The numbers are in. Ryan Seacrest’s first week as host of Wheel of Fortune drove the game show’s highest ratings in five years. The first week also saw a double-digit percentage increase in viewership in every key demo. Although viewership dropped slightly in the 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 During the premiere week of season 42, the show averaged 8.31 million viewers per episode, making it the most watched show that week.

The average audience rating was 4.88. Those 8.1 million are a 21 percent increase from the premiere week of season 41 in September 2023, when episodes averaged 6.87 million viewers. The Hollywood ReporterThe first four episodes of the second week had an average of almost 8 million viewers per episode.

In all major demos, ratings rose 10 percent or more in the first week. Household ratings increased 21 percent compared to 2023 numbers.

For comparison, Seacrest’s first episode as host on September 9 had 9.63 million viewers, the show’s most successful season premiere since 2015. While the average viewership per episode dropped after the premiere, ratings increased. Seacrest’s first episode received a household rating of 4.62, and as noted above, the average household rating for the first week overall was 4.88. However, Seacrest did not have more viewers than Pat Sajak’s final episode, which was watched by 11 million people.

The first episode of Seacrest’s second week featured the first $1 million prize of his tenure. This was only the 13th time in the show’s history that a player met all the requirements for the jackpot but ultimately lost the bonus round.

Seacrest wheel The contract reportedly extends into the 2030s, New York Times report. Time will tell if he has the staying power in terms of viewership and ratings. After Sajak’s retirement, White extended her contract until 2026. She has not yet publicly announced whether she will return after that, but her feelings about leaving seem to be up in the air. Sajak is still the host of Celebrity Wheel of Fortunewhich returns with its fifth season on October 14th.

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