Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud was the syndie star in the week ended May 22, leading all of syndication and the games by a ratings point with a 7.4 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The game show, hosted by Steve Harvey and produced by Fremantle Media North America, was up 6% for the week and 23% since last year at this time, while no other game improved year to year.
Related: No Midlife Crisis for 'Family Feud'
By contrast, CBS Television Distribution’s long-running Wheel of Fortune inched ahead 2% for the week to a 6.4, unchanged from last year. CTD’s Jeopardy! was flat at a 6.0 and down 5% for year.
Debmar-Mercury’s Celebrity Name Game was down 7% for the week and the year to a 1.3, tying Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which was unchanged for the 11th week in a row and down 19% from last year.
Feud also edged ahead of CTD’s Judge Judy by a tenth of a point for the second time this season to take the overall syndie lead. The last time this happened was April 25, when Feud also won the household race by a tenth.
Judge Judy, which has led syndication 51 times in the past 55 weeks, grew for the fourth consecutive week to a 7.3, that show’s highest rating since the week of Feb. 29. That put the show up 1% for the week and up 11% from last year at this time.
Both Feud and Judy run multiple times per day in many markets, which gives them a ratings advantage over their rivals.
Judge Judy spawn, CTD’s Hot Bench, held steady at a 2.5 and grew 25% from last year at this time to take second place among the courts. Hot Bench also was the fourth-ranked strip in daytime for the ninth time in the past ten weeks, behind Judy, CTD’s Dr. Phil and Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly.
Warner Bros.’ People’s Court added 6% to a 1.8. Warner Bros.’ JudgeMathis, Twentieth’s Divorce Court and Trifecta’s Judge Faith all were flat at a 1.4, 1.2 and 0.8, respectively.
Dr. Phil dropped back 9% to a 3.1, after hitting a 12-week high in the prior session, but still led the talkers for the 19th time in the past 20 weeks.
Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly, which is featuring a variety of guest co-hosts, dipped 9% from Michael Strahan’s farewell week, to a 3.0, up 3% from last year at this time.
Related: 'Live' Rises on Strahan's Exit
Only two of the 13 veteran talkers increased week to week: NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which gained 8% for the week and the year to a 1.4, and CTD’s The Doctors, which strengthened 11% to a 1.0, holding steady with last year.
Dr. Phil, Live and Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres all tied for the lead among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54 at a 1.4.
Ellen, NBCU’s Steve Harvey, Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams, NBCU’s Maury, CTD’s Rachael Ray, SPT’s Dr. Oz, NBCU’s Jerry Springer, Warner Bros.’ The Real and NBCU’s Meredith Vieira, which has aired its last original episode, all were unchanged at a 2.4, 1.8, 1.6, 1.6, 1.4, 1.4, 1.2, 0.9 and 0.8, respectively.
Year-to-year, Rachael Ray and Dr. Oz showed talk’s largest increases, with both shows improving 17%. Wilkos was next, rising 8%, followed by Steve Harvey, which grew 6%.
Warner Bros.’ Crime Watch Daily, the only rookie that will return next year, held steady at a 0.9. Disney-ABC’s FABLife grew 14% to a 0.8, while NBCU’s Crazy Talk remained at a 0.5.
CTD’s Entertainment Tonight led the magazines for the 25th consecutive week with a steady 3.1. CTD’s Inside Edition weakened 3% to a 2.9. Warner Bros.’ TMZ was flat at a 1.8. NBCU’s Access Hollywood slipped 6% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.’ Extra stood pat at a 1.4. CTD’s TheInsider eased 8% to a 1.1. Twentieth’s Dish Nation was unchanged at a 0.9. Trifecta’s Celebrity Page remained at a 0.3 for the eighth week in a row.
MGM’s viral video strip RightThisMinute, headed to ABC owned stations in top markets this fall, remained at a 1.1 for the third consecutive week, and dropped 21% from last year at this time.
Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory faded 5% to a 5.3. Twentieth’s Modern Family was flat at its series low 3.0 for the fifth straight week. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men moved down 4% to a 2.6. Twentieth’s Family Guy stayed at a 2.0. Warner Bros.’ Mike and Molly fell 5% to a 1.9, tying Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls, which was steady, and SPT’s Seinfeld, which added 6%. Twentieth’s The Cleveland Show, How I Met Your Mother and King of the Hill all were flat at a 1.6, 1.6 and 1.3, respectively.
