What do CBS, ABC, NBC, and the Game Show Network all have in common? They’re all home to Jeopardy!, America’s favorite trivia game show. However, they don’t air the show every single night. Indeed, there are plenty of preempted and unprecedented reasons that might prevent Jeopardy! from appearing on air.
We at Trivia Bliss are here to give you a rundown on why Jeopardy! might not be on tonight. We’ll also fill you in on how you can catch up on the episode you’ve missed. Read on to find out the six most common reasons why Jeopardy! can’t be found playing on television this evening.
It’s a Weekend
First things first: if you’re looking to watch a brand-new Jeopardy! episode on a weekend, you’re out of luck. New Jeopardy! episodes only air Monday through Friday and aren’t released on weekend evenings. You may occasionally find a Jeopardy! rerun airing on a Saturday or a Sunday, but you won’t get to consume that sweet, new Jeopardy! content until the next week starts. If you’re reading this on a weekend, sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
There’s A Big Game On
If there’s a weeknight sports game airing on a network that houses Jeopardy!, there’s a good chance that the show will be cut into or eliminated altogether for the night.
We get it—sports are where the money is. A big game will get more folks at home to turn on their televisions, making bank for the network that’s airing it. When it comes to hitting pause on airing Jeopardy! in favor of a sports event, there’s no question regarding the network.
Obviously, it’s to our chagrin that Jeopardy! goes by the wayside when there’s a weeknight sports game that lasts throughout the show’s time slot. Luckily, this isn’t a common occurrence. It may happen occasionally, and during some months more than others—for example, this will increase during the height of a sports season.
However, there’s no need to fear totally missing out on the continuation of your favorite contestant’s streak. All episodes of Jeopardy! will be available to stream after airing, so even if your local station didn’t have Jeopardy! on tonight, it’s out there for your viewing pleasure.
Additionally, sometimes a network will simply push back Jeopardy!’s airtime until the following morning. This is more likely to happen if the missed episode was supposed to air on a Friday because local weekend programming is much simpler (and cheaper, too!) to forgo than a big-time network show.
There’s A Historical Event Happening Right Now
A rare but plausible reason why Jeopardy! might not be airing on any given night is because of a historical event taking place on that day. Understandably, national or international emergency of note takes precedence over a pre-filmed game show that can be aired at a later time. Instead of Jeopardy!, spontaneous news reports will air to cover whatever unexpected event is occurring at the moment.
Jeopardy! isn’t just swept to the side for unprecedented disasters. It can also be postponed or canceled in favor of a happier special event of a historical nature, such as an inauguration or a royal wedding.
Depending on the network, Jeopardy! might be aired after the news report wraps up, or that episode might not be aired until reruns start making the rounds. In these cases, you can stream Jeopardy! online if you’re so inclined to stay up-to-date episode-wise.
There’s An Unprecedented Weather Emergency
Have you ever been watching television when—BAM—your favorite program is interrupted by a warning from the National Weather Service? I know I sure have, and it isn’t fun. Emergency weather warnings are scary to begin with, and even more unpleasant when they cut your favorite show short!
Usually, this warning consists of a disembodied, automated voice reading out the weather warning, along with a plain screen displaying the text that’s being read. These are often accompanied by a siren-like sound effect and sometimes an image of the doppler radar for the affected area.
Obviously, an unprecedented weather emergency can happen at any moment—Mother Nature is a wily one!—so there’s no telling when Jeopardy! may be interrupted. However, if it is, the rest of the episode will be available online. Additionally, some channels may just pick up their programming where they left off after an alert like this, so you can potentially resume watching once the severe weather ends.
Depending on the weather event’s severity, this National Weather Service alert will sometimes last a short time. In contrast, at other times, the alert will last for a long time in an effort to get folks to turn off their televisions and seek shelter. For example, a thunderstorm watch might only call for a brief message, only causing you to miss a few minutes of Jeopardy!. A tornado touching down might call for the program to be cut extremely short.
Your Local Network Is Experiencing Technical Difficulties
Another unfortunate reason why Jeopardy! may not be airing tonight is due to problems with your local network. Technical difficulties are not entirely uncommon, and their timing is totally unpredictable. Therefore, these mishaps may occasionally cut into Jeopardy!’s time slot, forcing the show to go off the air.
These are totally contingent upon network error, usually caused by a random technological mistake. It’s a bummer to see your television screen freeze, watch as the video becomes choppy, or listen as the audio turns warped and unrecognizable. Watching television via a non-cable provider will often solve or minimize this from happening while you have your Jeopardy! time.
They’re Out of New Episodes (It’s Time for Reruns)
Did you know Jeopardy! has an off-season? That’s right: just like any sports team or television program, there’s a period of the year in which the show takes a break, and new episodes don’t air. This gives hosts and showrunners a chance to rest while excitement is drummed up for the new season to come.
Jeopardy! normally airs approximately 230 episodes per season. Since Jeopardy! only is on television on weeknights, that means new episodes are available for 46 weeks of the year. Surely Jeopardy! fans can find something else to watch during that six-week-long respite!
Jeopardy! usually takes its break (or at least a good chunk of it) during the summer. Go out, enjoy the good weather, and get back to Jeopardy! in the fall!
If you want to learn more about the show’s off-season, you can read about it here in our article “Here’s Exactly Why Jeopardy! Is a Rerun Tonight.”
How Can I Stream Jeopardy Reruns?
We’ve mentioned these fabled Jeopardy! reruns quite a few times at this point but haven’t let you know where you can watch them. Never fear—we were waiting to get to that. As you’re about to see, the answer isn’t so simple.
Pluto TV is the Jeopardy!-sanctioned streaming provider featured on the show’s official website. While it can be good to fulfill an emergency Jeopardy! fix, it’s not going to help you catch up on this current season: there are only episodes from seasons 1 to 33 currently featured. Additionally, there are only a handful of episodes available from each season.
In other words, if you’re trying to keep up with a contestant’s epic streak or watch in order, you’re out of luck with Pluto TV. Don’t write them off, though: their ads are minimal, and their platform is easy to use. Best of all, Pluto TV is free to the public—no subscription is needed.
The rest of Jeopardy!’s streaming options are (unfortunately) going to cost you a little bit. While a handful of streaming services offer the occasional Jeopardy! episode, most don’t chronicle every last one. Therefore, any streaming service with a DVR option is bound to be your best bet. This way, you can set Jeopardy! to record and won’t have to deal with any interruptions that might occur on your local cable station and disrupt your Jeo time.
Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and AT&T Now all have this DVR feature. They’re all pretty pricey—currently, each one costs over $60 a month—but with all of their packages’ channels and benefits, purchasing a subscription might be worth it, especially if you were already considering cable anyway.
Do you want to stay posted on Jeopardy! happenings without having to rewatch episodes you’ve missed? Lucky for you, there are plenty of social media accounts that recap the previous night’s Jeopardy! highlights. Simply searching “Jeopardy!” in the search bar on Tiktok, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook is sure to yield some highlight reels. Specific Jeopardy! episodes are often chronicled on forums, as well. Keep an eye out on your favorite social network, and you’re sure to get the updates in no time.
In the same vein, there are also boatloads of Jeopardy! YouTube compilations and short clips are available for your viewing pleasure. Check out the official Jeopardy! YouTube channel, which is updated frequently, or watch this compilation video of particularly giggle-worthy moments from the show.
Final Words
There you have it: six fairly common reasons why Jeopardy! isn’t airing tonight. We hope this helped to clear up why the show may not have been on that one time (ok, fine, several times). Fingers crossed for a Jeopardy! season without too many weeknight interruptions. Season 39, here we go!
Here at Trivia Bliss, we’re obsessed with Jeopardy!. If you (like us!) want to read up more about your favorite trivia game show, we’ve got plenty of articles for you. Whether you want to learn how contestants study up for the show, if the show is rigged in favor of certain contestants or not, or how difficult it is to snag a spot up at that podium, we are here to let you know.
We’ve also featured many collections of the best Jeopardy! questions, like these easy Final Jeopardy questions and these Before and After category clues. Check ‘em out and let us know if you use them during any of your personal trivia nights.
What’s your favorite way to watch Jeopardy! to make up for the nights it’s not on the air? Do you have a favorite streaming service on which to watch the show? Or is there a social media account that provides you with some Jeopardy! updates? Let us know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply