• by Wayne Friedman , November 20, 2015

Against mostly declining programs, syndication court TV shows have seen growth this season -- with a majority up in viewership over a year ago.

Six of eight returning court TV shows have seen their season-to-date ratings climb so far this season, looking at Nielsen data from Sept. 8 through Nov. 9.

Court show leader CBS Television Distribution’s “Judge Judy” -- in second place overall among all syndicated shows -- is virtually flat for the year, down 1% to 9.706 million from 9.776 million.

CBS’ “Hot Bench” is 46% higher to 2.9 million, while CFE’s “ES Court Combo” has improved 40% to 2.8 million. Warner Bros’ “People’s Court” is higher by 1% to 2.4 million; Warner Bros.' “Judge Mathis” is up 5% to 1.98 million. MGM’s “Lauren Lake Paternity Court” is 30% higher at 1.7 million, and Tribune’s “Judge Faith” has gained 28% to 1.2 million.

Twentieth Television’s “Divorce Court” is down substantially --16%, to 1.8 million.

Among game shows, overall industry leader CBS’s “Wheel of Fortune” is down 2% to 10.1 million viewers, with its sister game show slipping 4% to 9.2 million. Twentieth’s “Family Feud” continues to grow, up 9% to 8.9 million.

Warner Bros. “Big Bang Theory” maintains its No. 1 status among all off-network sitcoms, down 3% for the year so far at 8.5 million viewers. Twentieth’s “Modern Family” is off 15% to 4.8 million.

CBS’ “Dr. Phil” leads all talk shows, down 4% to 4.2 million. Disney’s “Live with Kelly & Michael” slipped 5% to 3.6 million. Warner Bros.’ “Ellen” is down 9% to 3.3 million.

CBS’ “Entertainment Tonight” still tops entertainment magazines -- down 8% for the year at 4.3 million, with CBS’ “Inside Edition” up 1% to 4.2 million.