Jeopardy! fans ‘devastated’ by sudden move as channel completely vanishes from streamer

Jeopardy! fans are raging over the news that the 24/7 Pluto channel dedicated to the trivia game show is no more. This is also the case for another game show, Wheel of Fortune

Unfortunately for fans of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, unlimited access to past episodes has ceased.

Streaming service Pluto had a 24/7 channel for both shows that has now stopped running. In 2022, Sony Pictures Television made a two-year licensing deal with Pluto for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to showcase old episodes. Pluto is a free ad-supported streaming and on-demand television service owned by Paramount. The deal was launched on August 1, 2022 and has hit its two-year mark.

The sudden disappearance of the shows did not come with a warning. For fans, they saw a black screen and a message saying the shows are unavailable. The announcement also came through when a fan asked Pluto a question about it on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Fans could watch old episode with former late host Alex Trebek when there was the Pluto Jeopardy! channel (Image:Getty Images)

On August 1, the Pluto official X account answered by responding: “Hi! Thanks for reaching out about Jeopardy! The lineup is constantly evolving based on feedback from our users and content availability, so channels are added and removed, over time. This isn’t to say it won’t be back, at a later time, but it’s not in the lineup for now.”

Game announcer Randy West offered more of an explanation on Facebook about the removal of the two channels. He began by confirming: “Yes, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune reruns are off Pluto…The deal expired, and apparently Sony and Paramount haven’t come to terms on a renewal. Let’s hope they do.”

“And let’s hope that all along they have been spinning the Wheel of Residuals – paying the moneys due Pat, Vanna, Johnny Gilbert and Alex’s estate from the use of the reruns. Likewise, Merv’s theme music generates money that should be honored,” he continued.

“Yes, they are due money – less than reuse on network television, but money just the same. Why? Because the past work of these artists is generating new money,” Randy added.

So far there are no plans of a renewal or information about another streaming service playing the classic Jeopardy ep

“From personal experience, and from conversations with hosts and composers, I can tell you that not all streamers are voluntarily making those payments on all shows under the honor system that’s in place,” Randy concluded.

Fans took to social media to express their disappointment about this news. One fan wrote underneath Randy’s Facebook message: “hoping that wheel of fortune and jeopardy re-runs return to pluto tv soon or maybe another streaming service.” A fan on X said: “Im actually so upset they took the @Jeopardy channel off pluto tv.”

Another fan wrote: “All of the sudden @Jeopardy is gone from @PlutoTVand I’m devastated. My sons and I were watching every night together and it was the best part of our day. I’m actually heartbroken – there is no way to watch the old episodes. Come on, Pluto. What’s happening?”

A fan on Reddit thought the residual part didn’t have anything to do with the overall deal between the two parties: “Not trying to be a jerk, but ‘I hope they’re also paying residuals due’ reads to me like a tangent unrelated to the main point – that the deal between Sony and Pluto’s parent Paramount broke down, not necessarily (I would say likely not) over those payments.”

As of right now, it is not yet known if Sony will make another deal with Pluto or work with another streaming service for the classic episodes of Jeopardy!. Before the deal expired, fans could watch old episodes with host Alex Trebek.