‘Judy’ Once Again Tops Courts, Syndication

Going out on a high note in its final first-run season, the red-hot Judge Judy scorched all rivals and topped the entire syndication chart in the session ending May 9. The ageless daytime court show, now in year 25, has surged 28% in the previous two weeks to a 10-week high 5.5 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating.

Finishing behind Judy were access time period favorites Family Feud and Jeopardy. Feud fell 4% to a 5.3, while Jeopardy, with 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker at the podium, posted an 8% increase to a 5.2.

Elsewhere, Dr. Phil spiked 6% to a 1.8 and took over first place among talkers. Right behind was season-to-date talk leader Live with Kelly and Ryan, which held steady at a 1.7. Phil and Live have battled to a draw in four of the past six weeks. Every other program in the category finished below a 1.0 rating landing far behind the top two.

Also worthy of mention were the big entertainment magazines, which managed to match or outperform their Academy Awards ratings of the prior frame. Access Hollywood, Extra and Daily Mail TV all held their ground at 0.9, 0.6 and 0.6, respectively. Top-rated entertainment mag Entertainment Tonight improved 10% on its Oscars score to a 2.2.

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

• Dr. Phil (0.7, +17% from the week before), tied with Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.7, -13%)
• Kelly Clarkson (0.4, unchanged), tied with Tamron Hall (0.4, unchanged), Ellen DeGeneres (0.4, unchanged), Wendy Williams (0.4, -20%) and Maury (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 +6%

Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 1.7 NC

Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

Maury (NBCU) 0.9 NC

Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 0.9 NC

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCU) 0.8 -11%

Rachael Ray (CMV) 0.7 NC

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 0.7 NC

Tamron Hall (Disney-ABC) 0.7 -13%

Dr. Oz (Sony) 0.6 NC

The Real (WBDTD) 0.4 NC

The Doctors (CMV) 0.2 NC

Jerry Springer (NBCU) 0.2 NC

FIRST-RUN ROOKIE

Drew Barrymore (CMV) 0.5 NC

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CMV) 5.5 +8%

Hot Bench(CMV) 1.6 NC

People’s Court (WBDTD) 0.9 +13%

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 0.7 +17%

Judge Jerry (NBCU) 0.7 +17%

Divorce Court (20th Television) 0.6 NC

Protection Court (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 5.3 -4%

Jeopardy (CMV) 5.2 +8%

Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.0 +4%

25 Words or Less (CMV) 0.8 NC

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.4 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CMV) 2.3 +10%

Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.2 +10%

Access Hollywood (NBCU) 0.9 NC

TMZ (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Extra (WBDTD) 0.6 NC

Daily Mail TV (CMV) 0.6 NC

Dish Nation (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 2.5 +4%

Last Man Standing (Disney-ABC) 1.7 NC

Modern Family (Disney-ABC) 1.0 +11%

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

The Goldbergs(Sony) 0.9 NC

Family Guy (Disney-ABC) 0.9 +13%

Seinfeld (Sony) 0.8 NC

Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 3.9 +5%

Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 1.7 +6%

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

NCIS (CMV) 1.0 NC

NCIS: New Orleans (CMV) 1.0 NC

American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 0.9 +125%

Monk (NBCU) 0.9 -18%