Amy Schneider's record-breaking Jeopardy! win streak has proved to not only be lucrative for her pockets, but also a ratings boon for the quiz show.
The long-running syndicated show sat comfortably as the highest-rated non-sports program across broadcast and cable television for the week of December 27 to January 2, Nielsen data has revealed.
Per Entertainment Weekly, an average of almost 9.7 viewers tuned in to watch each episode of the show during that week, beating fan favorite Yellowstone (9.34 million)—as well as every network's New Year's Eve special.
According to The Wrap, Jeopardy! has pulled in an average of 9.2 million total viewers over the course of the current 38th season, which started in September 2021.
The boost in viewers means that the show pulled in a slightly bigger audience than 60 Minutes, which attracted a 9.1 million average.
Because Jeopardy! airs in syndication, ratings data isn't available until two weeks after the week of broadcast.
While the numbers are encouraging, they're still down from last season when a large number of guest hosts stepped in to present the show following the November 2020 death of Alex Trebek.
The show averaged around 10 million viewers when Jeopardy! all-time champ Ken Jennings kicked off the guest-hosting rounds with a six-week stint.
Ratings declined after that over time, with LeVar Burton's week at the lectern in late July 2021 bringing in the least viewers, thanks in large part to preemptions and the Tokyo Olympics.
Trebek's final episode on Jeopardy!—which aired at the start of January 2021—aired during a week that pulled in a daily average of 11.12 million viewers, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Schneider's Jeopardy! win streak, which started in November 2021, has seen the California-based engineering manager break a series of records.
She is the first transgender woman to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, and has become the highest-earning woman in the show's entire history, with the longest win streak to boot.
On Tuesday night's installment of the show, she was seen securing her 35th consecutive win, while boosting her earnings to an impressive $1,164,000.
Her streak puts her third of all contestants, behind just Jennings, who boasts 74 wins, and second-placed Matt Amodio, who was seen clocking up 38 victories between Seasons 37 and 38.
Jennings is currently splitting hosting duties with Mayim Bialik for the remainder of the season, ahead of producers naming a permanent presenter.
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Schneider said that she would happily throw her hat in the ring to become the show's new host.
While she said that Jennings is a "fantastic" host, Schneider said of taking on the job herself: "It would certainly be a cool experience. It's a lot harder than it looks. Whether I'd actually even be good at it, I don't know ... But yeah, I'd certainly consider it if somebody asked."
