Katie Couric scores strong overnight ratings for 'Katie' debut

Katie Couric's first outing as a daytime talk-show host brought in strong ratings Monday (Sept. 10) -- equaling the best daytime debut since "Dr. Phil" a decade ago.

"Katie" delivered a 2.8 household rating and 8 share in overnight ratings for Nielsen's 56 metered markets. That's by far the best debut of this season's crop of new talk shows, beating the opening episodes of "Steve Harvey" (1.5/4), "The Jeff Probst Show" (1.0/3) and "The Ricki Lake Show" (0.8/2) by wide margins.

Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow -- who also does the show's theme song -- were Couric's first guests on Monday.

Couric's first episode matched the premiere ratings for "Dr. Phil" in 2002 and beat all 25 of the daytime talk shows that have debuted since then.

"Katie" came in first or second in its time period in each of the country's Top 15 markets, including first-place finishes in New York and Los Angeles.