MOVE over, Oprah – here comes Maury!
Maury Povich has vaulted past Jerry Springer to finish second to the talk show queen for the first time.
“Maury Povich” notched a 4.4 rating (4.4 million households) for the week ending Dec. 25 – behind only “Oprah Winfrey” and ahead of “Jerry Springer,” which finished with a 3.8.
The week also marked “Maury’s” best-ever ratings since moving to Studios USA two years ago.
“We appeal to a young audience that seems to be attracted to us,” Povich told The Post. “We’re not just a stick-in-the-mud like some of the other shows.
“We’re vibrant and we do a lot of different things,” he said. “Sometimes we’re edgy and sometimes we’re caring and sympathetic. It keeps me young – I thought I’d be out of the business by now!
“I was a bit surprised, but when I thought about it, a lot of people were off from school that week and lots of families were around,” Povich said.
With the new numbers, “Maury” (10 a.m. on Ch. 11) now ranks ninth among all syndicated shows across the board – and is the only talk/court show to show year-to-year ratings growth (7 percent).
The ratings news was also good for the third hour of NBC’s “Today” show.
For the week ending Jan. 7, “Today II” (9-10 a.m.) averaged 4.1 million viewers and 3.6 million households – and was up 44 percent in homes and 45 percent in total viewers compared to the same week last year.
“Today II” also averaged a 1.8 in women 18-49 for the quarter – beating “Live with Regis” (1.7) and tying “Live” in adults 18-49 and 25-54.
Meanwhile, “Today” (7-9 a.m.) notched 5.9 million viewers for the week – far ahead of ABC’s “Good Morning America” (4.1 million viewers) and CBS’ “The Early Show” (2.5 million viewers).
“The Early Show” is expected to get a ratings bump once CBS’ “Survivor II” kicks into gear after The Super Bowl on Jan. 28.
And “Queen Latifah” also benefited from viewers who were home the week of Dec. 25 – notching its all-time-best ratings.
“Latifah” averaged a best-ever 1.4 (1.4 million households), up 8 percent in ratings from the previous week and up 17 percent over its season-to-date numbers.
“Latifah” did especially well on Ch. 5 here in New York at noon, where it posted a 1.8 (124,000 households) – up 50 percent in ratings from the prior week.
“Latifah” was also up significantly in St. Louis, where it garnered season highs in ratings and share.