Five out of six courtrooms record ratings increases over a year ago. Judge Judy is first-run's overall winner. Other genres didn’t fare so well in this year’s February sweep.
WEEKLY SYNDICATION RATINGS ROUNDUP
Winning Verdicts For Court Shows In February
The national results of the February sweep are in and by a wide margin Judge Judy was the overall winner for the seventh time in the past nine major Nielsen surveys. Judy jumped 8% from last year to a 7.9 live-plus-same-day sweep average, its second-best February in eight years.
Another big court show smash, Hot Bench, posted its highest sweep ever and the greatest annual increase of any strip, soaring 50% from February 2015 to a 2.7 average.
Top talker Dr. Phil, which has won all 13 major sweeps since November of 2011, clocked a first-place 3.5 survey average, equaling its second-highest February average since 2008. Phil also easily won in the key demo, notching a 1.7 among women 25-54.
Live with Kelly & Michael was the second-highest rated talk show, averaging a 3.1 household rating, which matched its second-best February since 2007. A big bright spot was Live’s annual post-Oscars episode, which leaped to a 3.5 on Feb. 29.
With last February being a strong sweep for talkers in general , Rachael Ray was the only veteran in the category to outperform its year-ago mark, growing 7% to a 1.6.
Crime Watch Daily was the only newcomer showing growth over its September debut, surging 25% to a first-place 1.0 average. FABLife was flat at a 0.8, while Crazy Talk declined 17% from its opener to a 0.5.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
In access, top magazine Entertainment Tonight, which has won every sweep since July 1990, led the pack with a 3.5.
Family Feud and Wheel of Fortune tied for top game show honors, although Feud improved 4% from last year, while Wheel weakened 7%.
Among shows not yet nationally rated, Access Hollywood Live clocked a 0.9 rating/3 share in daytime, and shot up 25% among women 25-54 to a 0.5/3 in the key demo.
The sweep’s top-rated daytime talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:
- Dr. Phil (1.7 average, -6% from February 2015)
- Live with Kelly & Michael (1.5, -12%), tied with Ellen DeGeneres (1.5, -6%)
- Maury (1.2, -14%), tied with Wendy Williams (1.2, -14%)
- Steve Wilkos (1.0, unchanged)
In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the February 2015 sweep; * indicates a new season-high rating; ** indicates a new season low; NC indicates no change from the year-ago sweep; NA mean not applicable.
TALK SHOWS
1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.5 -3%
2. Live with Kelly & Michael (Disney-ABC) 3.1 -6%
3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.8 -7%
4. Steve Harvey (NBCU) 1.9 -10%
5. Maury (NBCU) 1.8 -14%
6. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.7 -11%
7. Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.6 +7%
8. Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.5 NC
8. Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.5 NC
10. Jerry Springer (NBCU) 1.3 -7%
11. The Real (WBDTD) 1.1 -15%
11. The Doctors (CTD) 1.1 -8%
13. Meredith Vieira (NBCU) 0.9 -25%
DAYTIME ROOKIE SHOWS
1. Crime Watch Daily (WBDTD) 1.0 +25% from its September premiere
2. FABLife (Disney) 0.8 NC from its September premiere
3. Crazy Talk (NBCU) 0.5 -17% from its September premiere
COURT SHOWS
1. Judge Judy (CTD) 7.9 +8%
2. Hot Bench (CTD) 2.7 +50%
3. People’s Court (WBDTD) 2.0 +11%
4. Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.6 +7%
5. Divorce Court (Twentieth) 1.3 -19%
6. Judge Faith (Trifecta) 0.9 +13%
MAGAZINE SHOWS
1. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.5 -10%
2. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.1 -9%
3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.8 -18%
4. Access Hollywood (NBCU) 1.7 -15%
5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.5 -12%
6. The Insider (CTD) 1.3 -7%
7. Dish Nation (Twentieth) 0.9 -18%
8. OK! TV (Trifecta) 0.3 NC
GAME SHOWS
1. Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 7.1 +4%
1. Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 7.1 -7%
3. Jeopardy (CTD) 6.7 -9%
4. Celebrity Name Game (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 1.5 +7%
5. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.4 -26%
INTERNET VIDEO
1. Right This Minute (MGM) 1.2 -25%
OFF-NET SITCOMS
1. Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 6.1 -5%
2. Modern Family (Twentieth) 3.4 -11%
3. Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 2.8 -13%
4. Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 2.2 NA
5. Family Guy (Twentieth) 2.1 -16%
5. Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 2.1 -16%
7. Seinfeld (Sony) 1.9 -14%
8. How I Met Your Mother (Twentieth) 1.7 -26%
8. The Cleveland Show (Twentieth) 1.7 -11%
10. King of the Hill (Twentieth) 1.3 -24%
OFF-NET WEEKLY HOUR DRAMAS
1. Law & Order: SVU (NBCU) 4.9 +11%
2. The Closer (WBDTD) 2.6 +73%
3. Blue Bloods (CTD) 2.1 -19%
4. Castle (Disney-ABC) 1.8 -10%
5. Scandal (Disney-ABC) 1.6 -6%
6. The Mentalist (WBDTD) 1.4 -13%
6. The Good Wife (CTD) 1.4 -18%
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