[SO SAD] Wheel Of Fortune is COMPLETELY OUTMATCHED by Jeopardy!, leaving fans heartbroken

‘Wheel of Fortune’ Knocked Down in Ratings by ‘Jeopardy!’

In the category of “game show viewership,” Jeopardy! took Wheel of Fortune for 319,000 in January. In the form of a question: What is a “ratings boost?”

According to Nielsen ratings, per The U.S. Sun, Jeopardy!’s Champions Wild Card Tournament drew 8,430,000 the week of January 20 to January 26. In the same week, Wheel drew only 8,111,000 viewers. For contrast, between September 9 and 15, 8,310,000 viewers watched Wheel of Fortune while only 7,113,000 tuned in to Jeopardy!.

The Sun credits Jeopardy! fan favorite tournament player Drew Goins for the ratings boost. Goins, an opinion writer at The Washington Post, became a fan favorite for his charm, good looks, and great performance on the show. One user called Goins “a $ex symbol,” while another called him “one of my favorite Jeopardy contestants” when the writer opened up an “Ask Me Anything” post on Reddit.

The respective hosts of the two shows, Ken Jennings of Jeopardy! and Ryan Seacrest of Wheel of Fortune, face similar challenges as they’ve both replaced veteran hosts.

Jennings, 50, replaced Alex Trebek, who died in 2020 after hosting 37 seasons of Jeopardy!. Jennings, the highest-earning game show winner in America, initially split the role of host with Mayim Bialik after Trebek’s death, but was made full-time host in 2023.

Seacrest, also 50, replaced Pat Sajak after the Wheel of Fortune icon retired in June 2024. Iconic letter-turner Vanna White co-hosts the show with the American Idol alum.

Both hosts have received both praise and criticism for their turns on their respective game shows.

Seacrest reportedly went through a rigorous preparation process to take over Wheel, requesting that Sony send him all 8,000 episodes of the series. As for Jennings’ preparation, he holds the record for the longest winning streak in the competition.

On his website, he said on that in preparation for competing on Jeopardy!, he “set new nerdiness records” watching the show twice a day, “standing up behind my recliner to imitate the podium experience,” and “hammering my thumb on my toddler’s Fisher-Price ring-stack toy, which I figured was about the same size as the Jeopardy! buzzer.”