Fans React After ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Premiere Is Postponed
Some Wheel of Fortune fans were left upset after learning that the premiere of season 41–which will be Pat Sajak's last as the show's host–had been postponed to allow Monday Night Football to air.
In certain areas, including New York and Chicago, the new episode was preempted by the Buffalo Bills' game against the New York Jets. But not everyone knew about this, with some fans excitedly waiting for Wheel of Fortune to start at 7:30 p.m. EST on Monday, Sept. 11, only to find it wasn't on.
A confused fan on social media asked their local channel what was going on, saying, "uh hey @6abc where the hell is tonight’s #WheelOfFortune?? I love football, but it’s the premiere episode of Pat’s last season & my inner boomer is not happy i can’t watch it right now!!"
uh hey @6abc where the hell is tonight’s #WheelOfFortune?? I love football, but it’s the premiere episode of Pat’s last season & my inner boomer is not happy i can’t watch it right now!! pic.twitter.com/v9OXoAGjKU
— Bex (@BexMix_41) September 11, 2023
Another disappointed viewer wrote, "Didn’t know I was giving up wheel of fortune tonight to watch jets bills game :/."
WheelRob on X (formerly known as Twitter)—who claims in his bio that he was on the show previously—laid out the situation for everyone, sharing all the areas where the show was pushed due to football.
ABC carries Wheel of Fortune on almost all of its O&O stations, all at 7:30 ET/PT. It's basically ABC's "de facto" 7:30 show so the network is well aware of the show it's taking away. These are all of the markets where Wheel is pre-empted by the new pregame show, total 21% of US. pic.twitter.com/nEhOnl6QUB
— WheelRob (@WheelRob10) September 11, 2023
The same user also attempted to share some moments from tonight's show for those who couldn't watch, also noting that at least the contestants in the episode were from cities in which Wheel of Fortune aired as usual.
Like this fan, many more questioned why football took priority over Wheel of Fortune, especially considering it's a landmark moment for Sajak as the start of his final season.
Tagging the channel and TV show, an X user shared their displeasure, writing, "That is very disappointing to me. Tonight starts a new season of Wheel of Fortune. That pre-game show is also airing on ESPN," questioning why it had to air on two channels.
The fact that a pre-game show, rather than the actual football game, was airing instead of Wheel of Fortune left some fans even more frustrated.
As WheelRob wrote of the situation, "Nobody asked for Monday Night Football pregame...Go crazy during game time, but stop robbing Wheel of Fortune of ratings on ABC stations. #WheelofFortune #JusticeForWheel," along with a gif to go with it.
Nobody asked for Monday Night Football pregame. We don't need talking heads chit-chatting behind a table or on an empty field way before the actual event. Go crazy during game time, but stop robbing Wheel of Fortune of ratings on ABC stations. #WheelofFortune #JusticeForWheel pic.twitter.com/GF0wE1bN6V
— WheelRob (@WheelRob10) September 11, 2023
TV listings suggest that the first episode of the show's most current season would instead air at 3 a.m. in Chicago, and in New York City, the first episode is not on the schedule at all, with the second episode set to air as scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 12.
While it might not be the best start to Wheel of Fortune season 41, fans are still excited for new episodes as Sajak prepares to say his final goodbye to the hit game show.
Next: Pat Sajak Trolls Himself for How Long He's Hosted Wheel of Fortune
