Despite a video leaking online which revealed the result of Monday night’s dramatic “Jeopardy!” episode, the game show still managed to post record ratings figures.
Last night’s episode scored a 10.1 household rating in overnight metered markets, the highest rating its has achieved by that measurement in 14 years (a June 2005 episode drew a 10.30). Prior to Monday’s episode, another of the highest rated episodes in the show’s history featured the final game played by Ken Jennings, whose record for most winnings on “Jeopardy!” remains intact as a result of James Holzhauer’s shocking defeat.
After 32 straight victories and just $58,485 shy of Jennings’s $2,520,700 record, Holzhauer suffered a crushing defeat, $24,799 to $46,801, at the hands of another contestant named Emma.
In terms of the 18-49 demographic, the episode scored an impressive 2.2, meaning it out-performed all broadcast offerings for the night, including “The Bachelorette” on ABC and the Stanley Cup Finals game on NBC (which both scored a 1.5 rating). The total viewer figures for the record-breaking episode won’t be available for a couple weeks.
Holzhauer’s win streak has proven to be a major boon to the game show. The former champion has pushed the show to the number one spot in the syndication ratings. By the end of April, “Jeopardy!” was averaging 12 million viewers, enough to dethrone top syndicated series “Judge Judy.”