WEEK OF JANUARY 5, 2015 - JANUARY 11, 2015

Freshman Court Program Grows +46% From Its September Debut

JANUARY 22, 2015 -- CBS Television Distribution’s HOT BENCH, the new court program created by Judge Judy Sheindlin,jumped to its highest national rating ever, scoring a 1.9 HH rating, for the week ending January 11, according to Nielsen Media Research.

HOT BENCH grew +12% vs. the previous week. The syndicated rookie has also surged +46% from its September debut week (1.9 HH vs. 1.3 HH).  HOT BENCH hit a season high in total viewers as well, drawing 2.62 million viewers.

HOT BENCH has been the No. 1 new strip in first-run syndication in households and total viewers every week since its debut (17 consecutive weeks).

In addition, HOT BENCH was the #2 court program of the week in HH behind longtime leader JUDGE JUDY (7.3 HH). It beat every other court show, including veterans “People’s Court,” “Divorce Court” and “Judge Mathis.”

HOT BENCH has been renewed for a second season and will be upgraded in seven markets to CBS-owned affiliates – including five of the top 10 markets – on Monday, March 30, 2015.

Season to date, HOT BENCH is averaging a 1.5 HH rating and just over 2 million viewers (Live + SD).

HOT BENCHis created by Judge Judy Sheindlin and executive produced by Randy Douthitand Maureen FitzPatrick. The half-hour strip is produced by CBS Television Distribution and Queen Bee Productions. It is distributed by CBS Television Distribution.