Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE, 12 PM: The numbers for all of yesterday’s daytime syndicated talk shows are in. Not surprisingly, the 10th-season premiere of Ellen featuring guests Patrick Dempsey, Pink and the Fierce Five, came up on top with a 3.0 household rating/8 share in the metered markets, 50% time period improvement vs. last year, and a 2.2/12 in women 25-54, the highest-ever demo number for an Ellen season premiere. Kelly & Michael (2.9 HH, 1.7 W25-54) was second, followed by the fourth-season premiere of Dr. Oz (2.8, 1.6) and Katie (2.8, 1.6). Dr. Oz was No. 1 in cumed household ratings. Ricki Lake (0.8, 0.4) was dead last among all new and returning talk shows, with Jeff Probst (1.0, 0.7) doing only a little better. Yesterday’s rankings should carry an asterisk as top talk show Dr. Phil was a repeat and will launch its new season today.

PREVIOUS 8 AM: Katie Couric‘s new syndicated talk show Katie got off to a strong start yesterday with a 2.8 household rating/8 share in the 56 U.S. metered markets to lead the pack of new daytime talk shows by a large margin. It equaled the highest daytime talk show opener in the last decade, Rachael Ray, in 2006 (2.8), the best premiere since Dr. Phil‘s 5.2 rating in September 2002. Katie, which featured guest Jessica Simpson, built on its lead-in by 12% and improved its time period year-to-year by 22%. (The show replaced soap General Hospital in about half of the country, with the soap now serving as its lead-in.)

Related: ‘The Talk’ Hosts Makeup-Free Stunt: Video

Of the other new talk show premieres, Steve Harvey, which debuted last Tuesday, was No. 2 with a 1.5/4. The opener of Jeff Probst yesterday was on the low side (1.0/3), while Ricki Lake (0.8/2) trailed the pack. Lake’s show was affected by the retrans spat between Tribune and Cablevision, which impacts 40% of the nation’s top market, New York. In its sophomore season debut on a new set, Anderson drew a 1.3 household rating, up slightly from the lackluster 1.1 rating for its series premiere last fall. The reigning top-rated daytime talk show, Dr. Phil, opens its 11th season today after it was pre-empted for the U.S. Open tennis championship yesterday. The season premiere of CBS’ The Talk, which featured its hosts makeup-free, delivered a series high 2.6/8 in the East Coast, Central and Mountain markets. It was pre-empted for the U.S. Open on the West Coast where it will air today. Final averages will be available tomorrow.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.