Ryan Seacrest has officially taken the reins as the host of ABC’s “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” kicking off the season premiere on Friday, September 26. The debut garnered a remarkable viewership of 3.55 million, marking the show’s strongest audience numbers in nearly two years.
According to Nielsen’s live+same day big data plus panel, this season premiere achieved a 0.31 rating among adults aged 18-49, reflecting a 17% increase compared to last year’s premiere, which attracted 3.04 million viewers during Pat Sajak’s farewell season.
Seacrest officially stepped in to succeed long-time host Pat Sajak—who had an iconic presence on the show for over 40 years—in September 2024. Despite Seacrest’s earlier involvement with the show’s daytime version alongside co-host Vanna White, Sajak continued to helm the ABC primetime edition until the end of his agreement.
The show has moved to a new time slot, airing on Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET. With Seacrest and White leading the charge, “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” not only topped the ratings among broadcasts for the night but also delivered its best audience figures since December 13, 2023.
In a significant achievement for ABC, this premiere episode marked the network’s best performance for entertainment programming in the Friday 8 p.m. slot since a May 2024 episode of “Jeopardy Masters.” Furthermore, in a direct comparison of ratings, “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” surpassed CBS’s “Big Brother” by a staggering 82% in total viewership, drawing in 3.55 million viewers compared to “Big Brother’s” 1.95 million.
The premiere episode also showcased a collaborative spirit with notable contestants from ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” including Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, and Jenna Johnson. Looking ahead, the upcoming episode on October 3 will feature special guests Retta (“Parks and Recreation”), New Kids on the Block member Joey McIntyre, and actor Oliver Hudson (“Happy Gilmore 2”).
“Wheel of Fortune” has proven to be a great opportunity for Ryan Seacrest, showing marked growth according to CBS Media Ventures, the distributor of the daytime series. For the 2024-2025 television season, the iconic game show averaged 7.93 million viewers, reflecting a slight increase of 74,000 from the previous year. In terms of households, “Wheel” secured a 4.6 rating, exhibiting a 1% rise from the prior season.
After more than 40 years of hosting, Sajak signed off from the daytime version of “Wheel” in June 2024. His tenure concluded, yet he remained a familiar face on ABC’s primetime “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” with his last appearance before the show’s transition to Seacrest. The daytime version of the show is currently in its 43rd season, produced by Sony Pictures Television.
This rewritten content maintains the essential HTML structure and incorporates relevant information while ensuring uniqueness for seamless integration into a WordPress platform.
