It appears that a major game show rivalry could be in the works. Indeed, sources are claiming that the Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings recently took a savage dig at his competitor, the Wheel of Fortune host Ryan Seacrest.
Both men are trying to replace legends on their respective shows, and both are facing criticism for not being able to fill the shoes.
Jennings Takes Dig At Seacrest
It was recently revealed that Wheel of Fortune surged past Jeopardy! by over 1 million viewers after Seacrest took over from Pat Sajak back in September. Official figures state that 8,310,000 viewers watched Wheel of Fortune for the premiere week. Meanwhile, just 7,113,000 viewers watched Jeopardy! during the same period.
Earlier this week, Jennings attempted to make light of the budding rivalry. He did this by taking a dig at Seacrest and at Wheel of Fortune.
“After a recent taping, Ken asked the live audience if they enjoyed their time at the show, before asking if any of them wished they’d gone to see Wheel of Fortune instead,” a source told The Sun. “The crowd erupted in laughter and seemed to appreciate him making fun of the rivalry and not taking it so seriously.”
“Ken is very humble, really kind to everyone on set, and eager to answer questions from guests,” the insider added. “It seems the role hasn’t gone to his head. There’s no ego about him at all.”
“Audience members have also asked him which is harder; being a contestant or hosting, and he admitted taking part was much more nerve-wracking than reading out the questions,” the source continued.
Related: ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Ken Jennings Forced To Apologize To Female Contestant For ‘Problematic’ Clue
Tough Times For Jennings
This comes at a difficult time for Jennings. Last month, it was reported that he may be at risk of being fired from his Jeopardy! hosting gig.
Sources told The Mirror that Jeopardy! producers are no longer sure if they want to keep Jennings on as host.
Executives have reportedly noticed that ratings on Wheel of Fortune have spiked in the weeks since Seacrest took over hosting. This has led them to become curious as to whether they could make the same thing happen with Jeopardy!
It should be noted that Jennings surprisingly does not have a long-term contract for the $4 million hosting gig on Jeopardy! This means that his job is far from safe.
“Of course Ken wants to do this for the next twenty years, but he’s going to have to get comfortable with only being renewed one or two years at a time for the foreseeable future,” another source previously explained. “Sony is keeping him in the hosting job but they are also keeping their options open.”
Full Story: Ken Jennings Reportedly ‘At Risk’ Of Being Fired From ‘Jeopardy!’ Over Ratings
Jennings Gets Bad News
Things got even worse for Jennings over the summer. In July, executives tapped the Saturday Night Live! star Colin Jost to host the upcoming Pop Culture Jeopardy! over him. Another source said that if Jeopardy! executives were “100 percent” sold on Jennings, they would have tapped him to host Pop Culture Jeopardy!
“Yes, if they truly had 100% confidence in Ken, they would tap him for their primetime and celebrity editions, which they have decidedly not done,” this insider said. “It is what it is. Ken can’t really affect things except by being consistent on the nightly show and making sure the ratings don’t slide too badly.”
A third source chimed in to say that “it really looks like a massive no-confidence vote in Ken by tapping Colin Jost [for Pop Culture Jeopardy!]”
While Jennings is trying to have fun with this, it appears that Seacrest’s success may have hit a nerve. It will certainly be interesting to see if Jennings can survive on Jeopardy!
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