Syndicated shows, especially sitcoms, have been dropping drastically in viewership for the tv studios. The three largest sitcoms - "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Seinfeld" and "Friends" have done so poorly that all together the declines have resulted in half of last years viewers.
The other problem with sitcoms is that there isn't anything in place to replace them. Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director for Horizon Media says, "There are no replacements. Stations really like these Monday-to-Friday shows. It fills a niche against Letterman and Leno. It's a profit 
center. The only thing you pay for are the license fees."
While sitcoms have taken the biggest hit, they are not alone. The syndicated talk shows and magazine programs are dropping also, just not as much.
Even "Oprah" has dropped a huge 13% to score a 7.1 rating in November. The only host showing improvement was "Dr. Phil," up a small 2% to a 5.6 rating.
Of the entertainment talk shows, only "Entertainment Tonight" was up, growing by 2% also, with the same 5.6 rating that "Dr. Phil" took in. The rest were down or stayed the same as last year.
Gaming shows had a couple of that grew with "Jeopardy!" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" getting growing numbers. "Millionaire" grew decently at a 6% improvement from 2005.
Of the new talk shows, only "Rachael Ray" came in at 2.1, about double her nearest new talk competitor. All and all, it hasn't been a very good year for syndication. With nothing new in the wings, the networks will be scrambling to come up with shows that can create a following.
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