‘Jeopardy!’ Narrowly Loses Out to ‘Judge Judy’ in May Sweeps Ratings
By Joe Otterson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Despite the Herculean efforts of “Jeopardy!” champion James Holzhauer, the long-running game show was unable to snap the May sweeps win streak of “Judge Judy.”
From April 25 – May 22, “” averaged a 7.1 household rating compared to “Jeopardy’s” 7.0. “Judge Judy’s” numbers were in line with last year, while “Jeopardy!” was up an impressive 19%. This marks the tenth straight year in which “Judge Judy” has topped May sweeps.
Elsewhere, “Dr. Phil” once again ruled over all its daytime talk show competition, though the show was down 13% from last year. “Live with Kelly and Ryan” ticked up 5% to a 2.2, breaking the tie for second place with “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” from last year. “Ellen” was at a 2.0, down 5% from last year.
See the top 25 shows for the 2019 May sweeps below, ranked by household ratings.
| Program | Originator | Household Rating | Total Viewers |
| JUDGE JUDY (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 7.1 | 9,869 |
| JEOPARDY (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 7.0 | 11,096 |
| FAMILY FEUD (AT) | DEBMAR- MERCURY | 5.9 | 8,864 |
| WHEEL OF FORTUNE | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 5.9 | 9,443 |
| WEEKEND ADVENTURE | DADT/LITTON | 5.2 | 7,118 |
| BIG BANG-SYN (AT) | WARNER BROS. TV | 4.3 | 6,463 |
| FAMILY FEUD WKD (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 3.5 | 5,082 |
| DATELINE WKLY (AT) | NBC UNIVERSAL | 3.1 | 4,166 |
| DR. PHIL SHOW (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 2.8 | 3,796 |
| ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 2.8 | 4,009 |
| INSIDE EDITION (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 2.8 | 3,952 |
| BIG BANG WKND (AT) | WARNER BROS. TV | 2.5 | 3,922 |
| HOT BENCH (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 2.3 | 3,072 |
| WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 2.3 | 3,551 |
| LIVE WITH KELLY AND RYAN | DISNEY ABC DOMEST TV | 2.2 | 2,825 |
| LAST MAN STNDG-MF-SYN(AT) | 20TH TELEVISION | 2.0 | 2,996 |
| MODERN FAMILY-WK-SYN (AT) | 20TH TELEVISION | 2.0 | 2,935 |
| ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW | WARNER BROS. TV | 2.0 | 2,774 |
| ACCESS LV-WKD | NBC UNIVERSAL | 1.9 | 2,457 |
| MODERN FAMILY-MF-SYN (AT) | 20TH TELEVISION | 1.7 | 2,509 |
| JEOPARDY WEEKEND | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 1.6 | 2,484 |
| MILLIONAIRE (AT) | DISNEY ABC DOMEST TV | 1.6 | 2,159 |
| NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (AT) | CBS TV DISTRIBUTION | 1.5 | 2,121 |
| RELATIONSHIP COURT | MGM DOMESTIC TV DIST | 1.5 | 2,101 |
| GOLDBERGS (AT) | SONY PICTURES TV | 1.4 | 2,036 |
