Viewers vote for court shows during Trump impeachment trial
Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the week ending February 9.
Led by syndication queen “Judge Judy,” four of the six veteran court shows saw double-digit rating increases in the session ending February 9, a week where television was dominated by the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump.
Even though the program’s primary run was blown out by the trial and The President’s response to his acquittal in a gaggle of markets, Judge Judy (6.5 live plus same day national Nielsen rating, up 10% from the week before) easily overruled all gavelers for the 1,220th straight week and was the highest rated show in all of syndication for the 22nd time in the past 28 weeks.
“All rise” was the mantra for other veteran courtrooms, as well. Judge Judy Sheindlin’s creation Hot Bench (2.1, up 17%) was the second highest court, after “Judy.” Judge Mathis (1.0, up 25%) and Caught in Providence (0.5, up 25%) also joined the rising ratings circuit.
Among talk shows, Dr. Phil (2.5, up 19%) was tops for the 175th time in the past 179 weeks and grew 11% in the advertiser coveted W25-54 age group. Live with Kelly and Ryan (2.1, up 5%) snared second place in households and jumped 13% in the key demo.
In access, magazines held their ground after some recent big moves. Entertainment Tonight (3.0, up 3%) equaled its highest rating of the season and was number one in the genre for the fifth week in a row.
