A surprise at the top of the ratings chart was marked in the session ending Aug. 13 as Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud edged ahead of usual overall syndication leader CBS Television Distribution's Judge Judy for the first time since the week of May 29.
Feud inched up 2% from the prior week to a 6.3 live plus same day national rating according to Nielsen, finishing one-tenth of a rating point ahead of Judge Judy, which clocked a steady 6.2 with five days of reruns.
Meanwhile, the survey said Family Feud was easily the top game show for a 68th straight frame.
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Rounding out the category, CTD's Wheel of Fortune was flat at a 5.4, CTD's Jeopardy! recovered 2% from season low levels the week before to a 5.2. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire depreciated 6% to a 1.5, matching its season low and Debmar-Mercury's Celebrity Name Game, which will end shortly, faded 9% to a 1.0.
Elsewhere, Disney-ABC's viral video show RightThisMinute remained at a 1.3 for the seventh straight session.
In daytime, CTD's Dr. Phil was in repeats all week but still led the talkers for the 49th consecutive frame. Phil dipped 4% to a 2.7 but jumped 35% from last year, which was the best year-to-year increase of any talk show.
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Of course, ratings for many daytime shows were depressed last year at this time by the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Among women 25-54, Phil’s repeats were again first with a 1.0 in the key demo.
Back in households, Disney-ABC's Live With Kelly and Ryan, with a steady 2.0, was the second highest talker, outperforming rival Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres for the 11th week in a row.
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Ellen sank 6% to a1.5, matching its season low and dropping into a tie with NBCUniversal's Maury, which rose 7% to a 1.5.
Conflict talkers NBCU's Jerry Springer and NBCU's Steve Wilkos both picked up 8% to a 1.3.
NBCU's Steve Harvey was unchanged at a 1.2 but slid to seventh place after being tasked by Springer and Wilkos.
Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams rebounded 10% from a season low in the prior frame to a 1.1, tying Sony Pictures Television's Dr. Oz, which flatlined at a 1.1 for the seventh time in eigth weeks.
CTD's Rachael Ray remained mired at its series low 1.0 for the ninth straight week.
Warner Bros.' Crime Watch Daily With Chris Hansen eased 11% to a 0.8 with repeats but was still 14% ahead of last year.
NBCUniversal's and Harry Connick, Jr.’s freshman Harry, also in reruns, held steady at a 0.8, tying Crime Watch.
Warner Bros.' The Real was flat at a 0.7 for the fourth week in a row, remaining tied with CTD's The Doctors, which was in stable condition at a 0.7 for a fifth straight week.
Turning to the overnight ratings world, in the sixth and final week of a six-week trial, Judge Judy Sheindlin’s iWitness tested to a 0.7 rating/2 share weighted meter market average in a six-station lineup with a double run in New York. That was down 30% from its lead-in and off 22% from its year-ago time period. Among women 25-54, iWitness reported a 0.4 rating/2 share.
And after two weeks, Fox Television Stations' Culinary Genius served up a 0.5 rating/1 share in 10 bistros, down 38% from both its lead-in and year-ago time periods. Meanwhile, the show cooked up a 0.3 rating/2 share in the key women 25-54 demo.
In addition, after two weeks, of a three-week hearing, Fox's Ana Polo Rules earned a 0.3 rating/1 share verdict in four jurisdictions: Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix and Austin. That was down 25% from its lead-in but even with its year-ago time periods. The key demo for the English language court show hosted by Telemundo’s Ana Maria Polo was a 0.1 rating/1 share.
Back in the nationals, the court shows were all steady to higher. The aforementioned Judge Judy scored a hefty 6.2 and dominated the courtrooms for the 1090th straight session for every week for the past 21 years.
CTD's Hot Bench, the creation of Judge Judy Sheindlin was in repeats on four of the five days but gained 5% on the week and 10% from last year to a 2.2, ranking as the No. 3 show in daytime for the eight week in a row behind only Judy and Dr. Phil.
Warner Bros.' People’s Court perked up 7% to a 1.5 after tumbling to a new season low the week before.
Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis and Twentieth's Divorce Court stayed at 1.1 and 0.9, respectively, while Trifecta's Judge Faith was flat at a 0.7 for the sixth consecutive week.
Getting back to access, magazines were little changed. CTD's leader Entertainment Tonight, CTD's Inside Edition, Warner Bros.' TMZ, and NBCU's Access Hollywood were all steady at 2.7, 2.5, 1.4 and 1.2, respectively.
Warner Bros.' Extra gave back 9% to a 1.0 after getting hit with a whopping 86 sports preemptions nationally, including in top markets New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
CTD's The Insider and Twentieth's Dish Nation were unchanged at a 0.9 and 0.6, respectively, and Trifecta's Celebrity Page posted its usual 0.3 for the 32nd week in a row.
In off net syndication, the sitcoms were mixed. Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory heated up 4% to a 4.8. Twentieth's Modern Family fell 4% to a 2.5. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men and Twentieth's Family Guy remained at 2.2 and 1.8, respectively. Twentieth's newcomer Last Man Standing skidded 6% to a 1.6 , landing in a tie with Warner Bros.' Mike & Molly, which moved up 7% to a 1.6. Warner Bros.' 2 Broke Girls grew 8% to a 1.4, while Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother welcomed a 9% increase to a 1.2, tying Twentieth's The Cleveland Show and SPT's Seinfeld, which both held steady at a 1.2.
