Did You Catch "Katie" Yesterday? Ratings were Good

Reports are that "Katie," the new talk show from Katie Couric was anything but overwhelmingly entertaining during its debut as a nationally syndicated program yesterday.  But the ratings were high relative to other high profile talk show premieres.

According to Metered Market, a ratings service, Katie had a 2.8 household rating and a 9 share in the top 56 markets.  That means the show is tied with Rachael Ray's debut in 2006.  Both shows are topped only by Dr. Phil 2002 premiere.

Katie is airing at 3 p.m. weekdays in most markets, many of which are ABC affiliates and include the ABC owned and operated TV stations. It displaced General Hospital in the time slot; GH now airs at 2 on ABC.

The show's initial guests were Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow.  But first, there was a video of Katie lying in bed dreaming about the Today Show.  When she woke up, there was Matt Lauer next to her in bed.  Geez.

Simpson had the first half hour to talk about her post-baby weight loss and affiliation with Weight Watchers.  Many reviewers said the extended segment sounded like one big commercial for WW.  (Simpson didn't lose as much weight as she expected, though 40 pounds since May sounds pretty good.)

Other talk shows debuting recently were Steve Harvey, Ricki Lake and Jeff Probst, none of which came close to Katie's draw.  All this competition is reportedly digging into the ratings for Anderson Cooper's show, now known as Anderson Live.