Most of the shows in the genre posted big ratings gains in the week ending July 24 as Judge Judy continued to lead both the courtrooms as well as syndication overall once again.
WEEKLY SYNDICATED RATINGS ROUNDUP
Court Shows Thrive Under The Summer Sun
Judge Judy (CTD) scored its highest ratings in seven weeks and led a surging court show genre in the mid-summer session ending July 24. Ratings for every single courtroom, except People’s Court (WBDTD), which was unchanged, improved significantly.
Judy continued to be the top-rated program in all of syndication and opened up an even wider gap on its closest rivals with a 6.8 rating, up 6% week to week, and 58% year to year in households, and up 14% among women 18-34. Judge Joe Brown (CTD), which has been the second-highest-rated court show for 654 consecutive weeks (including ties), was also hot: it jumped 8% from the week before and 33 from last year at this time to a 2.8, its strongest performance in 10 weeks.
People’s remained at a 2.0; Judge Mathis (WBDTD) added 6% to a 1.7; Divorce Court (Twentieth) spiked 15% to a 1.5; Judge Alex (Twentieth) rose 8% to a 1.4; and Judge Jeanine Piero (WBDTD) spurted 13% to a 0.9.
First-Run Freshmen
Another growing court show, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace (CTD), continued to dominate the newcomers with a 13% leap from the prior week to a 1.7 in households. In addition, Justice clocked double-digit increases in every key female demo.
Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Twentieth) picked up 11% to a 1.0; Nate Berkus (Sony) rebounded 13% to a 0.9; while Judge Karen’s Court (Litton) and America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) were unchanged at 0.7 and 0.4, respectively.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Father Albert (Debmar-Mercury), a new talk show that is having a five-week summer test run, averaged a 0.7 rating/2 share in the metered markets for its first three weeks. This was unchanged from its year-ago time periods, but down 30% from its lead-ins.
Dish Nation (Twentieth), an entertainment news program that is getting a six-week tryout, posted 0.9/2 metered market average for its first week. This was down 31% from its July 2010 time periods and down 36% from its lead-ins.
Talk Shows
Elsewhere in daytime, the post-Oprah era talk show race remained a tight one. Live with Regis and Kelly (Disney-ABC) took the lead with a 9% increase from the week before to a 2.5. Maury (NBCU) was second with a 2.4, up 4%; Dr. Phil (CTD), in an all-repeat week, followed with a steady 2.3; Oprah (CTD) was flat at a 2.2; and Dr. Oz (Sony) grew 5% to a 2.0.
Magazine Shows
Magazines were little changed. Leader Entertainment Tonight (CTD) dipped 3% to a 3.4; Inside Edition (CTD) tacked on 7% to a 3.0; TMZ (WBDTD) increased 6% to a 1.9; while Access Hollywood (NBCU), Extra (WBDTD) and The Insider (CTD) were all even week to week at 1.7, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively.
Game Shows
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) was unchanged at a 6.3 but continued to rule the game shows. Jeopardy (CTD) crept ahead 2% to a 5.4; Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) was flat at a 2.7; Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) climbed 9% to a 2.4; while Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Twentieth) held steady at a 1.1
Off-Net Sitcoms
Off-net sitcoms were mostly lower, although Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) gained 5% from the week before to a 6.1. Family Guy (Twentieth) lost 2% to a 4.3; My Wife and Kids (Disney-ABC) fell 3% to a 3.2; George Lopez Show (WBDTD) sank 4% to a 2.7; while Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) and Seinfeld (Sony) each faded 4% to a 2.6.
Off-Net Weekly Hours
The off-net weekly hours competition tightened up a bit as usual leader Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) was unchanged at a 3.7, while runner-up Criminal Minds (CTD) advanced 7% to a 3.2. Without a Trace (WBDTD) was up 4% to a new season high 2.8; The Closer (WBDTD) soared 25% to a 2.5; while Monk (NBCU) remained at a 2.3.
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