the show hit its lowest ratings in more than 20 years.