Syndies Ratings Show Some Acceleration

The majority of syndicated shows were steady to higher in the week ending Oct. 18, with several hitting their best levels of the year.

Judge Judy was the No. 1 show in syndication overall for the 17^th straight week with a 1% advance to a new season high 6.9 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating.

Judy’s Hot Bench was the No. 2 program in the court category, climbing 5% to a new, all-time series high 2.2, which put it up 47% over last year. This was the largest annual increase of any strip on the entire chart.

In talk, Dr. Phil was in command for the fifth week in a row, holding firm at a 3.0. Phil was also first among women 25-54 with a 1.4 in the key demo.

In a strong second place, Live with Kelly & Michael jumped 8% to a new season high 2.8 household rating.

Other talkers  moving up included:

• Ellen DeGeneres, which added 5% to a 2.3.
• Wendy Williams, which spiked 7% to a new season high 1.6.
• Dr. Oz, which improved a healthy 8 to a 1.3.
• The Doctors, which grew 11% to a 1.0, tying The Real, which dropped 9% to a1.0

Elsewhere, Crime Watch Daily finished first among the new strips for the fifth week in a row, despite giving back 11%, or one-tenth of a rating point, to a 0.8. FABLife, at a steady 0.7, and Crazy Talk, at a steady 0.6, followed.

Crime Watch was also the No. 1 newcomer among women 25-54 with a 0.5 in the key demo.

Entertainment Tonight led the magazines for the fourth consecutive week with a stable 3.0. The biggest gainers in the genre were Access Hollywood, which grew 6% to a 1.7, and The Insider, which rose 10% to a 1.1.

In addition, Extra Weekend surged 13% to a new season high 0.9.

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

• Dr. Phil (1.4, -13% from the week before)
• Live with Kelly & Michael (1.3, unchanged), tied with Ellen (1.3, +18%)
• Maury (1.1, -15%), tied with Wendy Williams (1.1, +10%)
• Steve Wilkos (0.9, -18%)

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 NC

2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 2.8* +8%

3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.3 +5%

4. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.7 NC

5. Maury (NBCU) 1.6 -6%

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

7. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.3 -7%

7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.3 NC

7. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.3 +8%

10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.2 NC

11. The Real (WBDTD) 1.0 -9%

11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.0 +11%

13. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 0.9 NC

ROOKIE SHOWS

1. Crime Watch Daily (WBDTD) 0.8 -11%

2. FABLife (Disney) 0.7 NC

3. Crazy Talk (NBCU) 0.6 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.1 NC

COURT SHOWS

1. Judge Judy (CTD) 6.9* +1%

2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.2* +5%

3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.3 +8%

6. Paternity Court (Orion Television) 1.2 NC

7. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.9 NC

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0 NC

2. Inside Edition (CTD) 2.9 NC

3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.7 NC

3. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 +6%

5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

6. The Insider (CTD) 1.1 +10%

7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 NC

8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.2 -33%

GAME SHOWS

1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.2 -3%

1. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.2* +2%

3. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.1 +2%

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.2 NC

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

OFF-NET SITCOMS

1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 5.4 -5%

2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.1 -9%

3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.6 NC

4. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.2 +5%

5. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.9 -5%

6. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.8 -5%

6. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.8 +6%

8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.6 NC

9. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.5** -17%

10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.3 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS

1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.6 +2%

2. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.7* +4%

3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.1 NC

4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.6** -11%

5. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.5 -6%

5. The Good Wife (CTD) 1.5 +15%