ABC Shells Out to Keep ‘Wheel’ & ‘Jeopardy’ Off Fox

 “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” will keep the questions coming for quite a few more years.

Vanna & Pat

Announced today, CBS Television Distribution has officially renewed both game shows for three additional seasons, extending its deal with Sony Pictures Television to keep the shows on the air all the way through the 2022-23 season, reports tvnythenumbers.com.

The renewal will now keep “Jeopardy” going through its 39th season and “Wheel of Fortune” through its 40th. The news comes just a few days after “Jeopardy” host, Alex Trebek, and “Wheel of Fortune’s” Pat Sajak and Vanna White all renewed their contracts with Sony TV to continue hosting both shows through the 2021-22 season.

“The iconic game shows, ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy’ have long been fan favorites and mainstays in our ABC Owned Stations’ television lineups,” said Wendy McMahon, President of ABC’s Owned Television Stations Group. “Our brands are connected in a positive way in the hearts and minds of our viewers.”

“‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy’ are two of the longest-running shows on television — and for good reason,” said Steve Hackett, President of Sales for CBS TV Distribution. “They consistently deliver entertaining, timeless programming that the whole family can enjoy together, creating whole new generations of fans. We’re excited they will continue to anchor stations’ lineups, delivering eyeballs and ad dollars to our partners, for many years to come.”

Alex Trebek

Citing Knowledgeable sources, Variety reports  said that ABC was forced to step up its offer although they did not match the offer on the table for Fox on behalf o their O&Os. “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” are known to command low six-figure weekly license fees in New York and L.A., the two largest TV markets.

CBS Television Distribution, which has distributed “Wheel” and “Jeopardy” since CBS acquired King World Productions in 2000, likely calculated that the audience disruption caused by a move of the shows in top markets would not be worth the extra coin offered by Fox.

Fox’s interest in the shows is a signal that the company is readying for a new era for the Fox broadcast network following the sale of other 21st Century Fox assets to Disney. The Fox network is expected to emphasize live sports, WWE and other broad-based programming, which would make “Wheel” and Jeopardy” more compelling as lead-ins than they would be with Fox’s traditional emphasis on younger audiences and edgier entertainment fare.

“Wheel” and “Jeopardy” have aired on ABC O&Os for decades — since 1990-91 season on WABC-TV New York and since 1992-93 on KABC-TV Los Angeles.

“Wheel” this season is averaging about 9.3 million viewers, while “Jeopardy” is pulling in about 9 million viewers.