The top two court shows in syndication – JUDGE JUDY and HOT BENCH – have been renewed in 95% of the country through the 2025-26 season, it was announced today by Greg Guenther, SVP of domestic sales for CBS Media Ventures.
“JUDGE JUDY and HOT BENCH are a powerful one-two punch for stations,” Guenther said. “Together, these two shows account for 67% of all minutes watched in the nationally syndicated court genre. Our station clients can’t get enough of this premium product and were eager to keep both shows in their daytime lineups.”
HOT BENCH
HOT BENCH was reupped for two more years by CBS Stations in major markets, as well as stations owned by Sinclair, Nexstar, Tegna, Scripps, FOX Stations, Gray and Weigel.
“HOT BENCH is the only court show to grow year over year this season, increasing +14% in total viewers and +13% among the key women 25-54 demographic.” – Greg Guenther
HOT BENCH by the numbers …
- 2 million daily viewers.
- #2 court show in syndication, behind only JUDGE JUDY.
- 8.3 billion total minutes watched this season.
- Fastest-growing first-run syndicated show this year in homes (+24,000), total viewers (+244,000) and women 25-54 (+24,000) year to year.
- #2 syndicated strip in New York in total viewers and builds on its JUDGE JUDY lead-in on WCBS by +21% among total viewers.
JUDGE JUDY
In addition to previously announced deals with CBS Stations and FOX Stations, JUDGE JUDY was renewed for multiple years by stations owned by Sinclair, Nexstar, Scripps, Tegna, Gray, Hearst and Weigel.
“In the third year of its library run, JUDGE JUDY is the most powerful court show on the air, averaging 6.1 million viewers and ranking #4 out of all shows in national syndication. No other show can claim a proven track record like JUDGE JUDY.” – Greg Guenther
JUDGE JUDY by the numbers …
- 6 million daily viewers.
- #1 court show in syndication, beating its next closest competitor (HOT BENCH) by +200%.
- #4 first-run syndicated strip.
- 24.8 billion total minutes watched this season.
- Serves as a local news lead-in in more markets than any other show and out delivers every competing syndicated strip in ratings as the news lead-in.