Ratings: syndies sweep forward

Syndicated game shows generally enjoyed the just concluded February sweeps (Jan 31-Feb 27). And one show really liked the results. It was better living through better timeslots for Family Feud. Jeopardy also saw a nice bump, and Let's Ask America rose from its debut week last September. TVNewsCheck brings the mostly good news...

Wheel of Fortune 7.6 - up a tick from last year's February sweeps
Jeopardy 6.8 - up a very nice five ticks from last year
Family Feud 5.3 - up a whopping twenty-one ticks as the new timeslots deliver
Millionaire 2.6 - down a tick but not doing too badly
Let's Ask America 1.9 - up three ticks from its premiere week
Baggage 1.1 - last place, pretty much where it's been for all of its first year in syndication

TV by the Numbers didn't bother with sweeps but just did their usual top 25 list for the latest week, February 26-March 3. Wheel of Fortune topped all syndies with an 11.7 million viewership average (weekend repeat 5.5 million). Jeopardy followed with 10.3 million, then came Family Feud with 7.7 million.

Sort-of-game show Robot Combat League is leaking viewers along with hydraulic fluid. The last couple runs were down to a million or fewer viewers, compared to 1.3 million for the show's debut (see the sidebar). The 18-49 ratings are also eroding.

GSN scored a great week for March 4-10 by the network's historical standards: 402K/309K viewership averages prime time/total day. The network ranked 39th and 35th in the windows.