Wheel of Fortune’s viewership has dipped recently.
Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! continue to vie for the No. 1 slot in the ratings war.
Both shows are popular among viewers, with some preferring a quiz show while others prefer to solve word puzzles.
After Ryan Seacrest took over the helm at Wheel of Fortune, viewership rose, surpassing his predecessor, Pat Sajak.
For a while last fall, Wheel of Fortune dominated viewers’ ratings—by more than one million in September 2024.
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Wheel of Fortune’s premiere week, September 9 through 16, saw an estimated 8,310,000 viewers tune in, while Jeopardy! saw 7,113,000.
But even with the initial skyrocketing ratings, Wheel of Fortune is having trouble competing with Jeopardy! for viewership.
Jeopardy! leads in ratings
The U.S. Sun reports that Jeopardy! has taken over the top spot for syndicated programs, pushing its ABC rival into second place.
As The Sun states, Jeopardy! is currently the “preferred favorite” among viewers.
Although Ryan was off to a fantastic start views-wise last season, his counterpart Ken Jennings has taken the reins this season.
Between March 3 and March 9, Jeopardy! brought in an estimated 8,902,000 viewers, per Nielsen.
Wheel of Fortune’s viewers totaled an estimated 8,477,000, accounting for 425,000 fewer viewers.
In third place is another popular game show, Family Feud, with an estimated 7,218,000 views for the week of March 3 through 9.
A likely reason for the uptick in views for Jeopardy! was the Invitational Tournament finals.
Wheel of Fortune fans needed to see Ryan Seacrest prove himself
Ryan Seacrest sparked the interest of longtime Wheel watchers, who were curious how he would compare to Pat Sajak.
Some of Pat’s fans initially didn’t have much faith in Ryan before giving him a shot.
But he’s since proven that he’s well-equipped to handle the job, and his co-host, Vanna White, has had nothing but nice things to say about him.
Still, Ryan has been criticized by Wheel of Fortune fans, who have complained about his hosting style.
While Pat Sajak has been criticized for being “antisocial” and “condescending” to Wheel of Fortune fans, Ryan has been dragged for being “lazy” and making “inexcusable” errors on the air.
Amid all the anticipation about his new position, Ryan knew he was up against some stiff competition.
He’s admitted that he would never try to replace Pat Sajak and confessed that he was “scared to death” to fill such big shoes as the Wheel of Fortune host.