As far as judge shows go, there is Judge Judy, and everyone else competing for a distant second place. Judith Sheindlin, better known to most as Judge Judy, is one of the most successful properties owned by CBS, which leaves her with some bargaining power she hopes to cash in on in the future.
As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Sheindlin has gained the ability to negotiate her own deals with distributing her repeat episodes for syndication. In addition to her $47 million salary with CBS, she could also net an additional $200 million from negotiating distribution deals for her 21-season library of repeat episodes. This is a plan for the long term, as the show is expected to stop recording new episodes in 2020. After that, the battle to own the rights to air past episodes of Judge Judy should be a competitive one.
Why is that? Because people fricking love Judge Judy. Take a look at how much Judge Judy is decimating the competition in the crowded daytime judge show market…
'Judge Judy' still averages more than 10M daily viewers in its 21st season https://t.co/z1isnVmnJf pic.twitter.com/TsOPdiNJro
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 22, 2017
That is astounding. It is like airing the Super Bowl up against a Division 2 football playoff game at the same time. There is no competition. Judge Judy is the NFL. Every other judge show is the Arena Football League. Not even People’s Court can hold a match to Judge Judy.
You know who likes Judge Judy? This Michigan head football coach…
It seems as though CBS whiffed on this golden opportunity, but it may have also been the price to pay to make their star happy. Sometimes you have to give a little to get a little. In this case, CBS is giving up a potential $200 million in revenue in order to keep Judge Judy under its wing. For CBS, it may not be a terrible decision.
Will the judge show marketplace still be as lucrative once Judge Judy is recycling through repeats? That is unknown, although the content of Judge Judy is mostly considered evergreen in content substance, so it should stand a test of time fairly well.
