‘Judy’ Takes Syndication’s Ratings Crown

This season’s closely watched rookie talk show race got a bit tighter in the week ending Oct. 7, although leader Katie (Disney-ABC) still won by a wide margin. Katie slipped 6% from the week before, although it remained ensconced in first place with a 1.7 and nearly 2.3 million viewers per show.

Steve Harvey (NBCU) was next, steady at a 1.3 with almost 1.8 million viewers. Jeff Probst (CTD) was the only freshman to improve from the prior session, growing 14% to a new series high 0.8 and 990,000 viewers, overtaking The Ricki Lake Show (Twentieth) for third place. Probst ended the week with its best single day rating yet, a 0.9 on Oct. 5 for a show featuring NCIS star Pauley Perrette.

Lake sank 13% to a fourth-place 0.7 with 949,000 viewers, while Trisha (NBCU), which is cleared on mostly lower rated independent and CW stations, gave back the 20% it gained in the prior frame and returned to a 0.4, attracting 581,000 viewers.

Talk Shows

Dr. Phil (CTD), with nearly 4 million viewers per show, was the top talker overall by a substantial margin for the fourth consecutive week, although it dipped 3% to a 3.0. On the other hand, Phil had the largest year-to-year increase of any talk show, gaining 11% from last year at this time. And the good doctor was up 7% from last year among women 25-54 to a first-place 1.6 in the key demo.

Live with Kelly and Michael (Disney-ABC), which has been no lower than second this season, was the only chat fest in the top 10 to advance from the week before, climbing 4%, both week to week and year to year, to a 2.6.

Dr. Oz (Sony) declined 4% week to week and tumbled 18% from last year at this time to a 2.3; Ellen (WBDTD), which has gotten off to a hot start this season, held firm at a 2.3, tying Oz, while conflict talker Maury (NBCU) was flat at a fifth-place 2.2.

Court Shows

Judge Judy (CTD) ruled the court shows and was the top-rated show in all of syndication for the second week in a row, despite a 1% downtick to a 6.7. Compared to last year, Judy is up 8%.

In second place, Judge Joe Brown (CTD) was off 8% to a 2.4; People’s Court (WBDTD) added 6% to a 1.9; Judge Mathis (WBDTD) was unchanged at a 1.5; while Judge Alex (Twentieth) skidded 13% to a 1.4.

Magazine Shows

In access time periods, some magazines were down slightly after getting a boost from the Emmy Awards in the prior week, although Access Hollywood (NBCU), Extra (WBDTD) and The Insider (CTD) all managed to hold steady at 1.7, 1.5 and 1.5, respectively.

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) led the field with a 3.7, which was down 3% from the previous session, but up 3% from last year. Inside Edition (CTD) fell 3% to a 3.0 and TMZ (WBDTD) yielded 5% to a 1.8, which was good enough for third place in the category. Newbie Dish Nation (Twentieth) trailed with an unchanged 0.9.

Game Shows

Among game shows, Wheel of Fortune (CTD) inched up 2% to 6.4; Jeopardy (CTD) was flat at a 5.6; Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury) downticked 2% to a 4.1; Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) lost 9% to a 2.1; while new entry Baggage (GSN) weighed in with a 10% increase to a 1.1 in its third week.

Off-Net Sitcoms

In off-net, Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) picked up 2% from the week before to a 6.6 and finished second overall behind Judge Judy. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) dropped 2% to a 4.8; Family Guy (Twentieth) was down 6% to 3.4; while How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) advanced 9% to a 2.4.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

Among off-net weekly hours there was a seismic shift in the rankings. Monk (NBCU), which has been at the top of the chart every week this season, plunged 29% to a 2.0 and landed in a fourth-place tie with Numbers (CTD).

At the other end of the ratings scale, Criminal Minds (CTD) surged 17% to a 2.7, tying an unchanged Law & Order (NBCU) for first place, while CSI: Miami (CTD) moved up 9% to a 2.5.