Judge Judy’s TV Comeback Spells Trouble for Former Network

Judge Judy’s TV Comeback Spells Trouble for Former Network

Ready for a judicial showdown?

Judge Judy Sheindlin is staging her television comeback this autumn, facing off against CBS’s reruns of her iconic show, Judge Judy.

After concluding her highly successful syndicated court series Judge Judy with CBS in 2021, following a remarkable 25-season run, Sheindlin hasn’t slowed down. Alongside her executive producer and former CBS executive, Scott Koondel, she launched Judy Justice, a fresh courtroom series, through Sox Entertainment on Amazon’s Freevee streaming platform the same year.

Now, the top-earning TV judge is set to return to traditional TV this fall, having secured broadcast clearance in 95% of U.S. markets. This comes despite efforts by CBS to “keep Judy out of the marketplace,” as an insider revealed to Page Six.

CBS was betting heavily on local markets snapping up reruns of Sheindlin’s former program, but were taken aback when she introduced a new offering, Judy Justice, for stations to purchase.

A source mentioned that CBS is now in a predicament, having to market reruns of Judge Judy that hold lesser value in the marketplace, while competitors can broadcast fresh episodes of Judy Justice.

According to Variety, CBS is striving to secure prime timeslots and high rates for its reruns, while “Sox is determined to outmaneuver the old show, aiming to capture the best stations and slots for ‘Judy Justice.'”

However, insiders suggest that this competitive situation could have been avoided. There were discussions about “Judy Justice” taking over the slot of CBS’s long-standing daytime talk show, The Talk. As one source phrased it, “The Talk” will never reach the status of The View.

CBS’s syndication division holds the rights to the original “Judge Judy” series, supplying episodes to various stations since the series concluded in 2021.

A source from CBS’s syndication department shared, “‘Judge Judy’ has been a mainstay in our syndication lineup for many years. We possess the entire library for licensing… our schedule is quite packed.”

This source was also not aware of any discussions about The Talk being replaced by Judy Justice.

However, her executive producer refrained from commenting on CBS, instead highlighting the judge’s enduring appeal: “She is a powerhouse with a substantial devoted following,” who “will transition with her from broadcast to streaming, and from streaming to cable. If she were featured on a billboard in Times Square, she would attract a crowd as large as the one on New Year’s Eve,” remarked Koondel.

Judy Justice airs on on Amazon’s Freevee streaming platform with Judge Judy reruns available on CBS stations.

 

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