Judy’s The Standout In A Ho-Hum Week

Syndication leader Judge Judy’s ratings were on fire in an otherwise tepid session ending April 29, easily outperforming all shows in a frame that included the first two weekdays of the important May sweep.

Judy was the only member of syndication’s 7-rating club, jumping 6% to a four-week high 7.0 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen, and blowing away all rivals for the 10th week in a row.

Also of note, Hot Bench, which was created by Judge Judy, grew 5% to a 2.3 and ranked as the No. 3 show in daytime behind only Judy and Dr. Phil.

Most of the other shows in first run were flat to down, due, in part, to preemptions for reports on Bill Cosby’s April 26 guilty verdict and competition from cable news coverage of the event.

For example, only two of the 15 talk shows were up week to week. One was Dr. Phil, which led the category for the 86^th straight week, improving 3% to a 3.2, its biggest rating since the session beginning April 2.

The second gainer was fifth-place Wendy Williams, which advanced 8% to a 1.3.

The other top talkers were Live with Kelly and Ryan and Ellen DeGeneres, which both eased 5% and tied for second at a 2.1.

The week’s biggest percentage loser among talk’s top 10 was Dr. Oz, which matched its all-time low with a 9% drop to a 1.0 and landed in a tie for ninth place.

In access, game shows stalled. Family Feud was flat at a 6.5, but led the category. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune each fell 5% to 5.9 and 5.8, respectively.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.3, +8% from the week before)

• Ellen DeGeneres (0.9, -18%), tied with Live with Kelly and Ryan (0.9, -10%) and Maury (0.9, +13%)

• Wendy Williams (0.8, 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) 3.2 +3%

2. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.1 -5%

2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.1 -5%

4. Maury (NBCU) 1.4 NC

5. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.3 +8%

6. Steve (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.1 NC

7. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.1 NC

9. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.0 NC

9. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.0 -9%

11. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen (WBDTD) 0.9 NC

12. Harry (NBCU) 0.7 NC

12. The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.7 -13%

FIRST-RUN ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Daily Mail TV (CTD) 1.0 NC

2. Page Six TV (20th Television) 0.7 NC

3. Funny You Should Ask (Entertainment Studios) 0.4 NC

4. Pickler & Ben (Disney-ABC) 0.3 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.0 +6%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.3 +5%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.1 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 0.9 NC

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.6 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.5 NC

2. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.9 -5%

3. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.8 -5%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.6 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.3** -7%

OFF-NET TRUE CRIME

1. Dateline M-F (NBCU) 1.3 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.1 +3%

2. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.2 -14%

4. Access (NBCU) 1.1** -8%

4. Extra (WBDTD) 1.1 NC

6. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.5 -2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.0 NC

3. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 1.7 NC

4. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.6 NC

4. The Goldbergs (Sony) 1.6 NC

6. Family Guy (Twentieth) 1.5 +7%

7. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

8. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.2 NC

9. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.0 -9%

9. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.0 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

1. Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 3.7 +9%

2. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.2 NC

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.9 +6%

4. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.6 -6%

5. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 1.5 +7%

6. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.3 NC