“Judge Judy” retakes syndication lead as “Jeopardy” ratings decline 27% without star contestant Holzhauer
Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the week ending May 12.
With Jeopardy! whiz James Holzhauer sitting out the first week of a two-week hiatus due to a May 6–17 tournament, the show (6.1 live plus same day national Nielsen, down 27% from the week before) dropped into a tie with Family Feud (6.1, unchanged) and fell well behind perennial household ratings champion Judge Judy (7.0, down 3%) in the session ending May 12.
The first place finish for the most-watched “Judy” was its 41st in the past 44 weeks and drew a crowd of more than 9.7-million viewers on average each day.
With Holzhauer, “Jeopardy!” had risen to the top of the chart for three straight weeks. The super-contestant, a pro-gambler from Las Vegas, returned to the show on May 20 and raised his total winnings to nearly $1.8-million with his 23rd win.
Wheel of Fortune (5.9, down 8%), which is paired with “Jeopardy!” in most of the country’s largest markets, also saw a downturn.
In other dayparts, Hot Bench (four-week high 2.3, up 5%) was sharp, ranking as daytime’s third highest strip after only “Judge Judy” and talk show king “Dr. Phil.”
Dr. Phil (2.7, down 7%) extended its winning streak among the yakkers to a head-spinning 140 consecutive weeks.
Live with Kelly and Ryan (2.2, up 5%) solidified its standing as the second biggest talker for the 11th straight week over Ellen DeGeneres (2.0, unchanged).
Rounding out the top tier of the largest category in first-run syndication were Wendy Williams (1.5, up 7%), Maury (1.3, unchanged) and Steve Harvey’s Steve (1.2, steady).
The sole magazine breaking into the plus column was Extra (1.1, up 10%), which attracted a nifty 1.5-million daily viewers. Entertainment Tonight (2.8, steady) led all shows in the group for the second week in a row.
Making a notable upward move was rookie police procedural strip Chicago PD (1.0, up 11%), which jumped 25% in the coveted W25-54 age group.
