Channel Surfing by Laura Nachman December 2, 2003 Bucks County Courier Times WPVI won the Monday through Friday 11 p.m. news battle over WCAU by one rating point in the November sweeps period.  WPVI had a 12 rating and WCAU was in second place with an 11 rating.  KYW was in third place with an 8 rating.   At 6 p.m., WPVI with Jim Gardner led with a 14 rating.  KYW is catching up to arch-rival WCAU thanks to the new team of Alycia Lane and WCAU ex-patriot Larry Mendte.  While KYW improved to a 5 rating, WCAU with Mendte's replacement Tim Lake went down to a 6 rating.  Some of the credit for KYW's rise can go to "Dr. Phil" who is providing a strong lead-in at 5 p.m.  While once KYW was a distant third at 5 p.m., now it is tied with WCAU news in that time. Also at 5 p.m., despite the unstable anchor situation due to Lisa Thomas Laury's health, WPVI remains the leader with an 11 rating, the same as last year, thanks to an incredible lead-in from "Oprah." "Oprah," which is going in a more-entertainment direction is bringing in more viewers like me. Timeslot winners throughout the day were "Good Morning America" from 7-9 a.m., "Regis and Kelly" at 9 a.m., "The Wayne Brady Show" at 10 a.m., "The Price is Right" at 11 a.m., "Action News" at noon, "One Life to Live" at 2 p.m., "General Hospital" at 3 p.m., "Oprah" at 4 p.m., "Action News" at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., "The World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" at 6:30 p.m., "Jeopardy" at 7 p.m., "Wheel of Fortune" at 7:30 and "The Tonight Show" at 11:30 p.m. Here were some ratings surprises:  at 9 a.m., "Jerry Springer" and "Judge Hatchett" beat "Living it Up with Ali & Jack." At 10 a.m., "Maury" is close behind "10." At 4 p.m., "Texas Justice" beats the news on KYW.  At 5 p.m., it's a three-way tie for second place between "Dr. Phil," the news on WCAU, and "Judge Judy."  In the battle of the entertainment shows, "Access Hollywood" gets a higher rating than "Entertainment Tonight."  And "Nightline" beats "The Late Show with David Letterman" at 11:30 p.m. From 7-9 a.m., the changes to "Good Day Philadelphia" aren't making a change in the ratings yet, as it remains at the same 2 rating it had last year. *Ratings points were rounded up or down to the nearest number.  Each rating point equals 28,743 homes. Mix 95.7-FM is trying to win over the former listeners of "The Point" 96.5-FM, which switched to hip-hop two weeks ago.  Mix has thrown songs from the 80's and 90's into its play list, which previously was adult contemporary music.  Buh-Bye General assignment reporter Esther Miller's last day on the air at KYW was Friday. Her contract was not renewed by the station.   WPHL weekend weather woman Tracey Humphrey is going to do the same job for Fox in New York City. Gutter Girl Yes, that was glamorous anchor Kerri Lee-Halkett cleaning out a gutter on a recent "Good Day Philadelphia."  Halkett credits her new husband, Jim Liott with her growing love for home repair.  "Jim and I are currently deep into a rehab at our new home in Montgomery County-- this weekend we ripped down another kitchen wall.  We're replacing square doorways with arches and beautiful wood molding."  Paige Davis watch your back! Diamond-Vision Neil Diamond will debut on QVC to sell his new six-CD box set, "Stages:  Performances 1970-2002" tomorrow night at 10 p.m.