‘Hot Bench’ Heats Up With 8% Rise

Hot Bench was the No. 1 new show for a second straight week in the session ending Sept. 28, but this time by a wider margin.

Bench, the new legal show created by Judge Judy Sheindlin, grew 8% to a 1.4, which was 17% above rookie talker Meredith Vieira. Meredith was steady in households at a 1.2 in its third week, while surging 20% among women 25-54.

Further back, Judge Faith premiered at a 0.7 household rating, 50% below fellow rookie courtroom Hot Bench. Another court show, Paternity Court, had a good week, climbing 20% to a 1.2.

In another daypart, access newcomer Celebrity Name Game debuted on the national chart at a 1.1.

Among the veteran strips in daytime, Dr. Phil easily topped all talk shows, gaining 3% from the prior session, and jumping 14% from last year at this time, to a 3.2. Phil also finished first among women 25-54 with a 1.6 demo rating.

Live with Kelly & Michael maintained its strong start with a 2.8 and improved 4% from last year.

Third-place Ellen DeGeneres declined 4% from last year and was flat week to week at a 2.5 in households. However, Ellen fell to fourth behind Maury among women 25-54 after declining 8% to a 1.2 in the demo.

Maury held steady at 2.0 in households while Steve Harvey rounded out the top 5 with a 19 % surge from last year and a 6% week-to-week advance to a 1.9.

The only other talker to make a significant upward move was Rachael Ray, which generated some ratings heat with gains of 8% for both the week and year to a 1.4.

For the season to date, freshman chatfest The Real has a 0.7 rating in the women 25-54 demo, edging out Meredith at a 0.6. In its second outing The Real scored a 0.9 household rating.

In access, Entertainment Tonight and its sister show The Insider scored the largest increases among the entertainment magazines, spurting 7% to a 3.2 and 9% to a 1.2, respectively. Access Hollywood, which has risen 31% in the past four weeks, and Extra, which has grown 15% over the previous three sessions, took a breather and held steady week to week at 1.7 and 1.5, respectively.

At the top of the chart, Judge Judy dipped 3% from last year to a 6.7, but still out-rated all syndicated strips for the 27^th straight week.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.6, unchanged from the week before)
• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.4, unchanged)
• Maury (1.3, unchanged)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1.2, -8%)
• Wendy Williams (1.0, -9%)
• Steve Harvey (0.9, unchanged), tied with Steve Wilkos (0.9, -18%)
• Jerry Springer (0.8, -11%)

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) 3.2 +3%

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.8 NC

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.5 NC

4. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 NC

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.9 +6%

6. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.5 -6%

7. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 -13%

7. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.4 NC

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 +8%

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

11. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.1 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.9 -10%

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

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.7 -6%

2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.5 -12%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

5. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.2 +20%

DAYTIME ROOKIES

1. Hot Bench (CTD) 1.4 +8%

2. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 1.2 NC

3. The Real (WBDTD) 0.9 -10%

4. Judge Faith (Trifecta (0.7 NA)

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.2 +7%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 +4%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.9 -5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.2 +9%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0 -9%

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.6 +7%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.3 NC

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.1 NC

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 5.1 NC

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 2.0 +5%

5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury) 1.1 NA

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.4 -7%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.7 NC

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.7 -13%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.4 NC

5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.3 NC

6. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.7 -11%

6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.7 NA

8. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.6 -11%

8. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.6 -11%

8. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 2.8 -18%

1. House (NBCU) 2.8 -3%

3. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 2.7 -4%

4. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.4 NC

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.0 NC

6. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC