Ryan Seacrest’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Debut Earns Biggest Premiere Week Audience In Five Years

Gamers definitely wanted to check out what Ryan Seacrest had to offer on Wheel of Fortune.

The syndicated show averaged 8.31 million viewers during its premiere week ending September 15 — its largest premiere week audience in five years, according to Nielsen results.

Seacrest’s first episode as host, which aired on September 9, was Wheel’s highest-rated season premiere audience in nine years (since 2015), with 9.63 million total viewers. That’s up 70 percent versus last year’s premiere episode among total viewers (9.63 million vs. 5.68 million), as well as up 67% among homes (5.67 HH rating vs. 3.39 HH rating) and 63% among adults 18 to 49 (0.86 rating vs. 0.52 rating). 

For premiere week, Wheel was the No. 1 show in syndication with a 4.88 HH rating and 8.31 million total viewers. It grew 21 percent among homes (4.88 v. 4.03) and total viewers (8.31M v 6.87M) versus last week’s premiere week. It was also up double-digit percentages in all key demos. 

In addition to hosting, Seacrest will also serve as a consulting producer on the show. Former host Pat has agreed to stay on as a consultant for the next three years.