Syndie Sweep No. 1s: ‘Judy,’ ‘Phil,’ ‘Feud,’ ‘ET’

The national results of the May sweep are in — and the winner, by a wide margin, was courtroom star Judge Judy with more than 9.5 million daily viewers and a 6.9 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen average for the survey period, April 27-May 24.

This marks the eighth year in a row that Judy has been syndication’s highest-rated strip overall in the May sweep. The show’s 6.9 was its second-highest May since 2014, and greater than the sum of the five other nationally measured court shows combined.

Another strip blooming in May was Dr. Phil, which easily led the talk shows as it has in all 17 major sweeps since November 2011 — winning this year by its greatest May advantage ever.

Phil clocked about 4.5 million viewers a day with a strong 3.3 sweep average, matching its second-best May numbers since 2008. In addition, Phil was the only talker in the top five to outperform last year.

Also on the positive side, Live with Kelly and Ryan scored a promising 2.3 with more than 3 million viewers daily, and snared the No. 2 spot in talk in only the show’s first sweep outing since Ryan Seacrest was named cohost

Ellen DeGeneres was third with a 2.2. Most of the other shows in the genre had a lackluster sweep. For example, Rachael Ray and Dr. Oz both retreated to a 1.2, their lowest May ratings ever.

One of the very few strips to avoid declines from last May was true-crime series Crime Watch Daily, which averaged more than 1.2 million daily viewers with a steady 0.9, up 13% from its 2015 premiere, and grew 60% in top market New York on WPIX.

First-run syndication’s sole newcomer, Harry Connick Jr.’s Harry, which has been renewed for a second season, also drew more than 1.2 million viewers daily, posting a 1.0 in its first May, while scoring big time period increases in several metered markets, including 53% in Fort Myers, Fla.; 175% in Tampa and 400% in St. Louis.

Entertainment Tonight delivered a 2.9 and extended its winning streak among magazines to 106 sweeps, dating back to 1990.

Family Feud logged a 6.3 and outplayed the game shows, finishing second overall to syndication champ Judge Judy.

Among the off-nets, Big Bang Theory was the top sitcom in May with a 4.8.

Throughout the survey period, the vast majority of all syndicated shows were down from the May 2016 sweep thanks to burgeoning watching on mobile devices, mushrooming audience fragmentation and competition from a nearly 50% increase in cable news viewing in some dayparts.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.5 average, unchanged from May 2016)
• Live with Kelly and Ryan (1.1, -27%)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1.0, -23%), tied with Maury (1.0, -9%)
• Wendy Williams (0.9, -18%), tied with Steve Wilkos (0.9, unchanged)

In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the May 2016 sweep; * 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) 3.3 +3%

2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.3 -26%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.2 -8%

4. Maury (NBCU) 1.6 NC

5. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.5 -17%

6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 -13%

7. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

7. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 +8%

9. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.2 -14%

9. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.2 -14%

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

12. The Real (WBDTD) 0.8 -11%

12. The Doctors (CTD) 0.8 -20%

DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Harry (NBCU) 1.0 NA

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.9 -4%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.2 -12%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.6 -11%

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.2 -14%

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.0 -17%

6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.8 NC

GAME SHOWS

1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.3 -11%

2. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.8 -9%

3. Jeopardy (CTD) 5.7 -5%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.6 +23%

5. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.2 -14%

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.3 +18%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.9 -6%

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.7 -7%

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.5 -17%

4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.3 -19%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.2 -14%

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.0 -17%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.7 -22%

8. Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.3 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.8 -9%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 2.6 -13%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.2 -15%

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 1.8 -10%

5. Last Man Standing (Twentieth) 1.6 NA

5. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.6 -16%

7. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.4 -26%

8. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.2 -33%

8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.2 -25%

10. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.1 -31%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.1 -15%

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 3.8 -16%

2. Blue Bloods (CTD) 1.9 -5%

3. American Ninja Warrior (NBCU) 1.5 NA

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.4 -22%

4. CSI Miami (CTD) 1.4 NA

6. Rizzoli & Isles (WBDTD) 1.1 -8%

6. Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.1 NA

6. Elementary (CTD) 1.1 NC

6. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.1 -27%