‘Judge Judy’ Raises The Bar Once Again

The big story of the session ending Aug.4 featured Judge Judy elbowing aside all competition and topping the Nielsen chart in the household ratings for the third time in four weeks.

It was an extraordinary effort since the show was in reruns on all five days and was unable to be seen along with other programs on the 28 CBS-owned stations carried by satellite giant DirecTV and AT&T U-verse in 14 markets including New York and Los Angeles.

Nevertheless, Judy jumped 2% from the week before to a top-rated 5.8 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating.

Dr. Phil also rose to the occasion with a 5% advance to a 2.1 and led the talk shows for the 152^nd week in a row.

Close behind, Live with Kelly and Ryan extended its streak as the second-highest talker to 23 weeks, holding its ground at a 1.9.

Ellen DeGeneres took third with an unchanged 1.4, followed by Wendy Williams and Maury, which both moved up 9% to a 1.2.

Elsewhere, none of the top three game shows was able to gain. Family Feud dipped 2% to a 5.7, Wheel of Fortune was flat at a 5.0, while Jeopardy declined 13% to new season-low 4.7.

Among magazines, Entertainment Tonight was the only show moving up in households, forging ahead 4% to a 2.4, while Extra, with a 25% surge, grew the most in the advertiser-coveted women 25-54 demographic.

Meanwhile, week four of the six-week trial that began July 15 for comedic game show Punch Line managed a 0.3 rating/1 share weighted metered market average, off 40% from both its lead-ins and August 2018 time periods.

The week’s top-rated daytime talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:

• Dr. Phil (0.8, unchanged from the week before), tied with Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.8, unchanged)
• Maury (0.6, unchanged), tied with Wendy Williams (0.6, unchanged)
• Ellen DeGeneres (0.5, -17%), tied with Steve Wilkos (0.5, 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 mean not applicable.

TALK SHOWS

Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.1 +5%

Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 1.9 NC

Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

Maury (NBCU) 1.2 +9%

Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.2 +9%

Steve (NBCU) 1.0 +11%

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.0 +11%

Rachael Ray (CTD) 0.9 -10%

Dr. Oz (Sony) 0.9 NC

Face the Truth (CTD) 0.6 +20%

The Real (WBDTD) 0.5 NC

The Doctors (CTD) 0.4** -20%

Pickler & Ben (Disney-ABC) 0.3 NC

Jerry Springer (NBCU) 0.3 NC

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CTD) 5.8 +2%

Hot Bench(CTD) 1.9 NC

People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.3 +8%

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 0.9 +13%

Divorce Court (20th Television) 0.6 NC

Caught in Providence (Debmar-Mercury) 0.5 NC

GAME SHOWS

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 5.7 -2%

Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.0 NC

Jeopardy (CTD) 4.7** -13%

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.5 +7%

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.5 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.2 +9%

OFF-NET TRUE CRIME

Dateline M-F (NBCU) 1.2 NC

Live PD: Police Patrol (Sony) 1.1 +10%

True Crime Files (20th Television) 0.3 NC

SCRIPTED OFF-NET POLICE PROCEDURAL

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 0.8 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CTD) 2.5 NC

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.4 +4%

TMZ (WBDTD) 1.1 -8%

Access (NBCU) 1.0 NC

Extra (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

Daily Mail TV (CTD) 0.9 NC

Page Six TV(20th Television) 0.5 NC

Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.1 NC

Modern Family (20th Television) 1.6 NC

Last Man Standing (20th Television) 2.2 +10%

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

The Goldbergs(Sony) 1.2 NC

Family Guy (20th Television) 1.2 -8%

Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

Black-ish (Disney-ABC) 1.0 NC

Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 0.8** -11%

Seinfeld (Sony) 1.0 NC

Mom (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 2.6** -4%

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

NCIS: New Orleans (CTD) 1.1 NC

Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.1 +10%

Major Crimes (WBDTD) 0.9 NC