"5th Grader" back for a second year in syndication

Nancy Grace's court show clears 90% ; "No Deal!" for a third season?

Twentieth Television has renewed game show strip Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader for a second season in syndication with renewals from Fox and Tribune stations, including WPIX-TV in New York and WPWR-TV in Chicago, who airs the show at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. 5th Grader ranks behind only Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire among syndicated game shows and beats Millionaire in several demos.

5th Grader has also been a success on My Network TV, where it has averaged 2.6 million viewers on Tuesday nights.

Meanwhile, the show that follows 5th Grader on MNT's schedule (Deal or No Deal) is having a tougher time of it - so far this season, Deal has averaged only 1.7 million viewers - down 35 percent from its lead-in. 5th Grader also beat Deal across-the-board in syndication in all demos season-to-date.

NBC Universal has yet to make a decision on Deal for a third season - its fate may hinge on whether or not the NBC O&Os and Sinclair stations currently airing the show pick it up. With the NBC O&Os acquiring Real Housewives for airing this fall, Deal's prospects for survival may not look good. NBCU did not officially renew Deal for a second season until last April - the renewal was delayed in part due to negotiations on a new home for the game show, which had to move out of its longtime Los Angeles studios last year to cut costs.

The network prime-time version of Deal or No Deal was canceled by NBC last April.

Meanwhile, CBS Television Distribution's new Swift Justice with Nancy Grace strip has cleared 90 percent of the country, including all top 50 markets in two year, all-barter deals. In Chicago, either WFLD-TV or WPWR-TV (both Fox O&Os) will carry the show, as its' sister Fox duopoly stations in New York and Los Angeles.