Syndicated ‘Paternity Court’ Shows Ratings Bump

Rookie court show Paternity Court with judge Lauren Lake from MGM’s Orion TV Productions is gaining steam five weeks since its premiere. Its week-to-week rating was up 20% in the core women 25-54 demographic, based on Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings for the week of Oct. 21.

While the show ranked last among court shows with a 0.6 demo rating, it was close behind Twentieth Television’s Judge Alex (0.7) and Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis (0.8).

On the show, Lake decides a single case, at the end of the episode usually revealing the results of a paternity test.

CBS Television Distribution’s Judge Judy still dominates the court genre with a 3.0 women 25-54 rating the week of Oct. 21, followed by Warner Bros.’ People’s Court and Twentieth’s Divorce Court, each with a 0.9 rating.