For the week ending June 30, the first full week of summer, the syndicated
ratings could expect to show a drop usually associated with the combination of a
host of repeats and the lure of the outdoors.
Viewers had a different verdict for the court genre, however, with six out of
the seven improving on previous-week performances.
Among the veteran court shows, Judge Judy was up 2% to a 5.3, but down
2% from last year at this time.
Judge Joe Brown was up 6% to a 3.3, but flat in year-to-year
comparison.
Divorce Court was up 8% to a 2.7, and was also up 8% from last
year.
Judge Greg Mathis was up 10% to a 2.3, and up 15% year-to-year.
Rookie Texas Justice, the number one first-run rookie, was up 5% to a
2.0.
Also at a 2.0 was People's Court up 5% from the week before and up an
impressive 25% over last year.
Judge Hatchett was the only court show that was down, off 6% to a 1.5 and
down 12% compared to last year.
Talk was in the more typical summer slump, with eight of the 12 talk shows
either flat or down.
One of the more notable exceptions was Jenny Jones, which hit a new
season high, the only strip in syndication to do so, up 16% to a 2.2.
