Wheel of Fortune beats Jeopardy!’s ratings by 1m since Ryan Seacrest took over as Ken Jennings told to ‘watch his back’

WHEEL of Fortune has surged past Jeopardy! in ratings by over 1 million viewers after Ryan Seacrest took over for Pat Sajak.

Wheel of Fortune kicked off Season 42 on September 9 with new host Ryan, 49, making his highly anticipated debut on the ABC game show.

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Ryan Seacrest has helped Wheel of Fortune lead in syndication ratings for the week of September 9Credit: Instagram / ryanseacrest

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This could mean trouble for host Ken Jennings on rival show Jeopardy! as he does not have a long-term contract with the seriesCredit: Getty
Though Ryan has had a series of mishaps since the premiere, over a million viewers have tuned in to watch the famous host.

The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal that 8,310,000 viewers watched Wheel of Fortune for the premiere week of September 9 to September 15.

As for rival game show Jeopardy!, which is hosted by Ken Jennings, 7,113,000 viewers tuned in for the episodes.

Family Feud came in the number three spot for syndicated television with 6,792,000.

Wheel of Fortune taking over the top spot is a shock, as Jeopardy! brought in more viewers overall last season.

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Ratings show Ryan Seacrest’s success as host

JOB IN JEOPARDY?

The former American Idol star’s success on the game show could mean trouble for Ken, 50.

A source previously told The U.S. Sun, “Ryan is bringing a sense of youth and urgency to the job that is a lot harder to pull off than it looks, and Wheel is bound to get a bump in the numbers once his episodes start running in September.

“My advice to Ken is that just because Mayim is out of the picture doesn’t mean he shouldn’t watch his back.”

Ken and The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik shared hosting duties until she was let go from the show in 2023.

“In most media markets these shows run back-to-back and Ken needs to make sure he doesn’t suffer from the contrast with Ryan,” the insider continued to claim.

Wheel of Fortune’s Ryan Seacrest slammed for huge mistake and having ‘no empathy’ in contestant’s ‘devastating’ $1m loss
“It’s a tricky situation because their personalities are so radically different from one another.”

A second source told The U.S. Sun that while Ken currently has no long-term contract with the show, he has made it known to higher-ups that he would like to host for the long haul.

“Jeopardy! is Ken’s religion; he lives it, and he breathes it, and despite all the outside pressures, he’s not going to mess this up,” the insider claimed.

“He’s proud to have worked his way into this position and believes he has what it takes to make it last for decades to come.”

The source continued, “What he really wants more than anything is to stick around and make this position work for the long run.

“And if that means making less money to ensure his longevity, you can bet your life he’d be game.

“This isn’t all about the money. It’s a way of life for Ken and then some. He’s in it for the long run and to secure his status in the show’s history.”

Ken has a 74-game streak as a contestant, taking home $2.5 million.

He has made a total of $4.3 million from the game show with tournaments.

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Ryan Seacrest alongside co-host Vanna WhiteCredit: Instagram/wheeloffortune

RYAN’S MISTAKES

Ryan had trouble adjusting to his role as host during the first few episodes.

On the premiere episode, a contestant mispronounced the word “ripened” while solving a puzzle.

Ryan ignored the mishap and granted the player the win.

“I thought he said the wrong word but when Ryan said he was correct, I assumed I misheard,” one fan wrote on Instagram.

“Why would the producers allow him to win the puzzle when he was wrong? Not a good way to start the new season, especially with a new host,” another viewer added.

“I don’t like the fact that Terry mispronounced the winning trip puzzle and he won it!!!! Pat would have said, ‘I’m sorry, Terry that’s not the answer,'” another said.

“Really surprised that the mistake wasn’t caught. He definitely said ‘ripeing’ instead of ‘ripened,'” a third pointed out.

“I agree – I agree, Ryan is fired after the first episode,” a viewer demanded.

For his second night as host, he failed to explain the rules to a contestant, causing her to lose a million-dollar prize.

“Pat would’ve explained that if she took the risk, she would’ve lost the million-dollar wedge,” one X user wrote.

“Pat would always remind the contestants if they look under the $10,000 they could lose their $1 million wedge. Ryan needs to do this too…” wrote a second.

Wheel of Fortune’s big changes

The game show has undergone a major transformation now that Ryan Seacrest has taken over hosting duties for Pat Sajak.

-Ryan and Vanna White now host on a brand-new set, featuring a blue-toned stage, a green screen and art-deco wheel design.

-Ryan and Vanna make their big entrance from behind new sliding, brightly lit doors.

-Vanna turns – or now, touches – a modern, digital puzzle board controlled by lasers.

-Ryan brings a new hosting style, and has ditched Pat’s signature cue cards.

-The prizes have also been upgraded, and now include tickets to NFL games, and tickets to A-list concerts.

Then on the September 16 episode, contestant Vivian made it to the bonus round to solve the “What Are You Doing?” puzzle.

Vivan picked “C, H, M and P” for consonants, while she picked the letter “I” for her vowel.

Vivian screamed out trying to solve the puzzle, “Wondering some help, answering some help, finding some help, looking around for some help, boundary for help.”

The buzzer then went off, as Vivian couldn’t solve the puzzle, which read “offering some help.”

Ryan showed the audience the prize, as they gasped when they saw $1 million.

Ryan smiled and laughed as he said, “You were so close to that million dollars. You almost had it.”

Vivan had trouble speaking and looked visibly upset as Ryan said, “Are you alright? Breathe! You’re still walking away with $27,300 and that trip to Europe.”

Fans weren’t happy with how Ryan handled the loss.

One viewer wrote, “Ryan doesn’t show the envelope correctly. He keeps showing to the contestant when he should be showing it to the audience and viewers at home.

“Also, he didn’t handle the distraught contestant too well.”

A second agreed, “I hear ya. It’s more devastating maybe than he realizes.”

A third complained, “He’s gotta work on his empathy skills. Lol yikes!! Can he even remember what it’s like to not be rich?!”

“Ryan laughed at her, I felt – Pat was way more demure about it,” another said.

A fifth wrote, “Didn’t Ryan say something like ‘You’re going to kick yourself’ or something like that? While Pat acted like somebody died. I’m not here to pile on Ryan but I preferred Pat’s approach better.”

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Ryan Seacrest officially took over for longtime host Pat Sajak in SeptemberCredit: Getty

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Despite the ratings success, Ryan Seacrest had a bumpy start to his debut seasonCredit: Instagram/wheeloffortune