Olympics fell talk shows.(Syndie Insider)(Brief Article)

Broadcasting & Cable, September, 2004

With the Olympics in full swing, most nationally syndicated shows did poorly for the week ended Aug. 22. Ratings were sharply lower for most daytime strips, although most of syndication was in reruns. Many shows on NBC stations were preempted altogether for 67 hours of non-prime time Olympics coverage. Those that aired encountered stronger-than-usual competition from NBC's Olympics-saturated cable networks.

Talkers were especially hard hit, with the top six down and four of those by double digits. King World's The Oprah Winfrey Show fell 2% to 5.6. King World's Dr Phil was off 18% to 3.3. Buena Vista's Live With Regis and Kelly fell 6%, also to 3.3. NBC Universal's Maury was off 10% to 2.6; Paramount's Montel, 16% to 2.1; and NBC Universal's Jerry...

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