Media Decoder Blog: ‘Dr. Phil’ Renewed Through 2017

Whatever terrible and wonderful things happen in America in the next four years, Dr. Phil McGraw will be there in the afternoon to talk about them.

CBS Television Distribution said Thursday that his daytime talk show, “Dr. Phil,” had been renewed through 2017 by most of the stations that carry it. That gives “Dr. Phil” a longer-term guarantee than any other syndicated series. (Two others distributed by CBS, “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!,” have been renewed through 2016. “Judge Judy” has been renewed through 2015.)

CBS said the extension would take “Dr. Phil” through its 15th season. “Dr. Phil” garners about 4.2 million viewers a day, making it the most popular daytime talk show since the higher-rated “Oprah Winfrey Show” ended in 2011. The show was created by Ms. Winfrey’s production company.

“To have a talk show on the air for 15 years is a huge accomplishment,” Joseph DiSalvo, the president of sales for CBS Television Distribution, said in a statement. Some stations, he said, have agreed to “upgrade” “Dr. Phil,” meaning move it to a more valuable time slot, like 4 p.m. from 3 p.m.

Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/dr-phil-renewed-through-2017/?partner=rss&emc=rss