The court topper’s 8.0 is the best in syndication and represents a 7% household increase since February 2013. Other genre leaders include Dr. Phil, Entertainment Tonight and Wheel of Fortune.
WEEKLY SYNDICATION RATINGS ROUNDUP
‘Judge Judy’ The Queen Of The Feb. Sweeps
Judge Judy dominated the just-ended February sweep with the largest audience for a February ratings period in its 18 years on the air, despite competing against the Sochi Olympic Games.
According to national Nielsen results for the Jan. 30-Feb. 26 measurement period, Judy won its third consecutive major sweep, averaging an 8.0 household rating, up 7% from February 2013.
Wheel of Fortune was the second highest rated program in the sweep with a 7.4, down 3% from last year. Also among game shows, Family Feud‘s women 25-54 sweep rating of 3.0 (up 8% from February 2013) topped that of Wheel (2.8) and Jeopardy (2.6).
In terms of Judy’s rating, it was its strongest February sweep in six years, since 2008, but with an average of 11,144,000 total viewers, it was, by a wide margin, the show’s most-watched sweep ever.
On the other hand, ratings for the veteran off-net sitcoms all declined from last year by double digits. For example, topper Big Bang Theory fell 14%, Two and a Half Men lost 26% and Family Guy dropped 19%.
However, lower-than-usual sweep ratings for many programs were to be expected since they faced much stronger than usual competition from the Winter Olympics and also got hit with numerous preemptions during the games.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
On the positive side, Dr. Phil clearly won the talk show race for seventh consecutive sweep and actually improved 3% from last February to a 3.5 sweep average, despite preemptions and the Olympics in the mix. Phil was also tops among women 25-54, increasing 5% from last year.
Ellen, which was one of the shows that did not include either of the usually lower rated two weeks during the Olympics in its average, wound up with a 3.2 rating by that limited measurement.
Live with Kelly and Michael, which like Dr. Phil included the full sweep in its average, scored a 3.1, which was up 11% from last year’s February sweep.
Dr. Oz captured fourth place, followed by Maury and sophomore Steve Harvey, which posted the most year-to-year growth of any talker, climbing 31% from last February.
In access, three magazines clocked double-digit growth in the sweep: Access Hollywood, which actually covered news of the games, jumped 11% from last year; Extra, which retitled during the Olympics, surged 19%, the biggest year-over-year gain of any magazine; and Dish Nation, which climbed 10% from a year ago.
As usual Entertainment Tonight was No. 1, topping the category for the 94th sweep in a row.
Among shows not yet nationally cleared, Access Hollywood Live saw big increases in the sweep over last year in key markets, including a 40% surge in New York and a 29% rise in Los Angeles.
The sweep’s top-rated daytime talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:
- Dr. Phil (2.0, up 5% from February 2013)
- Ellen (1.9 +6%)
- Live with Kelly and Michael (1.6, -6%)
- Maury (1.4, -18%)
- Dr. Oz (1.3 -7%), tied with Wendy Williams (1.3, +30%)
- Steve Harvey (1.2 +20%)
- Steve Wilkos (1.1, -8%)
In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the February 2013 sweep; * 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) 3.5 +3%
2. Ellen (WBDTD) 3.2 +19%
3. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 3.1 +11%
4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.3 -8%
5. Maury (NBCU) 2.2 -8%
6. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 2.1 +31%
7. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.8 -5%
8. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.6 +23%
8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.6 NC
8. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.6 NC
11. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.4 -7%
12. The Doctors (CTD) 1.2 -14%
12. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.2 NA
14. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.9 NA
15. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 NA
15. The Test (CTD) 0.7 NA
17. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6 NC
18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2 NA
FRESHMEN TALKERS
1. Queen Latifah (Sony) 1.2 NA
2. Bethenny (WBDTD) 0.9 NA
2. Arsenio (CTD) 0.7 NA
2. The Test (CTD) 0.7 NA
COURT SHOWS
1. Judge Judy (CTD) 8.0 +7%
2. People’s Court (WBDTD) 2.0 +5%
3. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.8 +29%
4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.7 +21%
4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.7 +13%
6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.1 NA
MAGAZINE SHOWS
1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.7 -8%
2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.1 -6%
3. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 2.1 +11%
3. TMZ (WBDTD) 2.1 NC
5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.9 +19%
6. The Insider (CTD) 1.4 -7%
7. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.2 NA
8. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.1 +10%
9. America Now (Trifecta) 0.4 NA
10. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.2 NA
GAME SHOWS
1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 7.4 -3%
2. Jeopardy (CTD) 7.0 +3%
3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 5.8 +9%
4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC 2.2-15%
OFF-NET SITCOMS
1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.6 -14%
2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 4.9 NA
3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.0 -26%
4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.0 -19%
5. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.3 -18%
6. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.9 NA
6. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.9 -21%
8. Friends (WBDTD) 1.8 -14%
9. Rules of Engagement (Sony) 1.7 NC
10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.6 -30%
11. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.5 NA
12. Community (Sony) 0.5 NA
OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS
1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.1 NC
2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 3.8 NA
3. House (NBCU) 3.5 +52%
4. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.4 -11%
5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.2 -4%
6. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.0 -20%
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