Wheel of Fortune is spinning along surprisingly well with Ryan Seacrest, who is pulling ratings that are head and shoulders above Pat Sajak, and above the studio lot next door.
Season 42 of the beloved game show, which saw Seacrest debut as host alongside TV royalty Vanna White, averaged 7.99 million total viewers, its best premiere month audience (9/9/24-10/6/24) in three years.
The audience of nearly eight million was a 12% increase annually, and in the 25-54 demo, WoF is up 3%. The puzzle-presenting program currently stands as TV’s No. 1 most-watched entertainment program.
This is a particular milestone for WoF, which has long trailed Jeopardy! in ratings. The Ken Jennings-fronted quiz show almost always pulls ahead in terms of viewership, despite the two airing back-to-back in syndication. Even the respective Celebrity editions have always seen Jeopardy! get more viewers.
WoF not only overtook Jeopardy! last month (which averaged 7.1 million viewers) but every series — including all primetime shows — in September. In other words, WoF was the most-watched show across broadcast, cable, and syndication and was only outmatched by the NFL.
It’s not news that Seacrest’s debut episode, which aired on September 9, was a ratings smash that drew more than 9.6 million viewers. It was a 70% surge from last fall’s premiere and WoF’s most-watched season premiere since 2015. However, the specter of Sajak still loomed as 11 million people watched his tearful farewell show on June 7, 2024.
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Wheel watchers were left wondering if Seacrest’s big premiere bump as host was an indication of what was to come, or just piqued curiosity about the change of the guard. It would turn out to be the former, at least so far.
“It’s really incredible and when you start to look at the numbers,” Executive Producer Bellamie Blackstone told Deadline on Tuesday, October 22, in a new feature story. “The numbers for this show are immense and the popularity is still great. We still have a brand that people really relate to. If we can get it in front of people who maybe don’t have linear TV and continue to grow that viewership, there’s a lot of exciting change that’s happening.”
Meanwhile, while Seacrest is now the host of the nightly show, fans have not seen the last of Sajak. Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, with Sajak set to host one last time to fulfill his contract, is set to air on ABC in 2025 (after being abruptly pushed from an October 14 premiere).
Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, weeknights, check local listings
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