‘Judy’ and ‘Katie’ May’s Top Veteran, Rookie

Judge Judy was syndication’s highest rated program of any type in the May sweep, with numbers equal to the sum of the next four court shows combined.

Other daytime standouts in Nielsen’s important April 25-May 22 survey period included Dr. Phil, which won the talk show race for the fifth straight sweep by a margin of 680,000 viewers; Live with Kelly and Michael, which had the largest year-to-year increase of any top-tier talker; and Ellen, which moved up to tie Kelly and Michael for second place in households, and also surged into sole possession of second place among women 25-54 behind only Dr. Phil.

Katie was the sweep’s rookie champ, extending its winning streak to 36 consecutive weeks, while Steve Harvey also came up big, growing 25% from its September debut in households, and topping Katie among women 25-54.

Among game shows, the main story was the Steve Harvey-hosted Family Feud, which scored the category’s sharpest year-to-year advance by miles, while Entertainment Tonight triumphed in the magazine race for the 91^st sweep in a row, dating back to 1990.

In the metered markets, new interactive game show Let’s Ask America clocked a steady 1.6 rating/3 share in households and grew 14% from its September premiere week among women 25-54.

The sweeps’ top nationally rated talk shows in the key women 25-54 demo were: Dr. Phil (1.9, up 12% from the May 2012 sweep); Ellen (1.6, +7%); Live with Kelly and Michael (1.5, +15%); Maury (1.4, -13%), tied with Dr. Oz (1.3, -13%); Wendy Williams (1.0, +11%); and rookie Steve Harvey (0.9), tied with Steve Wilkos (0.9, +13%).

In the May 2013 household rating rankings that follow, * indicates a new season high rating; ** indicates a new season low; % change is from the May 2012 sweep; NC indicates no change from the year-ago sweep.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.0 -3%

2. Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.5 +9%

2. Ellen (WBDTD) 2.5 +4%

4. Dr. Oz (Sony) 2.2 -15%

5. Maury (NBCU) 2.0 -17%

6. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.7

7. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5

8. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 -7%

9. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 NC

9. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

11. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.2 +9%

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.2 -25%

13. Anderson Live (WBDTD) 0.9 -36%

14. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.6

14. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.6

14. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6

17. Jeremy Kyle (Debmar-Mercury) 0.4 -33%

18. The Better Show (Meredith) 0.2

FRESHMEN TALKERS

1. Katie (Disney-ABC) 1.7

2. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5

3. Jeff Probst (CTD) 0.6

3. Ricki Lake (Twentieth) 0.6

3. Trisha (NBCU) 0.6

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.5 -3%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.9 -5%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 -6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.4 -7%

5. OMG Insider (CTD) 1.4 -13%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 1.0

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.7 -3%

2. Judge Joe Brown (CTD) 2.2 -15%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 -15%

4. Judge Alex (Twentieth) 1.4 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

6. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.2 -14%

7. America’s Court with Judge Ross (Entertainment Studios) 0.7 -22%

8. Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez (Entertainment Studios) 0.4

9. We the People with Gloria Allred (Entertainment Studios) 0.2 -50%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.3 -3%

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.8 +4%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) 4.5 +50%

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

5. Baggage (GSN) 1.0

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.4 -3%

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 4.5 -18%

3. Family Guy (Twentieth) 3.4 -11%

4. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 2.3 -12%

5. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 2.2 -8%

6. Seinfeld (Sony) 2.1 -13%

7. Friends (WBDTD) 2.0 +5%

8. Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD) 1.7 -23%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.4 +89%

2. Law & Order (NBCU) 2.8 -7%

3. Criminal Minds (CTD) 2.6 -10%

4. CSI: Miami (CTD) 2.4

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 2.3

6. House (NBCU) 2.1 +62%