‘Phil,’ ‘Judy,’ ‘Feud’ Hold On Against Olympics

Most heavy hitters in the various syndication genres held their ground or rose a bit opposite the second week of the Rio Summer Olympics, despite the widespread preemptions in the session ending Aug. 21.

As was the case in the prior frame, some programs were retitled as Olympic Specials and will not be counted in the season’s averages.

In daytime, an all-repeat week of Dr. Phil improved 5% from the previous session to a 2.1 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating, and finished first among the talk shows.

The court show race was a rout with Judge Judy jumping 3% to a first-place 6.3. In addition, Judy outperformed all strips in syndication for a third straight week.

The second-highest-rated legal series was Judge Judy’s creation Hot Bench, which strengthened 5% to a 2.1.

The season’s top rookie, Crime Watch Daily, stayed at a 0.7 with five days of reruns and had no trouble nabbing first place among the freshmen for the 49^th week in a row.

In access, Family Feud, the game show champ for the 17^th straight week, was the only gainer in the category, with a 2% advance to a 6.0 and finished No. 2 overall behind only Judy.

Entertainment Tonight maintained sole possession of the top spot among magazines for a third consecutive week, holding steady at a 2.8.

Big Bang Theory continued to dominate the off-net sitcoms, heating up 10% to a 4.6.

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

• Dr. Phil (0.9, unchanged from the week before), tied with Maury (0.9, unchanged)
• Steve Wilkos (0.8, unchanged)
• Jerry Springer (0.7, unchanged)
• Wendy Williams (0.6, 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) 2.1 +5%

2. Maury (NBCU) 1.5 NC

3. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 +8%

4. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.1 NC

5. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.0** -9%

6. The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Crime Watch Daily (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

2. Crazy Talk (NBCU) 0.4 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.3 +3%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.1 +5%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 +7%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.1 +10%

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.7 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.0 +2%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.2 NC

3. Jeopardy (CTD) 4.9 NC

4. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.1 NC

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.1 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.0 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.8 NC

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.5 +4%

3. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 -6%

4. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.4 +8%

5. The Insider (CTD) 0.9 NC

5. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 +13%

7. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.6 +10%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.3 NC

2. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.3 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.0 +5%

5. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.7 -6%

6. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.6** -6%

6. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.6 +7%

8. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.4** -7%

8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.4 NC

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.3 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.7 NC

2. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.6 NC

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.8 +6%

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.4 NC

5. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.3 -7%

6. The Mentalist (WBDTD) 1.1 +10%

6. The Good Wife (CTD) 1.1 NC