Judge Judy was tops in both courtrooms and all of syndication, with her Hot Bench coming in second in the genre, while Right This Minute got underway with a 15% weekly rise.
WEEKLY SYNDICATION RATINGS ROUNDUP
Good Starts For ‘Judy,’ ‘Bench,’ ‘Minute"
Judge Judy took top honors in the session ending Sept. 17, kicking off its 22nd season with 10.2 million daily viewers and an eye-popping 7.1 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, trouncing all syndicated shows for the fifth week in a row. The nosebleed level 7.1 was up 9% from the prior frame and was the courtroom phenom’s highest rating since February.
Hot Bench, a Judge Judy creation, began its fourth season improving 5% to a four-week high 2.3, and was the second highest court show.
Elsewhere in daytime, Dr. Phil took the wraps off season 16 and blew away the talk shows for the 54th straight week, racing ahead 10% to a 20-week high 3.3.
Live with Kelly and Ryan, which was preempted in New York for the 9/11 memorial services, dipped 5% to a 2.1, but still tied Ellen DeGeneres for second place, which was unchanged at a 2.1.
On Monday, Sept. 25, the highly promoted debut of Megyn Kelly Today on the full NBC network was unable to beat the syndicated Live with Kelly and Ryan head to head. Both shows averaged a 2.2 rating/8 share in 56 metered markets. However, Live out-rated Megyn Kelly in all of the top four markets. In New York, Live topped Megyn by 21% — a 2.3/8 to a 1.9/7, although the time period leader was Hot Bench at a 2.9/11.
Back in the national ratings, true crime series Crime Watch Daily collared the largest increases in the category surging 11% for both the week and the year with its third season premiere to a 1.0, its biggest rating in 25 weeks.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Among the newest syndication entries, the first week of Page Six TV averaged a 0.7/2 for its primary runs in the metered markets, and was top rated among all new strips among women 25-54 with a 0.5/2 and demo increases over year-ago time periods of 75% in top market New York, 80% in Baltimore and 100% in Washington. The show also beat all time period competition in the demo, finishing first in Boston, Tampa and St. Louis, among other cities.
Daily Mail TV, the season’s other nationally cleared and anticipated newcomer, clocked a first week primary run 0.7/2 average, tying Page Six TV and earning a 0.3/2 in women 25-54. It took time periods up sharply among households in St. Louis (where it replaced and outperformed TMZ) by 18%, and in markets including Columbus, where it was up 100% and Providence, where it grew 150%.
The show was No. 1 in its time slot in markets including Atlanta and Jacksonville, where it beat The Late Show with Stephen Colbert head to head.
Another recently launched solid performer in the metered markets was Steve, the new version of Steve Harvey’s talk show, which was especially hot in Philadelphia, where it shot up 60% over last year in both ratings and key demos.
Returning again to the national ratings, Entertainment Tonight rose 3% to a 3.0, its strongest number since early May and led the magazines for the 59th consecutive week.
Family Feud toped the game shows with a 6.1.
The week’s top-rated daytime talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:
- Dr. Phil (1.4, +8% from the week before)
- Ellen DeGeneres (1.1, unchanged)
- Live with Kelly and Ryan (1.0, -9%)
- Maury (0.9, unchanged)
- Steve Wilkos (0.8, +14%)
- Jerry Springer (0.7, 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. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.3 +10%
2. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.1 NC
2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.1 -5%
4. Maury (NBCU) 1.5 +7%
5. Steve (NBCU) 1.3 NC
6. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.2 NC
6. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC
8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.1 NC
9. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.0 NC
9. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.0 NC
9. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen (WBDTD) 1.0 +11%
12. Harry (NBCU) 0.9 NC
13. The Doctors (CTD) 0.8 NC
14. The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 NC
COURT SHOWS
1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.1 +9%
2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.3 +5%
3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 +6%
4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.2 NC
5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 0.9 NC
6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 -13%
GAME SHOWS
1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.1 +2%
2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.5 +2%
2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.5 +8%
4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC
5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 0.6 -33%
INTERNET VIDEO
1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.5 +15%
MAGAZINE SHOWS
1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0 +3%
2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 +7%
3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.4 NC
4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.3 NC
5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.1 NC
6. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.2** -33%
OFF-NET SITCOMS
1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.5 -4%
2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.5 -7%
3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.9** -14%
4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 1.7 -6%
5. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 1.5 -6%
6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.4 -13%
7. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.3 NC
8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.2 NC
9. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.1 -8%
9. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.1 +10%
11. The Middle (WBDTD)
OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS
1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.2 +5%
2. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.9 -27%
3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.8 +20%
4. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.5 +25%
5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.2 NA
6. Rizzoli & Isles (WBDTD) 1.1 +10%
6. Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.1 NC
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