• by Wayne Friedman , September 11, 2012

Big marketing effort by Disney-ABC Domestic Television pushed "Katie Couric" to a big ratings on her syndication talk show debut.

A Nielsen preliminary 2.8 household rating was the best opening number for a syndication talk program in ten years -- since CBS Television Distribution's "Dr. Phil" entered the marketplace in 2002.

Analysts have played up the syndication viewership vacuum that has existed since Oprah Winfrey left daytime talk to move to her Oprah Winfrey Network.

Other new syndicators talk show wannabes didn't meet Couric's level in their Monday premieres -- NBCUniversal Television Distribution's "Steve Harvey", a 1.5 rating; CBS Television Distribution's "The Jeff Probst Show", a 1.0; and "Twentieth Television's "The Ricki Lake Show", 0.8.