‘Dr. Oz” is turning the battle of the afternoon “Oprah” spinoffs into a rout — at least in New York.
The sophomore show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, has opened up a commanding lead over warhorse “Dr. Phil,” leaving newcomer “Nate Berkus” in the dust.
All three shows air at 3 p.m. here — a rare programming move pitting three of Oprah Winfrey’s prized proteges (Oz, Phil McGraw and Berkus) against each other in a battle for viewers.
So far this season, “Dr. Oz” is the clear-cut winner, averaging 169,000 viewers on Ch. 5 — nearly 20,000 more viewers than “Dr. Phil,” which airs on Ch. 2 (it’s averaging 151,000 viewers).
“Nate Berkus,” meanwhile, is barely registering a pulse — averaging 71,000 viewers on Ch. 4.
“Berkus,” in fact, is down 20,000 viewers from what Ch. 4 averaged at 3 p.m. this time last season (with a syndicated version of “Deal or No Deal“).
“Oz,” meanwhile, is continuing to grow, adding 20,000 viewers from the same time last year — when the battle between “Oz” and “Phil” was much closer (148,000 viewers for “Oz” vs. 146,000 viewers for “Phil”).