After weeks of lackluster summer ratings, most of syndication was up or flat in the week ending July 24.
CBS Television Distribution's Judge Judy opened its lead on the syndicated field, earning a 6.8 live plus same day household ratings average, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's the show's best score in seven weeks, a 6% increase over the prior week and a 58% increase over the prior year. Judy also was up 14% among women 13-34 to a 1.6.
Court was up across the board, with only Warner Bros.' People's Court bucking the trend, flat at a 2.0. CTD's Judge Joe Brown. the number-two court room for 654 weeks in a row, improved 8% to a 2.8, its highest rating in ten weeks. Year to year, Judge Joe was up 33%. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis rose 6% to a 1.7. Twentieth's Divorce Court leapt 15% to a 1.5, while Judge Alex climbed 8% to a 1.4. Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine Pirro, ending its run in a few weeks, finally picked up 13% to a 0.9 after spending 12 consecutive weeks at a 0.8.
CTD's freshman court show Swift Justice also had a big week, jumping 13% to a 1.7 in households and growing 25% from the prior week to a 1.0 among women 25-54. Twentieth's already-canceled Don't Forget the Lyrics increased 11% to a 1.0. Sony's Nate Berkus improved 13% to a 0.9. Litton's Judge Karen's Court, which now has been canceled for a second time, and Entertainment Studios' America's Court with Judge Ross, each were unchanged at a 0.7 and 0.4, respectively.
Twentieth's Dish Nation, which is getting a six-week try out on Fox stations in seven markets, posted a 0.9 rating/2 share metered market average for its first week. This was down 31% from its 1.3/3 July 2010 time period average and down 36% from its 1.4/4 lead-in.
Debmar-Mercury's Father Albert, airing in a five-week test run on six Fox markets, averaged a 0.7/2 in the metered markets for its first three weeks. That's unchanged from its year-ago time periods and down 30% from its 1.0/3 lead-in.
The seesaw summer talk show race remained close, but Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly was this week's winner with a 2.5, up 9% from the prior week. NBCUniversal's Maury gained 4% to a 2.4, and remained the top talker among viewers. CTD's Dr. Phil, in an all-repeat week, was steady at a 2.3. CTD's Oprah, only in originals now, was flat at a 2.2. Sony's Dr. Oz added 5% to a 2.0. NBCU's Jerry Springer spiked 14% to a new season-high 1.6. Warner Bros.' Ellen recovered 7% to a 1.5. CTD's Rachael Ray and The Doctors both held firm at a 1.4, tying NBCU's Steve Wilkos, which advanced 8%. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, now touring the East Coast in a bus to promote her show, was unchanged at a 0.8 for the third straight week.
Among game shows, CTD's Wheel of Fortune remained unchanged from the prior week and was the second-highest-rated game at a 6.3. CTD's Jeopardy!, hosted by crime-fighter Alex Trebek, inched up 2% to a 5.4. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud was flat at a 2.7. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire grew 9% to a 2.4. Twentieth's canceled Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader was unchanged at a 1.1.
The magazines were mixed. CTD's leader, Entertainment Tonight, slipped 3% from the prior week to a 3.4. CTD's Inside Edition climbed 7% to a 3.0. Warner Bros.' TMZ tacked on 6% to a 1.9. NBCU's Access Hollywood, Warner Bros.' Extra and CTD's The Insider all were steady at a 1.7, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively.
Among the off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men continued to lead the field with a 5% gain to a 6.1. Twentieth's Family Guy fell 2% to a 4.3. Disney-ABC's My Wife and Kids dipped 3% to a 3.2. Warner Bros.' George Lopez lost 4% to a 2.7. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond and Sony's Seinfeld each sank 4% to a 2.6. NBCU's The Office climbed 4% to a 2.4, while Twentieth's King of the Hill and Warner Bros.' Friends were flat at a 2.3 and 1.9, respectively.
Finally, Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother topped the off-net and off-cable strips with an unchanged 2.8. Warner Bros.' The New Adventures of Old Christine and Debmar-Mercury's Meet the Browns also were unchanged at a 1.5 and 1.4, respectively.
