Jeopardy! elbowed aside Family Feud for syndication’s superiority in the session ending October 9. With Ken Jennings behind the podium, CBS Media Ventures’ Jeopardy! picked up 4% to a 5.2 live plus same day national Nielsen rating to edge Debmar-Mercury’s Steve Harvey-hosted Family Feud, which faltered 4% to a 4.8. The two shows had been tied at the top the week before.
CBS’s Wheel of Fortune also turned in a 4.8, adding 2% and tying Feud.
Fox First Run’s You Bet Your Life with Jay Leno lost 13% to a 0.7, tying Fox’s 25 Words or Less, which leveled off at a 0.7 for the 15th consecutive week.
CBS's new game-show player Pictionary, starring Jerry O'Connell, was syndication's only rookie recording household ratings growth from one week earlier, strengthening 25% to a 0.5 and matching its season high. After that, Entertainment Studios’ veteran Funny You Should Ask tumbled 25% to a 0.3.
In daytime, shows were at a disadvantage due to heavy October 7 preemptions for baseball’s Wild Card Series postseason game on ABC and women’s international soccer on Fox.
Disney’s top talk show Live with Kelly and Ryan slipped 6% to a 1.5 after hitting a five-month high in the previous frame. Live, which averaged more than 2.2 million daily viewers, has now led the talkers for 20 weeks in a row, including eight ties with CBS’s Dr. Phil.
Among women 25-54, Live led with a 0.6 followed by Dr. Phil, NBCUniversal's Kelly Clarkson, and Debmar-Mercury's Sherri all at a 0.4. Back in households, Dr. Phil took second, while easing 7% to a 1.3. Kelly Clarkson, the Emmy winner for both best entertainment talk show and entertainment host, preserved its 0.9 and captured third place.
CBS's Drew Barrymore, whose ratings have risen dramatically since being produced and distributed as two half-hour episodes this season, held steady at a 0.8 and surged 60% from the same week one year ago, which was the strongest year over year increase of any syndicated strip.
Also in the top tier, Disney's Tamron Hall, the Emmy winner for best info host, rolled right by CBS's Rachael Ray with which it had been tied, while securing a steady 0.7. Ray retreated 14% to a 0.6, tying NBCU's Steve Wilkos, which recovered 20% to a 0.6. Repeats of NBCU's Maury and its Jerry Springer combo mix of recycled Springer talk and court shows remained at a 0.4 and a 0.3, respectively.
The three rookie talkers Sherri, starring Sherri Shepherd, and Warner Bros.' Jennifer Hudson in their fourth weeks, and NBCU's Karamo, starring Karamo Brown, in week three, all shrugged off preemptions and remained on par with the prior week's 0.7, 0.6, and 0.3, respectively.
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On the magazine rack, CBS’s Inside Edition eroded 9% to a 2.1. CBS'’s Entertainment Tonight gave back 5% to a 2.0 after hitting a 20-week high in the prior frame. NBCU's Access Hollywood slumped 13% to a 0.7, tying Fox's TMZ, which was flat.
Warner Bros.’ Extra was penalized by preemptions for soccer and got hit with a 17% loss to a 0.5. Further back, Fox's Dish Nation brought up a 0.2 for the 27th straight week.
CBS’s Judge Judy evergreens dipped 2% to a 4.1 but continued to lay down the law in the category, leading the court shows for the 1,359th straight week. CBS’s Hot Bench, Warner Bros.’ People's Court, Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis, and Fox's Divorce Court all settled for a consistent 1.2, 0.7, 0.6, and 0.5, respectively.
Wrigley Media’s sophomore Relative Justice rebounded 33% to a 0.4. Trifecta’s true crime newcomer iCrime with Elizabeth Vargas and Entertainment Studios’ rookie court show We the People with Judge Lauren Lake logged a 0.5 and 0.3, respectively, in their fourth weeks.
Among off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.’ leader Big Bang Theory continued to orbit at a 1.9. Disney's second place Last Man Standing jumped 11% to a 1.0. Disney’s Modern Family forged ahead 14% to a 0.8. Disney’s Family Guy and Sony Pictures Televison’s The Goldbergs both grew 17% to a 0.7, tying Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men and Warner Bros.’ Young Sheldon, which both stood pat at a 0.7. Sony’s Seinfeld saw serenity now staying at a 0.6 for a seventh straight week. CBS’s newcomer The Neighborhood notched its fourth consecutive 0.5. Finally, Disney’s rookie American Housewife and veteran Black-ish both broke even at a 0.4. ▪️
