Amodio Falls, But ‘Jeopardy’ Thrives

The third week guest-hosting Jeopardy this season was a charm for Mayim Bialik as the show surged 7% from the prior frame to a new season high 5.9 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, and easily topped all of syndication in the session ending Oct 10. Of course, Jeopardy got a huge boost from fascination with super contestant Matt Amodio who wasn’t defeated until Oct. 11.

Also scoring a new season high was Judge Judy, the crown jewel of daytime, which grew 2% to a 4.8 and captured first place court shows for the 1,307^th consecutive week.

Hot Bench was the second-highest gaveler, growing 7% to a 1.6.

Dr. Phil remained the one to beat in talk, leading the yak pack for a third week in a row with a third straight 1.8. But the talker with the biggest annual improvement in the top 10 was Kelly Clarkson, which shot up 13% from the same week one year ago to a 0.9. Clarkson also notched its most-watched week of the year, pulling in more than 1.35 million daily viewers.

Ellen DeGeneres, determined to out-perform in its final season, hit the board at its previous season high 1.0 and delivered a triple-digit increase over the past two months, jumping from eighth place to third.

Live with Kelly and Ryan remained in second place notwithstanding a 6% dip to a 1.6.

In the contest between the newest chat shows, Drew Barrymore, which was the sole program in the category to premiere last season, clocked a 0.5 and finished ahead of rookie Nick Cannon, which stayed at a 0.4 in its second week.

Back in access, the only traditional entertainment magazines to hold their ground despite a ton of network football preemptions and competition from baseball playoff games on cable were Access Hollywood and Extra at a 0.8 and a 0.6, respectively.

The top talk shows for the week among women 25-54 were:

• Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.7, unchanged from the week before)
• Dr. Phil (0.6, -14%)
• Ellen DeGeneres (0.4, unchanged), tied with Kelly Clarkson (0.4, unchanged)

In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the previous week; * indicates a new season-high rating; ** indicates a new season low; NC indicates no change from the previous week; NA means not applicable.

TALK SHOWS

Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.8 NC

Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 1.6 -6%

Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCU) 0.9 NC

Maury (NBCU) 0.8 NC

Rachael Ray (CMV) 0.8 +14%

Tamron Hall (Disney-ABC) 0.7 NC

Dr. Oz (Sony) 0.6 NC

Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 0.6 NC

Drew Barrymore (CMV) 0.5 NC

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 0.5 NC

Nick Cannon (CMV) 0.4 NC

The Real (WBDTD) 0.3 NC

Jerry Springer (NBCU) 0.3 NC

The Doctors (CMV) 0.2 NC

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CMV) 4.8* +2%

Hot Bench(CMV) 1.6 +7%

People’s Court (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Judge Jerry (NBCU) 0.4 NC

Divorce Court (Fox First Run) 0.5 +25%

GAME SHOWS

Jeopardy (CMV) 5.9* +7%

Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.2* +4%

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 5.2 -2%

You Bet Your Life (Fox First Run) 0.7 NC

25 Words or Less (Fox First Run) 0.7 NC

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.4 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CMV) 2.2 -4%

Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.0 -5%

Access Hollywood (NBCU) 0.8 NC

TMZ (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

Extra (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Daily Mail TV (CMV) 0.5 NC

Dish Nation (Fox First Run) 0.2 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 2.2 NC

Last Man Standing (Disney-ABC) 1.3 NC

Modern Family (Disney-ABC) 0.8 +14%

Young Sheldon (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

The Goldbergs(Sony) 0.8 +14%

Family Guy (Disney-ABC) 0.7 +17%

Seinfeld (Sony) 0.7 NC

Black-ish (Disney-ABC) 0.6 +20%

Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 3.8 +6%

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 1.3 +30%

Chicago Fire (NBCU) 1.1 NC

Monk (NBCU) 1.0 +11%

­­­Seal Team (CMV) 0.9* +29%

American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 0.9 +29%