Good Ratings Get Better For Many Syndies

Judge Judy scored the highest ratings in 14 years and was the standout in the week ending Jan. 12, the second straight impressively strong week for most of syndication.

Judy, the season-to-date top-rated syndicated show hit the 8 rating level for the first time and clocked double-digit gains, both week to week and year to year.

Elsewhere in daytime, Dr. Phil jumped 26% and landed in a tie for first place in talk with Live with Kelly and Michael, which improved 31% from last year and made it three straight weeks at the top of the genre.

In third place, Ellen recovered nicely from its season low in the previous week. Dr. Oz hit a new season high and rocketed 44% from two weeks ago after its rating was withheld by Nielsen in the prior frame.

Other talkers notching new season highs included Steve Harvey, which clocked its biggest rating ever, Katie; JerrySpringer and The Doctors, while Maury, rookie leader Queen Latifah and Wendy Williams all posted solid increases. Wendy’s 1.5 was the highest rating the show has ever attained for a five-day week.

Also strong, newcomer Bethenny topped all new talkers among women 25-54 and was No. 1 in its time period in four of the top 14 markets among women 18-34.

In latenight, Arsenio Hall rose 17%.

Among the top-tier magazines, leader Entertainment Tonight and Extra both set new season high rating records, while Access Hollywood and The Insider surged by 19% and 15%, respectively. Extra scored its highest rating in more than two years.

Among the games, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire all nailed their best ratings of the season, with Feud’s 5.8 its highest household rating since 1988.

In off-net syndication, rookie Community maintained its series high for a second straight week, while Modern Family continued to lead the freshman sitcoms and rose 2%.

In the metered markets, after two full weeks, the Serch talk show trial run on eight Tribune stations averaged a 0.9 rating/3 share in households, with gains of 30% in Philadelphia and 167% in San Diego over year-ago time periods. Among women 25-54, the show averaged a 0.5/3 with an increase of 100% in Los Angeles.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.9, +36%), tied with Live with Kelly and Michael (1.9, unchanged) and Ellen (1.9, +19%)
• Dr. Oz (1.5, +50% from two weeks ago), tied with Maury (1.5, +15%)
• Steve Harvey (1.2, +9%)
• Wendy Williams (1.1, +22%)
• Katie (1.0, +25%), tied with Steve Wilkos (1.0, +25%) and Rachael Ray (1.0, 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

1. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 3.4 NC

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.4 +26%

3. Ellen (WBDTD) 3.1 +29%

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.6* +44% from two weeks ago

5. Maury (NBCU) 2.2 +5%

6. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 2.0* +5%

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 2.0* +11%

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.7 NC

9. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.5 +25%

10. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.4 NC

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.4* +8%

10. The Doctors (CTD) 1.4* +8%

13. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 +10%

14. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

15. The Test (CTD) 0.7 NC

15. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 +17%

17. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6 NC

18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NC

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 +10%

2. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

3. The Test (CTD) 0.7 NC

3. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 +17%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 8.0* +11%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 2.0* +5%

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.7 -11%

3. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.7 -6%

3. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.7 +6%

6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.0 -9%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 4.0* +14%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.2 +10%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.9 +12%

3. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.9 +19%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.8* +6%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.5 +15%

7. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.3* +8%

8. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 NC

9. America Now (Trifecta) 0.4 +33%

10. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3* +50%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 8.0* +18%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 7.3* +18%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 5.8* +5%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.4* +4%

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.6* +5%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.9 +2%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.1* +17%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.5* +13%

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.2 -4%

6. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 2.0 -5%

7. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.9 +6%

7. Friends (WBDTD) 1.9 +6%

9. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.7 -11%

10. Rules of Engagement (Sony) 1.6 +7%

10. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.6* +7%

12. Community (Sony) 0.5 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.3 +43%

2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 4.2 -13%

3. House (NBCU) 4.1 +5%

4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 3.2* +33%

5. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.7* +29%

6. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.5 -4%