<i>The Ellen DeGeneres Show</i> continues to draw viewers (10628)

Several syndicated TV shows were on a major roll midway through the November sweeps period, with some top-level programs hitting their best ratings ever and others posting their strongest numbers in years. The Ellen DeGeneres Show (1.7) had its best numbers since its September debut. The chat show was up 6% week-to-week and was the highest-rated rookie for the week. Two other freshmen also had their best ratings: Living It Up! With Ali & Jack (1.1) and Starting Over (1.1), both of which were up 10% week-to-week.

Veteran talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show posted a 7.7 average household audience rating, which represented its best ratings performance in five years, according to the Nielsen Media Research syndication rankings for the week ending November 16. Oprah's numbers also represented a 13% jump from the week before and a 24% gain compared with its performance for the same period last year. The number 2 talk show, Dr. Phil (5.7), was down 3% but up 19% year-to-year after hitting its season high the week before. Live! With Regis & Kelly (4.0) was up 8% for the week and 18% year-to-year. Maury (3.4) hit a season high with a 10% week-to-week gain and was up 3% year-to-year. An average household audience ratings point represents 1.084 million TV households.