Good News For ‘Family, ‘Latifah, ‘Phil,’ ‘Judy’

Judge Judy was easily syndication’s top-rated program in the relatively quiet week ending Oct. 13. In addition, Judy topped the gavelers for the 890^th consecutive week with a rating more than quadruple that of its nearest court show competitor and extended its first-run winning streak to 24 straight weeks.

Among the closely watched sitcoms new to off-net syndication, Modern Family rose to its highest rating yet in its third week, while The Cleveland Show dropped and The Middle and Community both held steady.

In daytime first run, talk shows were solid performers with seven of the top 10 chat fests holding steady week to week and the other three gaining ground. On the upswing were leader Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and Steve Wilkos. Year to year, the fastest growing was sophomore Steve Harvey, which surged 23% from the same week in 2012.

Among the talk newcomers, Queen Latifah finished first for the fourth week in a row despite dipping from the previous week. Bethenny was a solid second in households. Meanwhile, The Test failed, reversing its gain of the previous week. In latenight, Arsenio held firm in its first week under new interim Executive Producer Eric Pankowski.

The entertainment magazines were all flat or down, with Entertainment Tonight continuing to lead the field despite a 3% dip from the previous week.

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

• Ellen (1.7, -6% from the week before)

• Live with Kelly and Michael (1.6, unchanged), tied with Dr. Phil (1.6, +7%)

• Dr. Oz (1.2, unchanged), tied with Maury (1.2, -14%)

• Steve Harvey (1.0, +11%), tied with Wendy Williams (1.0, unchanged)

In the household rating rankings that follow, * indicates a new season high rating; ** indicates a new season low; % change is from the previous week; NC indicates no change from the previous week.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.8 +4%

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.7 NC

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.4 NC

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.0 NC

5. Maury (NBCU) 1.9 NC

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC

6. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.6 NC

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 +8%

9. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.3 NC

9. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 +8%

11. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 1.1 NC

12. Queen Latifah  (Sony) 1.1 -8%

14. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

15. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 NC

16. The Test (CTD) 0.5 -17%

16. Trisha (NBCU) 0.5 NC

18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.1 -50%

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 -8%

2. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

3. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 NC

4. The Test (CTD) 0.5 -17%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.9 +1%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 NC

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.5 +7%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 +7%

3. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.5 +15%

6. Paternity Court (MGM) 0.9 +13%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.6 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.8 -3%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 -6%

6. OMG! Insider (CTD) 1.4 -7%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

7. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.0 NC

9. America Now (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

10. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.4 -4%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.9 -2%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.3 +2%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.1 +5%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.3 +4%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.4 +13%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 3.6 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.5 -4%

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.9 NC

6. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.8 -5%

7. Friends (WBDTD) 1.7 -11%

8. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.6 -6%

9. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.5 NC

10. Rules of Engagement (Sony) 1.4 -13%

11. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.3 NC%

12. Community (Sony) 0.4 NC

ROOKIE OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.4 +13%

2. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.8 -5%

3. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

4. Community (Sony) 0.4 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.2 +10%

2. House (NBCU) 3.0 -6%

3. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 2.7 -33%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.1 -5%

4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.1 +5%

4. CSI Miami (CTD) 2.1 +5%