Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and Jeopardy airing right after Wheel of Fortune.” Or at least he would have had the Boston native been alive today. However, like Franklin, you might be shocked to learn the pair of shows actually air in a completely different order depending on where you live.
According to GraphGraph, 129 of the 206 United States media markets air Jeopardy first, while 77 markets show Wheel of Fortune first. That equates to approximately 74 million televisions which air Jeopardy first compared to 40 million TVs which get Wheel of Fortune as their prime time appetizer.
However, according to GraphGraph, not only do the two shows air in a different order, but the shows actually change network depending on where you live. In fact, in 23 media markets, the two shows are actually shown on different networks. The most common home of the two shows is CBS followed by NBC and ABC. However, the ABC markets include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia which makes it the most watched network for Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
In addition to airing in different orders across the country, the shows actually air at different times as well depending on where you live. In the Montgomery-Selma, Alabama market, for example, they air new episodes of Jeopardy at 9:30am local time. On the other hand, the Lafayette, Louisiana market is the last to air new episodes of the show at 12:36 AM, which makes Jeopardy the show of choice for high brow insomniacs across Lafayette.
For a more detailed analysis, check out GraphGraph.com.
