Wheel and Jeopardy Return

[imhomerjay]

I think that’s exactly right. Also the reason people with a particular, I’m, devotion to a topic think something is a controversy when...it’s really not. How “average” people watch a program is not remotely the way fanatics do.

Does that mean someone wouldn’t notice a smaller amount on the bonus prize wheel? Sure. Are they, by and large, going to find that to be so unpalatable that they stop watching? Are they going to go viral on social media with their takedown of the show? Eh, no. A few tweets will be tweeted. A blog will be blogged. And the world will spin on its axis.

[gamesurf]

Yeah, my point is that more throwing more money at the screen doesn't automatically translate to more excitement or a better show. I think Wheel has forgotten this.

Bonus round wins are down from to around 60-65 per season than 75-80 from ten years ago.

Now, I don't have any evidence that seeing more winners in the bonus round will translate to the average viewer tuning in more often.  But I don't think the average viewer cares about inflation or "this win wasn't as big as that win" or whatever. They just want to see people having fun and winning nice prizes.

They have changed the distribution much more frequently than that. There is evidence that they bump it up during Secret Santa weeks and lower it after big wins to keep the budget under control.

Even the contestants do not know when they are on stage what the distribution is at that moment. It's bizarrely secretive.

That's really interesting--thanks for the link!

[RatRace10]

I totally agree. I'd much rather see 3-4 people win per week with a mix of 30/35/40 than 1-2 per week with 99% of the wins being 3XK or a car.

What if they made a "TRIPLE" card? Since most people have around 15K before the bonus round, winning that would technically just be 30K. But it could be really exciting on one of those rare times where someone steamrolls with 40K+ before the bonus round.

[PimpinJC]

I think what causes the show’s budget to suffer is that they’re required to give away more than $25,000 per show, which includes:

4 “house minimums” x $1,000 (for a 4 round show)
1 toss-up x $1,000
4 toss-ups x $2,000
2 “prize puzzle” trips x $6,000 average (1 for the contestant, 1 for the “Spin ID” promotion)

Back in the old days, the show was set up so that only the “house minimums” had to be given away.

The toss-ups are reasonable to select starting position for the 1st and 4th rounds, but beyond that, everything else is just being given away to give away money.  Seriously, the “prize puzzle” trip is literally a consolation prize for winning the round: no requirements by the contestant, no risk, no nothing.  This is on top of the house minimum they would still get.  If there would be some requirement to earn the trip, then even that would be something.  E.g., give the contestant an opportunity to risk their round earnings on a toss-up puzzle to play for the trip, where the rest of the contestants play for cash.

Or better yet, offer something else other than a trip everyday.  Seriously, especially now during the pandemic, that isn’t conveying the best message, even if it is valid for several years from now.

[SeaBreeze341]

I didn't think about that, the $25,000 minimum total.  Does anyone know off the top of the head what Jeopardy's average winning total is?  Save for the $3000 consolation total, they only have to pay out the winning total for the winner after Final Jeopardy!  There is no bonus round in Jeopardy (unless there really is and I either blacked out or it doesn't air in my area)

While the $25,000 might hurt its budget, I don't know what they can do or whether they should go back.  I think they could but it might not be a popular move.  OTOH, as mentioned, I don't think the average viewer would care about that.

I do enjoy the big wins, a lot more when I was younger, but I am with the camp that likes a win, period.  If the bonus round was for $25,000 or a car around that amount, I'd be satisfied.  The contestant won the bonus round.  That's what counts for me.  Winning a Million is great, but not imperative.  Now, if the reward was only $125, that is a different story!

[RatRace10]

I think what causes the show’s budget to suffer is that they’re required to give away more than $25,000 per show, which includes:

4 “house minimums” x $1,000 (for a 4 round show)
1 toss-up x $1,000
4 toss-ups x $2,000
2 “prize puzzle” trips x $6,000 average (1 for the contestant, 1 for the “Spin ID” promotion)

Back in the old days, the show was set up so that only the “house minimums” had to be given away.

The toss-ups are reasonable to select starting position for the 1st and 4th rounds, but beyond that, everything else is just being given away to give away money.  Seriously, the “prize puzzle” trip is literally a consolation prize for winning the round: no requirements by the contestant, no risk, no nothing.  This is on top of the house minimum they would still get.  If there would be some requirement to earn the trip, then even that would be something.  E.g., give the contestant an opportunity to risk their round earnings on a toss-up puzzle to play for the trip, where the rest of the contestants play for cash.

Or better yet, offer something else other than a trip everyday.  Seriously, especially now during the pandemic, that isn’t conveying the best message, even if it is valid for several years from now.

Actually, the trips are minimum $7,000 now, but they're often over $10,000 lately. And they don't give trips to SPIN ID's anymore. Now they only draw SPIN ID's when someone wins the Mystery $10K wedge (they also win the $10K cash), which only happens around once every couple weeks.

They're clearly out of prize ideas. Last week, the prize wedge was just $10,000 cash with a sponsor logo slapped on it. They already offer that prize via the more difficult Mystery Wedge, and remember when it used to be a golden wedge between two mini Bankrupts?

[RatRace10]

Does anyone know off the top of the head what Jeopardy's average winning total is?  Save for the $3000 consolation total, they only have to pay out the winning total for the winner after Final Jeopardy!  There is no bonus round in Jeopardy (unless there really is and I either blacked out or it doesn't air in my area)

I don't watch J! as often as Wheel, but sometimes I'll catch the very end when the winner is crowned and I notice that the winner's final score is often more than Wheel's winning score before the Bonus Round or if they lose the Bonus Round. Last time I caught new eps of both, J! had $22,X01 and Wheel had $17,XXX (though that person did win the bonus). There was another day I caught both where J!'s winner had $19,801 and Wheel's had $17,006 and she lost the bonus. Although it's worth noting that the absolute minimum value it's possible to win Wheel with is $7,000, whereas J!'s winner can easily be lower. I caught both shows' reruns this past weekend and J!'s rerun had a winning score of only $5,201.

But if we're talking total amount given away per show, then Wheel definitely wins (except for the months of April-June 2019...  )

[wheelfan1991]

Just using data from last week's shows, the Wheel winners averaged $40,161 per day. Watching J! the last little bit, I've only seen on average around $22,000 a day for the winner. Of course, with Wheel, all the players get to keep whatever they win, so Wheel's giving away substantially more than J!

[RatRace10]

True but that's only if you count the Bonus Round. A couple days ago, Wheel's winner had only a little over $12,000 while J!'s had about $19,000. Though this balanced out yesterday, where Wheel's winner had over $34K before the bonus (and then won 50K more!) while J!'s had $23K-ish.

Although I don't watch J! as much, I feel like more people break the $20K mark on J! than on Wheel.

[LiteBulb88]

Keep in mind that unlike Jeopardy!, Wheel gives all players the earnings they won during the game, not just the winner. This makes a big difference in terms of how much money Wheel gives away per show.

[pricefan18]

Keep in mind that unlike Jeopardy!, Wheel gives all players the earnings they won during the game, not just the winner. This makes a big difference in terms of how much money Wheel gives away per show.

And I imagine the budget in turn. Plus, until a contestant on J actually loses.....they aren't on the hook for their earnings yet, so they'd have more wiggle room within their budget day to day no?

[imhomerjay]

This isn’t a mom and pop shop with today’s cash flow funding tomorrow’s invoices. Beyond which, there are plenty of short term champs.

[Axl]

Sounds like Sony gave Wheel a massive prize budget in the 00’s-early ‘10’s, and now they’ve painted themselves into a corner because they’re “expected” to offer certain prizes and they’re afraid they’ll look cheap if they walk them back.

It seems pretty clear that both shows have been under the budget gun in recent years.  Just look at the ever-shrinking size of the Jeopardy! Clue Crew and how many clues they present in-studio compared to on the road.  Sarah Whitcomb Foss even pulls double-duty now as an associate director.

[imhomerjay]

On that last point, perhaps she earned that job and it’s something she wanted to do.

[sayingsorry]

On that last point, perhaps she earned that job and it’s something she wanted to do.

Agreed. As much as I am sure she loves doing the clues, career wise AD is much better than just clue crew.