Friends, ElimiDate Strong in Syndication

"Friends" reruns reached a season high in the latest syndication ratings, edging out reigning champ "Seinfeld."

"Friends" rose 20% week-to-week to a 7.3 national household rating for the week ended Nov. 18, according to Nielsen Media Research. "Seinfeld," the off-network sitcom leader in the previous three frames, was even with the previous week at 6.7.

In the off-network sitcom game overall, five of the top seven players were up, with three of those five to season highs. "Everybody Loves Raymond," in its first off-network season, followed "Seinfeld," moving up 4% to its high, a 5.7. "Frasier," down 3% to 3.7, followed. "King of the Hill," also in its first season in syndication, was up 4% to a new high of 2.9, and fellow rookie "Just Shoot Me" climbed 8% to 2.8. "Drew Carey" was up 4% to 2.7.

Rookie relationship show "ElimiDate" also scored a series high by moving up 14% to a 1.6. The rating is up 60% from the show's September debut. "ElimiDate's" performance was again achieved without a traditional clearance in New York, the country's No. 1 market. "ElimiDate" was first among the new firstrun relationship series and second overall in the genre to veteran leader "Blind Date," which was up 11% to a season high of its own (2.0). -- Variety

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