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Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! vs 7pm Newscasts


AdamTheJ

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With so many stations in the EST and PST Time Zones debuting local news at 7pm, it would seem that stations that have aired Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! back to back in the 7pm hour might have to end this tradition of doing so to compete, even as both shows approach season 40. Your thoughts?

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7pm newscasts have been attempted with varying success for 5 decades. There's no guarantee the recent batch of them will stick. Even with unstable host positions, it's hard to argue against the continued success of 2 of the top half dozen shows in syndication.

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Only TV station that has a 7PM Newscast is Wood TV since fall of 2016 it used to be called 7 On 8 now called The Seven has had many anchors Susan Shaw who moved to 10PM & 11PM newscast in 2019, Lynsey Mukomel left a few months ago to work for the AG's office, and now former Fox17 anchor Michelle DeSelms who launched the first 10PM Newscast in Jan of 99 retired in 2017 from the TV station was hired for Connecting For Our Community in 2020. As Who ran it for years was doing it Ava moved to Miami and go to a Spanish TV station. I always thought that Michelle was going to anchor when she signed at Wood TV she left Fox17 to spend more time with her family.

 

Wheel & Jeopardy has been pair since day 1 in the '80s when it was on WZZM then moved to WWMT in the fall of 93 been with WWMT ever since been there forever.   

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Ironically in Youngstown, WYTV, the original home of WoF and J! in the market until 2010, now airs a 7pm newscast while SSA sister WKBN airs the Sony game shows.

 

In Cleveland, Wheel of Fortune goes up against 7pm news on WKYC and WJW while Jeopardy! goes against 7:30pm news on sister station WUAB.

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Jeopardy and Wheel go up against 7pm news on WAXN produced by WSOC, and Jeopardy goes up against WBTV’s 7pm “WBTV News Primetime” while Wheel goes up against “On Your Side With Jamie Boll”’at 7:30.

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My thoughts are I can't see ABC O&Os dumping their Wheel/Jeopardy hour just to do 7pm news. It's been a staple since 1990 and it's worked tremedously for the ABC O&Os, CBS has no issues letting the ABC O&Os air the shows they distribute since CBS Media Ventures/Television Distribution inherited it from KingWorld why fix a good thing? I don't believe the ABC O&Os feels or should feel any pressure at all from their competitors to compete for local news at 7pm, plus it'd be awkward to see for example Jeopardy on at 3:30 on WPVI in order to facilitate Action News at 7pm.

 

The bottom line is to in particular, the ABC O&Os, East/West coast stations as well as WVUE, KDVR and WDJT, if it ain't broke. Don't fix it. having the Sony Game Show Hour for 20+ years wasn't broken in 2015 and it's certainly not broken now (yes WDJT, KDVR and WVUE hasn't had the Wheel of Fortune-Jeopardy Hour as long as the ABC O&Os but my point still stands)

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Yeah, I don't see the shows getting "broken up" in favor of 7:00 newscasts being anything that will work in the long term.

 

It sure didn't here in Atlanta when WXIA tried a 7:00 Newscast (The Evening News with Brenda Wood)kat.  They did everything including moving Jeopardy to an afternoon timeslot on WXIA, and then moving both shows to their sister WATL before cancelling the 7pm news and moving the Wheel/Jeopardy Hour to back their "rightful" home on 11Alive.  

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35 minutes ago, TresGriffin said:

Yeah, I don't see the shows getting "broken up" in favor of 7:00 newscasts being anything that will work in the long term.

 

It sure didn't here in Atlanta when WXIA tried a 7:00 Newscast (The Evening News with Brenda Wood)kat.  They did everything including moving Jeopardy to an afternoon timeslot on WXIA, and then moving both shows to their sister WATL before cancelling the 7pm news and moving the Wheel/Jeopardy Hour to back their "rightful" home on 11Alive.  

Question what timeslot did WXIA move Jeopardy to when they launched The Evening News with Brenda Wood prior to moving it and Wheel to WATL?

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13 minutes ago, dman748 said:

Question what timeslot did WXIA move Jeopardy to when they launched The Evening News with Brenda Wood prior to moving it and Wheel to WATL?

4:30p. They had a two-hour game show block before Dr. Phil, with Hollywood Squares at 3:00, Pyramid at 3:30, Millionaire at 4:00, and Jeopardy at 4:30.

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3 hours ago, dman748 said:

Question what timeslot did WXIA move Jeopardy to when they launched The Evening News with Brenda Wood prior to moving it and Wheel to WATL?

Jeopardy! Was moved to 4:30pm then Brenda Wood at the time would do a run down of the stories that was coming up at 6pm- then they would go into Dr. Phil at 5pm.  But the 7pm news did return

this time on WATL.

 

Columbus, OH has (2) 7pm news on NBC & ABC going up against WoF & Jeopardy!

Cleveland, OH also has (2) 7pm news on NBC & FOX up the game show on now CBS.

Cincinnati, OH 7pm news on ABC and FOX has the two game shows.

 

Even some FOX affiliates are cashing in big with the two popular game shows.  WBFF & WXIX seem to have snagged a big piece of the ratings pie.

In WBRC's early days carried the two game shows before the two shows ended up on two different stations.

However, in Albuquerque/Milwaukee both CBS affiliates & Mobile/New Orleans' FOX affiliates  aired the shows, but how they sandwich it in their local newscast is good strategy.

 

here a good website about the (2) games shows-

https://buyavowel.boards.net/thread/13099/breakdown-wheels-network-time-frequencies

 

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On 7/18/2021 at 8:34 PM, nbc4ne said:

With so many stations in the EST and PST Time Zones debuting local news at 7pm, it would seem that stations that have aired Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! back to back in the 7pm hour might have to end this tradition of doing so to compete, even as both shows approach season 40. Your thoughts?

It's just not happening. If you have game shows that are doing better than most of primetime, you stick with them and the ad revenue they bring in. The 7 p.m. newscast is purely the product of a syndication industry that is fading and needs help, fast.

The change I could see happening more is that Entertainment Tonight gets pushed out of the 7/7:30 p.m. slots eventually, along with Access. There's just been too many local shows that you could put in that slot that could not only do better as ET fades from breaking entertainment news to merely recapping it, but cost a lot less to air or produce. Eventually, ET will become more of the sum-up program for the live streaming channel than it will be its own unique show, and with Today being pushed to be a lot more than just a four-hour morning show, they will eventually step on the toes of Access and win that battle.

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4 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

I know in the Central and Mountain time zones it is much more difficult, since they can't put them on at 7 pm in those markets. 

Even during the 6pm hour, because 6pm is a key news time, leaving only 6:30 for either show.

The only exceptions have been stations like WVUE and WALA, (doing news in many other timeslots BUT 6pm) which use the entire hour for both shows, and dual-stream multi-affiliate stations like WLOX that counter-program each other.  WLOX (ABC) has news at 6 with Wheel at 6:30 while WLOX (CBS) does Jeopardy! at 6 and news at 6:30.  The lesser-established program stream getting this distinction to counter the main station.

 

Are there any ET/PT stations that still have either show on a separate, seperately-owned station?

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9 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

It's just not happening. If you have game shows that are doing better than most of primetime, you stick with them and the ad revenue they bring in. The 7 p.m. newscast is purely the product of a syndication industry that is fading and needs help, fast.

The change I could see happening more is that Entertainment Tonight gets pushed out of the 7/7:30 p.m. slots eventually, along with Access. There's just been too many local shows that you could put in that slot that could not only do better as ET fades from breaking entertainment news to merely recapping it, but cost a lot less to air or produce. Eventually, ET will become more of the sum-up program for the live streaming channel than it will be its own unique show, and with Today being pushed to be a lot more than just a four-hour morning show, they will eventually step on the toes of Access and win that battle.

It’s already happened in Raleigh-Durham. Last spring when COVID hit WRAL moved ET from 7:30 to 6pm on sister WRAZ, and moved Inside Edition to 7:30 to make room for its 7pm newscast, which was just temporary at first but then became permanent. WRAZ has another airing of ET at 11pm. It would not surprise me if WSOC moved its 7pm news to its own channel from WAXN and moved ET and Inside Edition to WAXN. 

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1 hour ago, Nelson R. said:

It’s already happened in Raleigh-Durham. Last spring when COVID hit WRAL moved ET from 7:30 to 6pm on sister WRAZ, and moved Inside Edition to 7:30 to make room for its 7pm newscast, which was just temporary at first but then became permanent. WRAZ has another airing of ET at 11pm. It would not surprise me if WSOC moved its 7pm news to its own channel from WAXN and moved ET and Inside Edition to WAXN. 

Cox stations aren't doing 7pm news and E.T is very stable on WSOC, WHIO, WSB so that not happening.

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On 7/19/2021 at 6:38 PM, TresGriffin said:

Yeah, I don't see the shows getting "broken up" in favor of 7:00 newscasts being anything that will work in the long term.

 

It sure didn't here in Atlanta when WXIA tried a 7:00 Newscast (The Evening News with Brenda Wood)kat.  They did everything including moving Jeopardy to an afternoon timeslot on WXIA, and then moving both shows to their sister WATL before cancelling the 7pm news and moving the Wheel/Jeopardy Hour to back their "rightful" home on 11Alive.  

Wheel and J! do still air on WATL on Saturdays, as well as any time they are pre-empted. Both shows will air on WATL for the entirety of the Olympics due to local Olympic specials at 7:00 on WXIA in addition to the optional Olympic Zone show at 7:30.


Nowadays, no stations in the Eastern Time Zone air Jeopardy! before 7:00 PM on a regular basis, although CBSMV does allow it to compensate for a pre-emption. They do not allow it with Wheel; during March Madness, WNEM in Bay City, MI attempted to air J!/WOF at 10:00 and 10:30 AM to replace Let's Make a Deal (which does not air on some game days). At the last minute, they were called up by CBSMV who demanded they scrap Wheel from the early time slot. They had to air People TV (from their owner Meredith) instead, and WOF instead aired on their .2 subchannel at 7:30 PM (normally People's slot). Despite that, WRDW in Augusta, GA got away with airing WOF at 10:00 AM on the same days. WBOC in Salisbury, MD has new eps of J! listed for 4:30 PM, but these are actually the "Daytime Jeopardy!" run incorrectly listed as the episodes from the main run.

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On 7/19/2021 at 7:56 PM, GoldenShine9 said:

I know in the Central and Mountain time zones it is much more difficult, since they can't put them on at 7 pm in those markets. 

 

On Phoenix's KTVK, which is independent, they do air at 7:00 and 7:30. It's the only market in the US that does not air Wheel in the 7 ET/PT or 6 CT/MT hour. Ironically, this competed against Celebrity Wheel of Fortune on KXNV. The only other indie that regularly carries Wheel is KJZZ in Salt Lake City, which airs it at 6:00. These two indies also carry Jeopardy!, as does KTXA in Dallas (Wheel airs on big sister CBS O&O KTVT, but does occasionally air on KTXA following J! when pre-empted).

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On 7/20/2021 at 12:13 AM, tyrannical bastard said:

Even during the 6pm hour, because 6pm is a key news time, leaving only 6:30 for either show.

The only exceptions have been stations like WVUE and WALA, (doing news in many other timeslots BUT 6pm) which use the entire hour for both shows, and dual-stream multi-affiliate stations like WLOX that counter-program each other.  WLOX (ABC) has news at 6 with Wheel at 6:30 while WLOX (CBS) does Jeopardy! at 6 and news at 6:30.  The lesser-established program stream getting this distinction to counter the main station.

 

Are there any ET/PT stations that still have either show on a separate, seperately-owned station?

 

Most of the Mountain Time Zone airs both shows in the same hour as well. The only ones off the top of my head that air J! in the afternoon instead of 6:00 or 6:30 are KYMA in Yuma (NBC), KGUN in Tucson (ABC), and KKCO in Grand Junction (NBC). The Omaha market does the same thing as WLOX: WOWT (NBC) does J! at 6:00 and news at 6:30, and KETV (ABC) does news at 6:00 and WOF at 6:30. However, they are not co-owned.

 

There are no PT stations that carry them separately, but there is one ET market that does: Dayton. WHIO (CBS) airs WOF at 7:00 and Entertainment Tonight at 7:30. WDTN (NBC) airs Inside Edition at 7:00 and J! at 7:30. However, during the Olympics, WDTN is moving J! to 7:00 and bumping Inside Edition, meaning J! and WOF will air at the same time, which isn't supposed to be allowed.

 

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On 7/19/2021 at 6:38 PM, TresGriffin said:

Yeah, I don't see the shows getting "broken up" in favor of 7:00 newscasts being anything that will work in the long term.

 

It sure didn't here in Atlanta when WXIA tried a 7:00 Newscast (The Evening News with Brenda Wood)kat.  They did everything including moving Jeopardy to an afternoon timeslot on WXIA, and then moving both shows to their sister WATL before cancelling the 7pm news and moving the Wheel/Jeopardy Hour to back their "rightful" home on 11Alive.  

That’s why any attempt to say that WoF and J! will move to WUAB in favor of some kind of news on WOIO is laughable.

On 7/22/2021 at 3:11 PM, WheelWarrior said:

There are no PT stations that carry them separately, but there is one ET market that does: Dayton. WHIO (CBS) airs WOF at 7:00 and Entertainment Tonight at 7:30. WDTN (NBC) airs Inside Edition at 7:00 and J! at 7:30. However, during the Olympics, WDTN is moving J! to 7:00 and bumping Inside Edition, meaning J! and WOF will air at the same time, which isn't supposed to be allowed.

I’m guessing since it’s only for two weeks, Sony is willing to tolerate it.

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On 7/20/2021 at 10:15 AM, Breaking News said:

Cox stations aren't doing 7pm news and E.T is very stable on WSOC, WHIO, WSB so that not happening.

Yeah good point. ET has aired on WSOC and only WSOC in Charlotte since Day 1. Which was why they should’ve never gone for the rights to Wheel and Jeopardy in 1990. Wheel uprooted ET from its 7:30 slot on WSOC for 3 years. WCNC should’ve got both Wheel and Jeopardy that year. They ended up with Jeopardy in 1991. They didn’t get Wheel until 1993.

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I doubt the south Florida tv market will ever change that. WPLG continues to Carry wheel of fortune, since 1987, WTVJ first carried it in 1983. And Jeopardy through it's entire run. WTVJ and WFOR has since aired newscasts at 7, WSVN carrying inside edition at 7 and Deco Drive at 7:30. 

 

I mean, back then the 7pm time slot sure was different.

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KNDO Yakima has carried Wheel and Jeopardy! since the very beginning (almost always at that 7 and 7:30 timeslot). One year, Wheel aired at 6:30 so KNDO could fit Family Feud (with Ray Combs) in prime access. That show later moved to 5PM, then went to the LPTV Fox station for the last 2 years or so.

In Seattle, it was a different story (somewhat), KOMO didn't add Wheel until late into the 1st season but has kept it ever since, and KIRO aired season 1 of Jeopardy! at 9AM before punting it to KOMO in September 1985...KOMO has aired Jeopardy! at 7:30 since then.

But I don't see 7PM news happening on any Yakima station any time soon. Too small of a market and the news atmosphere is dying fast. You can see it every night on KIMA as they present about seven minutes of Yakima news, commercials, two Sinclair must-runs, commercials, another Sinclair must-run or a story borrowed from KOMO or KATU, weather, commercials, and one more story that likely has nothing to do with the town it serves.

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10 hours ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

KNDO Yakima has carried Wheel and Jeopardy! since the very beginning (almost always at that 7 and 7:30 timeslot). One year, Wheel aired at 6:30 so KNDO could fit Family Feud (with Ray Combs) in prime access. That show later moved to 5PM, then went to the LPTV Fox station for the last 2 years or so.

 

What other affiliates in the US have aired syndicated Wheel of Fortune earlier than 7:00 PM ET/PT/6:00 CT/MT/HT? The only one I know of is WLNY prior to being bought out by WCBS in 2012. For many years, they aired Wheel at 6:30 ET, one hour before WABC, then in its last few years on that station, it moved to 5:30. CJON in Newfoundland, Canada has aired it at 3:30 ET (5:00 local) since 2014; Jeopardy! airs at 6:30 ET/8:00 local. It's the only place you'll regularly see Wheel on before 7:00 ET, unless maybe American Forces Network airs it even earlier.

 

Also, interesting to note that although Jeopardy! has several 6:00 CT airings on affiliates that don't do 6:00 news, there is only one 6:00 CT airing of Wheel (and likewise, only one 6:30 CT airing of Jeopardy!) in the entire Central Time Zone: KVHP FOX 29 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This station also opts to air their weekend runs on Sunday nights at 9:00 and 9:30 PM leading out of FOX's Animation Domination block. Present-day Family Guy to Wheel of Fortune has to be jarring transition.

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