JUDGE JUDY rules with an iron gavel in daytime! With all the court shows posting gains versus year ago time period, JUDGE JUDY leads the pack by being #1 in HH's (4/13) and achieving an 86% (+6 shares) increase versus Nov '97 time period. Also tying for #1 in W25-54 (with JERRY) and placing 2^nd in W18-49, JUDY garnered a pair of 15 shares, up 88-114% (+7 to +8 shares) in key women from year ago time period. In the 7 occurrences where she remained in the same time slot over the past year, JUDGE JUDY increased her own performance by 50% in HH's (from a 10 share to a 15 share), 42% in W18-49 (12 to 17), and 64% in W25-54 (11 to 18). JUDGE JOE BROWN tied for 5^th in HH's (2/8) with a 60% gain and delivered a top 10 demo performance with 8 shares in W18-49 and W25-54, each up 33% versus year ago time period. THE PEOPLE'S COURT was 8^th in HH's (2/7), slightly ahead of #12 JUDGE MILLS LANE (2/6). Posting 7 shares in key women, both court shows were up 40% over Nov '97 time period.

Ranking 3^rd overall in HH's (4/11), JERRY SPRINGER continues to dominate in the talk category, placing #1 in key women, up from a 14 share to a 19 share in W18-49 and from a 15 to an 11 in W25-54. However, versus his own year ago performance (12 occurrences), JERRY shows signs of slowing down, posting a loss in HH's and a 2-4 share loss in key women. This may seem like more of a slight decline for other shows, but it is significant for a powerhouse performer such as JERRY, who has recently only experienced increases. Of the other veteran talkers, REGIS & KATHIE LEE saw declines of 4-5 shares across the board, though ranking 2^nd in HH's (3/12). SALLY JESSY (3/10), MAURY (2/7), and MONTEL WILLIAMS (2/7) grabbed top 10 HH and key demo slots. They also all experienced time period growth. JENNY JONES (2/6) and RICKI LAKE (2/6) mirrored each other's share delivery, tying for #12 in HH's, #5 in W18-49, and #8 in W25-54.

As for the new talkers, none lit any fires in their first major sweep. THE ROSEANNE SHOW (2/7) did crack the top 10 in HH's (#8T), but delivered only single digit 7 shares in key women, posting over 50% (-7 to -9 shares) declines. DONNY & MARIE (1/4) and HOWIE MANDEL (1/3) had lower overall finishes, neither making the top 20 and both decreasing their respective year ago time periods by 1-2 share points. Of other freshman programs, the nasally NANNY managed 12^th in HH's (2/6), with 2-3 share point increases in key women versus year ago time period. FORGIVE OR FORGET, NEWSRADIO, and MATCH GAME were basically flat versus year ago, tying in HH's with a 1/4 and delivering 3-5 shares in key women. SISTER, SISTER was at the bottom of the bunch in HH's, but grew over year ago time period from a 1 share in W18-49 and W25-54 to a 4 share and a 3 share, respectively. On the romance front, CHANGE OF HEART (1/3) and LOVE CONNECTION (1/3) played it pretty close to the fence, performing relatively on par with their respective year ago time periods. LOVE CONNECTION posted the biggest drop-off, down 2 shares in W25-54 from Nov '97 time period.

Talking his way to the top, JERRY SPRINGER (5/11) scores 1^st place in HH’s and W18-49 (19 share) and 2^nd in W25-54 (15 share), pumping up the time period share delivery by 73% (+8 shares) in W18-49 and 67% (+6 shares) in W25-54. ROSIE O’DONNELL is the 1^st choice for W25-54, but 2^nd in W18-49. Scoring a 16 share in key women, ROSIE decreased year ago time period by 11% (-2 shares). Versus her own Nov '97 performance, the "queen of nice" also experienced a 19% (-4 shares) loss in W18-49 and a 15% (-3 shares) loss in W25-54. MONTEL WILLIAMS (3/8) tied for 6^th in HH's and was a top 10 performer in key women. The long-running RICKI LAKE experienced 3 share point increases in key women to a 13 in W18-49 and a 10 in W25-54 versus Nov '97 time period. The story basically held true against RICKI's own year ago performance as she went up a share point in HH's and key women.

JUDGE JUDY, ranking 3^rd in HH's (5/10) and 4^th in W25-54 (11 share), boosted year ago time period by 57% (+4 shares) in each. JUDGE JOE BROWN (4/8) and PEOPLE'S COURT (3/8) cracked the top ten in HH's, experiencing time period gains of 167% (+5 shares) and 60% (+3 shares), respectively. JOE BROWN and Ed Koch also tied for 15^th in W18-49, each posting an 8 share and achieving a 167% (+5 shares) time period increase. Koch matched that delivery in W25-54, while JOE delivered a 9 share, up from the 2 share the time period delivered in Nov '97. While JUDGE MILLS LANE (2/5), in a more limited sample, doesn't perform at the same level as the other court shows in this daypart, MILLS does post gains of over 100% (+3 to +4 shares) in key women.

On the sitcom front, the top HH performers include THE SIMPSONS (5/9), FRASIER (4/9), FRIENDS (5/8), and HOME IMPROVEMENT (4/8). All but FRASIER place in the top 10 in key women, teens, and kids. A competitive player across these key early fringe demographics, THE SIMPSONS remains flat in women, but is #1 in kids and teens (up 8 shares versus Nov '97 time period). The new off-net FRIENDS demonstrated higher shares across the board (as it should), placing 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, in W18-49 (15 share) and W25-54 (11 share). Versus year ago time period, FRIENDS successfully posted increases of 3-4 shares across key women and teens.

Of the other freshman sitcoms, THE NANNY (3/4) is basically flat year-to-year in HH's and key women. NEWSRADIO (1/2) falls to the bottom of the list, showing no growth in any of the key demos. More geared to the teen and kid audience, where it is among the top 10, SISTER, SISTER (3/5) also scores the highest of the three (#19) in HH's.

THE ROSEANNE SHOW (2/6) and DONNY & MARIE (2/5) demonstrated similar showings in this daypart as they did in daytime by exhibiting no time period increases from Nov '97. Though delivering low single digit shares in key women, FORGIVE OR FORGET (2/5) is at least experiencing time period gains -- up 67% (+2 shares) in HH's and W25-54 and up 100% (from a 3 share to a 6) in W18-49.

Ya gotta have FRIENDS (6/9) in access. Ranking #2 in HH's and M25-54, and #3 in M18-49, the FRIENDS pull in a 1^st place finish in key women, increasing year ago time period by 30% (+3 shares) with a 13 share in W25-54. Homer and the rest of the SIMPSONS (6/8) tie with FRASIER (5/8) in HH shares. The Seattle shrink exhibited share losses across the board (though not as significant as SEINFELD or HOME IMPROVEMENT), however it ranked 3^rd in key women and 5th in key men. The Springfield SIMPSONS contingent posted the only gains of the top 5 sitcom vets, 1-2 share point increases in M18-49 and kids. Other favorable sitcoms rounding out the rest of the HH top 10 include MARTIN, LIVING SINGLE, MAD ABOUT YOU, and the FRESH PRINCE.

The two Jerry’s were again tops in HH's in late fringe, though SEINFELD (8/12) gained "nothing" in key adult demos while SPRINGER (4/11) gained in everything. The king of comedy was #1 in men despite a 3 share point drop-off versus year ago time period, while the king of talk was 2^nd in key adults, up 6-7 shares in key women and 4 shares in key men. The story basically held true for both programs versus their own year ago performances, yet SPRINGER's limited 3 market sample experienced slight gains in women and slight losses in men.

Other competitive options for women in the daypart include: RICKI LAKE, JENNY JONES, LIVING SINGLE, MURPHY BROWN, MARTIN, ROSEANNE, and THE NANNY. Male favorites include: COPS, THE SIMPSONS, FRASIER, MARRIED WITH CHILDREN, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, CHEERS, and COACH.