No originals were no problem for CBS Media Ventures' Judge Judy, which is out of original production and only airs in broadcast syndication in repeats. The court leader hit a 10-week high in the week ended August 21 with a 7% spike to a 4.5 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen.
That was enough to top CBS' frequent leader Jeopardy! for the second time in three weeks and finish second on the overall chart behind Debmar-Mercury's game and overall leader Family Feud.
The rest of the court shows did not fare as well. CBS' Hot Bench held at a 1.2, followed by Warner Bros.' People's Court, which fell back 14% to a new series-low 0.6. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis, Fox's Divorce Court, NBCUniversal's concluding Judge Jerry and Wrigley Media's rookie Relative Justice were all steady at a 0.5, 0.4, 0. 4 and 0.3, respectively.
Disney's Live with Kelly and Ryan remained the highest-rated talker for a 13th straight week, including five ties with CBS' Dr. Phil, strengthening 7% to a 1.5, despite being almost entirely in repackaged episodes. Live has now been the top talker 79 times in the past 100 weeks, including 26 ties with Dr. Phil. Among syndication's key demographic of women 25-54, Live also led at a 0.5. Repeats of Dr. Phil remained at a second-place 1.3 in households.
NBCU's Kelly Clarkson held steady at a 0.7 to take third in talk. Warner Bros.' Ellen and NBCU’s Maury, both of which are out of production, both fell 14% to a 0.6, tying Disney's Tamron Hall, NBCU's Steve Wilkos and CBS' Rachael Ray, all of which were flat.
CBS' Drew Barrymore improved 25%, or one-tenth of a ratings point, to a 0.5 to tie Debmar-Mercury's steady Wendy Williams, with both shows in reruns.
Leftovers of Sony's short-ordered The Good Dish, library episodes of NBCU's Jerry Springer, and Debmar-Mercury's one-and-done Nick Cannon all continued to simmer at a 0.3. Two other concluding shows -- Warner Bros.' The Real and CBS' The Doctors -- both stayed at a 0.2 for the 11th and 76th straight weeks, respectively.
Family Feud finished first in the overall ratings for the third straight week and the fourth time in five weeks, adding 2% to a 5.1, making it the only show in syndication to top the 5.0 mark. Jeopardy! sank 7% to a new season-low 4.1 to tie CBS' Wheel of Fortune, which remained at its season low for a second week.
Fox's You Bet Your Life with Jay Leno forged ahead 14% to a 0.8. Fox's 25 Words or Less labored at a 0.7 for the eighth week in a row. Entertainment Studios' Funny You Should Ask replied with a 0.4 for the seventh consecutive week.
At the three-quarter mark of a four-week preview, Fox's Person, Place or Thing, hosted by Melissa Peterman, managed a 0.3 weighted metered market average for all runs in nine Fox test markets. That was down 40% from both its lead-in and year-ago time periods. Among women 25-54, the show's 0.2 was equal to both its lead-in and September 2021 time periods.
Back in the national household ratings for the week ended August 21, internet video show Disney's RightThisMinute mustered a 0.5 for the fourth straight week.
CBS' magazine leaders Inside Edition and Entertainment Tonight both backed off 5% to a 2.0 and a 1.9, respectively. NBCU's Access Hollywood held its ground at a 0.7, tying Fox's TMZ, which recovered 17% to a 0.7. Warner Bros.' Extra grew 20% to a 0.6 and was the only ongoing magazine to hold 100% of its year-ago rating. CBS' canceled DailyMailTV delivered a 0.5 for the 20th week in a row, while Fox's Dish Nation stalled at a 0.2 for a 20th straight week.
Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory continued to pin at a 1.8 for a second week. Disney's Last Man Standing slipped 9% to a 1.0. Disney's Family Guy gained 17% to a 0.7, tying Warner Bros.' Young Sheldon, Disney's Modern Family and Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men, all of which stayed put. Sony's The Goldbergs garnered a 0.6 for a third consecutive week. Sony's Seinfeld stayed at its series-low 0.5 for a second week. Warner Bros.' Mike and Molly and Mom, and Disney's black-ish were all steady at a 0.4. ■
