Is Ryan Seacrest beating Pat Sajak?

The numbers are in. Ryan Seacrest’s first week as host of Wheel of fortune The game show achieved its highest ratings in five years. The first week also saw a double-digit percentage increase in viewership across every key demographic. While the viewing figures dipped slightly in its second week, it wasn’t a massive drop, proving that he and Vanna White have captured viewers’ attention for now.

According to Nielsen, Wheel of fortune The premiere week of Season 42 had an average viewership of 8.31 million per episode, making it the #1 syndicated show of that week.

Its average household rating was 4.88. These 8.1 million are a 21 percent increase from the season 41 premiere week of September 2023, which had an average episode count of 6.87 million viewers, The Hollywood ReporterThe first four episodes of the second week averaged just under 8 million viewers per episode.

Across all key demographics, ratings were up 10 percent or more in the first week. Household ratings were up 21 percent over 2023 figures.

For comparison, Seacrest’s first episode as host on Sept. 9 drew 9.63 million viewers, the show’s biggest season premiere since 2015. While average viewership per episode declined following the premiere, ratings did increase. Seacrest’s first episode received a 4.62 rating in households, and as noted above, the average household rating for the first week overall was 4.88. However, Seacrest did not have any more viewers than Pat Sajak’s final episode, which was watched by 11 million people.

Seacrest’s second-week premiere episode marked the first time in his tenure that the $1 million prize came up for grabs. This was only the 13th time in the show’s history that a player met all the requirements to win the jackpot, but ultimately lost the bonus round.

From Seacrest Wheel The contract will reportedly run into the 2030s, according to a The New York Times report. Time will tell if it has the staying power in terms of viewership and ratings. Following Sajak’s retirement, White extended his contract through 2026. He has yet to publicly announce whether he will return after that, but his feelings about leaving seem to be up in the air. Sajak remains the host of Celebrity Wheel of Fortunewhich returns for its fifth season on October 14.

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