Judge Judy shows syndies no mercy – wins November sweep by record margin

Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the full November 2018 sweep (October 25 to November 21).

The national results of Nielsen’s November sweep (October 25 to November 21) – traditionally the key rating period of the season for syndication – have been released and Judge Judy (7.4 live plus same day national Nielsen sweep average) was the highest rated show in syndication overall for the fourth straight November and the 10^th time in the past 11 major sweeps.

The sweep’s most-watched syndicated program with approximately 10.6-million daily viewers, “Judy” – now in its 23^rd season – clocked its highest November ratings since 2015 and trampled its nearest competitors by the widest margin ever.

Dr. Phil (3.0) was the talk champion for the 21^st consecutive major sweep by a wide margin, easily topping the gabfests in November for the seventh year in a row while attracting a crowd of more than 4-million viewers each day.

Ellen DeGeneres (2.3) ended the sweep just ahead of Live with Kelly and Ryan (2.2) in an extremely close race for second place honors, however “Live” tied “Ellen” in the target W25-54 demo.

After Maury (1.4), Steve Harvey’s Steve (1.3) surged 50% from last November in No. 2 market Los Angeles and tied Wendy Williams (1.3) for fifth place out of the 14 nationally rated talkers.

In access Inside Edition (3.1) edged corporate sibling Entertainment Tonight (3.0) in the always heated magazine race.

Capturing third place in the group Access (1.2) improved 20% from last November in key market Los Angeles on KNBC and tied TMZ (1.2).

Extra (1.1) came in right behind and also made a big impact in Los Angeles, shooting up 25% from last year in the coveted 25-54 female age group on KNBC.

Daily Mail TV (1.0) jumped 40% year to year in the nation’s largest market, New York, on WPIX, and came within striking distance. Also of note Page Six TV (0.7) – which does not yet have the clearances of most of its rivals – mustered major increases from last November in many top 20 markets, including 120% in Washington, DC, 86% in Cleveland and 67% in Philadelphia.

Among game shows Family Feud (6.3) ruled and finished second overall behind only “Judge Judy’s” 7.4.

On the true crime beat the off-net Dateline strip (1.4) captured first place, wrapping the sweep with a 23% leap to a new season high 1.6 in the final week. Meanwhile, the off-net newcomer Chicago PD strip (0.9) shot up 13% from its September debut in its initial November outing.