• by Wayne Friedman , September 20, 2005

In a rare performance for a new syndication show, "Martha"--so far--is delivering in her first week exactly what advertisers were promised in terms of ratings guarantees.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which sells the show to advertisers (NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution handles station sales), has been assuring advertisers an average Nielsen Media Research 2.2 household rating. The show debuted September 12th.

Typically, syndication shows--even established syndication shows-- can underdeliver anywhere from 15 percent to 40 percent or more. This is especially true for new syndication shows. Program analysts say the last new syndicated TV show that met or exceeded audience guarantees from the start was "Dr. Phil," when it debuted in 2002.

"Martha"'s start is good news, say media analysts. But they also warn that it is still early in the game. Indeed, "Martha" was slightly trending down during the first week--falling from a 2.4 rating for the show's premiere on Monday to a 2.1 rating on Wednesday.

Still, "Martha" scored in other parameters. "Martha" posted a 29 percent rating increase over time periods the show replaced last year in September 2004. The show also rose 38 percent in ratings over the May 2005 sweep. Since its premiere, "Martha"'s ratings have been 10 percent higher over its lead-in programming.

For individual major markets, "Martha" also scored well for WCVB-TV Boston, posting a 2.4 rating over five days and improving its time period by 140 percent versus a year ago. WMAQ-TV Chicago also averaged a 2.4 rating--60 percent higher than last year's time period rating average.

Syndication's other high-profile rookie daytime show--Warner's Bros. Domestic Television Distribution's "The Tyra Banks Show"--came in as a more typical syndication show--underdelivering in double-digit percentage for advertisers, according to media executives. For stations, the show--for the first three days--averaged a 1.3 rating--23 percent below last year's 1.6 ratings for the same time periods.

In other ratings news, the "The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" bounced back from a low 2004 effort, posting a 6.0 rating in the adults 18-49 demo and 18.6 million viewers. This is up from last year's 4.7 ratings in the 18-49 demographic and 14 million viewers. It's the best viewership numbers since 2002, and the best 18-49 numbers since 2003.