Phil McGraw just did what most NFL offensive lineman never could — he successfully blocked Michael Strahan.
For the week ending May 15 — the second full five days of the sweeps period — top talker “Dr. Phil” bested the ex-New York Giants player’s final “Live! With Kelly & Michael” episodes, per syndicated TV ratings.
“Live!” jumped 18 percent from the same week last year, the biggest growth among the talk shows. It also managed to increase 6 percent from the prior week, reaching a 3.3 rating on average.
“Dr. Phil” saw 6 percent growth from its prior session, hitting a 12-week high in the process. Its 3.4 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating handed the show another first-place finish — its 18th in the past 19 weeks.
The only week during the run that “Dr. Phil” didn’t finish on top was the week ending April 29, when “Live” experienced a 20 percent boost. That was the week when Kelly Ripa returned from her self-imposed hiatus — a protest over being left in the dark on Strahan’s decision to depart.
As for Strahan’s actual final episode, that one landed a big 3.9 rating. The former defensive end will end up at the “Good Morning America” anchor table this fall.
7 Potential Michael Strahan Replacements Ranked, From Most to Least Liked (Photos)
Look at the happy partners! Oh, right -- this is an old photo.
When he waves goodbye for good on May 13, Michael Strahan will prove tough for "Live!" to replace -- at least from a likability standpoint. We looked at Positive Q Scores the industry uses to rate how highly people think of a celebrity.
Michael Strahan: Let's start with the departing host. The former NFL great boasts a very strong 21 Positive Q Score. That's a full four points better than anyone else on our list of possible replacements, and a hell of a lot higher than Kelly Ripa's uninspiring 13. No wonder he's always smiling.
Joel McHale: Mathematically, McHale is the best replacement on our list, as he has the most comparable-to-Strahan appeal among young adults -- particularly women 18-34, a needed demo for "Live!"
McHale's lackluster scores among the female 50-plus segment can be offset by Ripa's skew to the demo. A perfect match!
Anderson Cooper: Everyone loves Anderson Cooper, right? Well, not entirely.
About 14 percent of those polled by the Q Scores Company consider the CNN personality one of their favorites. And almost-everyone knows Cooper -- his 66 familiarity score is tops on our list.
Cooper's appeal skews older, which means those who like Ripa should also like Anderson.
Taye Diggs: Diggs not only has camera-ready looks, he's a genuinely charming fella. We doubt any women in the studio audience or watching along at home would complain about seeing Taye everyday. His Positive Q Score makes him a pretty safe choice.
Deion Sanders: The NFL already produced one big star for the series -- Sanders could be its next. (Insert your own joke about "Primetime" heading to daytime here.)
As a football player, "Neon" Deion is beloved by men -- not the show's key demo, but it sure worked for Strahan.
Sanders and Diggs are tied with the same Positive Q Score among those 18-plus. The two gentlemen actually have an eerily similar recognition level as well, separated by just one point. (Diggs tops Sanders in the order we ranked the two because of rounding differences.)
Mario Lopez: The "Saved By the Bell" alum hosts seemingly every other show, so what's one more?
Lopez falls just below the Kelly Ripa Line, and his 12 Q Score is nowhere near Strahan's 21. But the actor behind A.C. Slater is quite well-known, and as we already mentioned, he's not exactly lacking experience.
Ripa's husband has co-hosted "Live!" many times, though his relatively low recognition and so-so-at-best Q Score could keep him out of the passenger seat permanently. Though, speaking of driving, wouldn't that be a convenient New York City carpool?
Another saving grace here could be Mark's strength among millennials, a trait he shares with McHale.
Regis Philbin: Thinking Reg might come back to his former show? Not so fast. Philbin's Positive Q Score among millennials is a mere 5. Have they forgotten the glory days of Regis and Kathie Lee?
Who should be Kelly Ripa’s new “Live!” co-host? Let’s look at the Positive Q Scores the industry uses to measure likeability
Look at the happy partners! Oh, right -- this is an old photo.
When he waves goodbye for good on May 13, Michael Strahan will prove tough for "Live!" to replace -- at least from a likability standpoint. We looked at Positive Q Scores the industry uses to rate how highly people think of a celebrity.
ABC
