What is wrong with this calculation of how long Ken Jennings was the Jeopardy! champion?
Here is my rough estimate. He was champion for 74 consecutive shows. The show is on 5 days per week, so he was champion for 74/5 consecutive weeks, or about 15 weeks. 15 weeks is 7×15=105 days, about 3½ months.
According to this article (toward the bottom), he started his streak on June 2,2004 and won his last game on November 29,2004. That is about 6 months. Where did I go wrong?
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They break up the show, at least nowadays, with other special competitions like a Tournament of (prior) Champions or a University or Teens Challenge. Also, the summer might show re-runs. So he probably wasn’t on consistently for 3½ months.
Remember that they film up to 5 episodes per day, and they film a week a time and then take a month off. Then they play them out on TV over the course of a week or two.
So the question is – are they counting the amount of time he was champion on the calendar of how the shows were shown, or is the measurement based on how long he was champ based on the fact they were filming multiple shows per day?
I was not aware that they could film up to 5 episodes per day. On the show, they make it seem that the next episode will be the next weekday. So the current champ could be in 5 different shows in a day. I wonder if they do clothing changes from one show to the next.
He started season 20 and ended on season 21 with a season break in between from the 23 of July to the 6th of September. There were also apparently some days when it wasn’t broadcast due to presidential elections, tournament of champions etc.
@LostInParadise A neighbor was on Name That Tune. They filmed 5 times a day. Contestants are told to bring a change of clothes, to use if they win. Some don’t, then when they win, they say on camera “I’m wearing my lucky shirt!”
@LostInParadise There are other shows now that film like that, and I think it’s so the host and staff can have a long weekend. They stack up several tapings in one day. It’s a bonus for the “live audience” who, if they want to, can sit through several tapings in one day.
I imagine the audience is sworn to silence about who wins and loses, given the amount of time between taping and broadcast.
Someone could have made money by wagering that Jennings would be the winner for the next five shows.
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