Regis Philbin Tribute Drives Huge Ratings Growth for ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’

Regis Philbin posthumously delivered big viewership to his old daytime talk show, “Live.” For the week ending Aug. 2, the week following Philbin’s passing at age 88, “Live With Kelly and Ryan” ratings soared 19% from the prior week to reach a seven-week high. The show’s 1.9 Live + Same Day national Nielsen rating led “Live” to top all syndicated talkers — yes, including typical winner “Dr. Phil,” which drew a steady 1.8 rating. Far behind those gold- and silver-medal-winning series was third-place series “Maury,” still stuck at a series low 1.1 rating for its eighth straight week. “Ellen” remained at last week’s record-low 1.0 rating. As per usual, “Judge Judy” blew away all of the other daytime syndicated shows, averaging a 5.6 rating despite airing all reruns. On July 31, “Live With Kelly and Ryan” re-aired the Nov. 8, 2011 “Regis Farewell Celebration Special.” That’s when Philbin retired from the program. Philbin, a legendary broadcaster, died on July 24 at age 88. Following his passing, Kelly Ripa, called her former “Live With Regis and Kelly” partner a mentor. “We are beyond saddened to learn about the loss of Regis Philbin,” Ripa wrote on her Instagram page. “He was the ultimate class act, bringing his laughter and joy into our homes everyday on Live for more than 23 years. We were beyond lucky to have him as a mentor in our careers and aspire everyday to fill his shoes on the show. We send our deepest love and condolences to his family and hope they can find some comfort in knowing he left the world a better place.” “Live,” which launched in 1988, was originally hosted by Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. Gifford left the show in 2000; Ripa replaced Gifford in 2001. In 2012, Michael Strahan joined Ripa, but that partnership was fairly short-lived. Ryan Seacrest joined Ripa in 2017, following a lengthy search for her new co-host. So far, so good on that partnership.