Little Upward Movement For Syndies

Judge Judy, the sole court show moving up, had a hot gavel in the session ending Jan. 22, and was the only strip in the top 10 to hit a new season high, as most syndicated programs drifted sideways to down in the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week.

Judy outperformed all syndicated shows for the 21^st time in the past 25 weeks, strengthening 4% to a nosebleed level 7.7 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen, its best rating of the season.

Elsewhere in daytime, top talker Dr. Phil was repeatedly bumped for coverage of former President Obama’s final press conference on Jan. 18, and for President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, slipping 19% to a 3.0. Still, Phil easily finished first in talk for the 20^th week in a row.

Rounding out the top five talkers: Live with Kelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Steve Harvey and Maury were all unchanged at 2.5, 2.5, 1.7 and 1.6, respectively.

Wendy Williams bucked the stagnant trend, growing 7% to a 1.6 and tying Maury for fifth place.

In access, the quiz and giveaway shows went nowhere. Family Feud slipped 3% to a 7.1, but continued to dominate the category for the 39^th consecutive week. Wheel of Fortune skidded 7% to a 6.6; Jeopardy faded 9% to a 6.2; and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire lost 6% to a 1.7.

Magazines similarly had no gainers. Entertainment Tonight eased 8% to a 3.3, but led the genre for the 25^th straight week.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.4, -13% from the week before)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1.3, unchanged)
• Live with Kelly (1.2, unchanged)
• Maury (1.1, unchanged), tied with Wendy Williams (1.1, +10%

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) 3.0 -19%

2. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.5 NC

2. Live with Kelly (Disney-ABC) 2.5 NC

4. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.7 NC

5. Maury (NBCU) 1.6 NC

5. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.6 +7%

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.4 NC

7. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.4 +17%

7. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.4* +8%

10. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 NC

11. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.9 NC

13. The Real (WBDTD) 0.8 NC

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Harry (NBCU) 1.1 -8%

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.7* +4%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.5 -4%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 -11%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.1 NC

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.8 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 7.1 -3%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.6 -7%

3. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.2 -9%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.7 -6%

5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.3 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.5 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.3 -8%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.2 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.5 NC

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.3 -7%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.2 NC

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.8 NC

8. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.9 +2%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.1 NC

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.7 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.1 +11%

5. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 2.0 NC

6. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 1.9 +6%

7. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.8 NC

8. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.3 +8%

9. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.2 -20%

9. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.2 +9%

9. The Middle (WBDTD) 1.2 NC

9. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.2 +9

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.9* +9%

2. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.2 -12%

3. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.8* +6%

4. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.7 NC

5. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.4 -7%

6. Rizzoli & Isles (WBDTD) 1.2 -8%

6. Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.2 NC

6. Person of Interest (WBDTD) 1.2 -14%

6. Elementary (CTD) 1.2 NC