Jeopardy!‘s Ken vs. Mayim Debate: EP Reveals Who Gets Better Ratings
It’s the Jeopardy! question on everyone’s mind: Which of the syndicated phenom’s two rotating hosts, Ken Jennings or Mayim Bialik, are winning the ratings game? Executive producer Michael Davies is buzzing in with the answer.
“When Ken is hosting and Mayim is hosting, there’s zero difference,” Davies tells Vulture. “It’s exactly the same [viewership] and that’s the broadest part of the audience.”
And although the EP is well aware of the fierce Ken vs. Mayim debate that exists online among fans, he maintains that there’s no “absolute” data that points to one being more popular than the other. “In terms of the tiny percentage of our audience that do go on Reddit or Twitter, there are Ken fans and there are Mayim fans,” he notes. “There are some people who love Jeopardy! and will watch both. We also have various fans who post that they don’t like either of them. That’s just part of the data we look at.
“I back both of them,” Davies adds of Jennings and Bialik. “I go to the studio every day and try to make both of them better at hosting the show and make a better program environment around them. They have my full support.”
As we reported earlier this month, Bialik — who was slated to continue hosting the show’s syndicated version through the end of the current Season 39 — exited one week early due to the current writers strike. As a result, Jennings is stepping in for Bialik for Season 39’s final week, which tapes this week airs the final week of July.
Hollywood is calling him a “scab”.
Oh yeah that 2 days worth of work to finish both the season and the tournament really hurt especially since Ken is not an actor.Sheesh.
You don’t have to be an actor. Every facet of television, movie, and the stage has unions. And you don’t have to belong to a union to support a walkout.
But you don’t have to keep people out of work for a union that you’re not a part of.
Unions are bullies and not everyone agrees with what they do.
Unions support labor, if that’s considered bullying, then maybe it’s better to be bullied in that case, than used by corporate, which many workers are. If people don’t stand together, then it’s impossible to move anything forward.
Unions exploit labor and attempt to extort management. They act, in essence, a subcontractor which is forced on both.
Unions penalize high performers at the expense of the mediocre, and as such do a disservice to both the those performers and to those who hire them. No true professional belongs to a union.
Unions have had some value in the case of easily replaced laborers, where replacing a large number at one time might be more difficult; however this must be balanced by the ability of the employer to replace them if they so choose, and the demands of the union are unacceptable to them.
He is a member of the actors union. Even if he weren’t he still crossed the picket line at Sony.
Sticks and stones..
Who is a scab?
He was wrong to cross the picket line. Not a good look. Mayim was correct. I don’t think Alex would have crossed either
Saying that Ken was wrong and Mayim was correct is just you mistaking your opinion as fact.
And Alex Trebek did indeed show up to tape some episodes during the 2007-2008 strike.
I find no record of that anywhere. You’ve repeated this claim on other sites as well. I suggest you get your facts straight.
Did you find any facts to the contrary? Also, Ken is an EP on the show.
I was at taping during the 2007 strike. Alex did show up.
I was there too I remember seeing you Ben. We had a good time didn’t we? Ole Trebeck said screw them writers.
2 excellent points well made!
t’s not as simple as you think it is. Jeopardy was committed to airing those episodes. As a result, someone had to film them. If the writer’s strike continues over the summer, there will be no new episodes of Jeopardy in September.
Not sure how this stacks up but she’s currently a producer/writer for at least one show that I can think of, Call Me Kat and possibly others I’m not aware of. I don’t think Ken is a writer or producer on any show at this time so I don’t see him hosting in place of Mayim as a “scab”. I like both of them as hosts, they each have their strengths and areas of improvement. I’ve only watched tournament specials and hadn’t seen Ken in a while, was pleasantly surprised at how much he’s grown as a host. Both of them have.
Not Hollywood, -“actor” Wil Wheaton specifically, because he needs the attention.
No, he really doesn’t. He’s already got a lot of attention and work. Excuses, excuses… and biased ones at that.
A “scab” is a protective covering, allowing an injury to fully heal. It’s a complement.
No, it’s not. It’s a rather nefarious label.
scabs come from drying out which is the worst way to take care of wounds which heal better with moisture. scabs can leave a scar so not the compliment you think it is.
And, absolutely nobody cares what Hollywood thinks or says about Ken. Those writers better get off their high horse as AI is going to steal their jobs mighty quick, then they won’t even be needed. Uncomfortable fact.
So, accurately.
That’s what it’s called when you cross a line. They are correct
I’m firmly on Team Ken, but watch the program regardless of host in order to help keep up its ratings. We can’t let personal preferences jeopardize (see what I did there?) this wonderful show!
Unless you have a Nielsen box, your viewership does not impact ratings.
Yes it does. So few people have a Nielsen box that basing ratings on that is ridiculous. Ratings now are based more on information provided by cable and streaming services. They also take into account how many people record and watch at a later date or watch on “On Demand” or stream it after it originally airs.
I only watch when Ken Jennings is hosting. Ken has a more relaxed attitude with the contestants. He knows what it is like to be answering questions. On the other hand Mayim comes across with a superior attitude. I am sure I am not the only one who doesn’t watch when she is hosting.
Myaim is good, but Ken is great. I’ll watch either way, but have a strong preference for Ken. He is doing amazing on the Masters tournament. He has become the face of Jeopardy, while Mayim is still recognized for for her sitcoms
that’s a really good way to look at it. I like Myaim well enough, but she’ll
always be Amy from Big Bang Theory (or Blossom depending on age lol). Ken is only associated with Jeopardy in my mind.
Wow. How limited your imagination seems to be! Do you judge all actors on a single role from their past or how you associate them in your mind? Again, wow!
Well, Kevin Costner is the same character in all of his movies, so there’s that.
#TeamKen!
Ken is like watching paint dry for me. Mayim makes it fun!
I agree. I don’t like Ken’s voice…it is annoying and irritation to me. I will take Mayim anyday.
I completely agree.
I agree, but I still watch the show regardless of host. It’s always a great show.
Agreed. Ken’s a bit irritating.
Mayim’s not Jeopardy caliber. She dumbs the show down, even if she has a Ph.D. Watching her on Wheel of Fortune showed who she really is, and I don’t want to see that on Jeopardy. I stopped watching when she started hosting again. I will watch the last week of Jeopardy with Ken hosting.
Team KEN!
they are both enjoyable to me
i watch for the game, not the hosts.
unless it is someone truly awful, like quack oz, i just don’t care
Think they both do a good job, enjoy them both!
There’s no doubt someone still out there who would be a better host/hostess than either of these two.
Got any suggestions?
I like both hosts, Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik!
Sorry, I don’t believe Michael Davies for a second! It’s justification for keeping Mayim. I like her but not as Jeopardy host. Her jerky movements and hesitation before answering make it unwatchable for me.
Team Ken all the way.
Wow. Matin haters are as bad as MAGAs. Anything that doesn’t back up your personal opinion of her performance must be a lie? There’s no possible way that there armed just as many people that like her just because you don’t?
I think you mean Mayim. We are all entitled to our opinion. I like her as an actress but I don’t like an actress as a host because she’s always acting.
Ken is great and down to earth and he
Is THE GOAT.
Everything is entitled to an informed opinion. Marilyn is claiming Michael Davies is lying about the rating simply because it does not match her opinion. Her opinion does not invalidate evidence.
You can prefer one host over the other. That’s just a preference. You cannot use your preference to call Michael a liar
The ratings EP Davies is citing is available at the Variety website. Easily checked out. Is Variety reporting fake ratings? How about the highly reliable AC Neilson Co?
The ratings are publicly available, you can go check yourself.
Agree. Painful to watch. Her hesitations are even more evident recently. She is not a good game show host.
I disagree completely. I just watched some this week for the first time in a year or so. Bialik is great.
Pretty certain that Jeopardy is the rare vehicle that is host-proof. People watch because it’s Jeopardy and not because of the host.
I wouldn’t go that far. I prefer Ken, but Mayim is good and will watch with either of them hosting. By contrast, when Jeopardy had all the guest hosts, some of them were awful. I would not watch if Katie Couric or Dr. Oz were the permanent hosts. Neither of them were good in my opinion.
Not good for Mayim since she undoubtedly gets paid more. Her jerky motion and weird pauses grates on me, you can tell she has no idea if the answer is right or wrong and has to rely on her earpiece for every single answer.
I know there are a lot fans here online that don’t want Mayim Bialik as host. I’m totally disagree I do believe Ken Jennings is a better host, but not by much. Mayim is just as good and I’m sure she works real hard at trying to be a good host. Neither should go anywhere.
For the Ken Jennings fans, there is a great possibility you could get a significant run for him for him on Jeopardy next season to include Celebrity Jeopardy if this writers strike is a long one.
M
I only watch if Ken. Is hosting
Your loss. Guess you’re not a real fan. It’s still a great show when Mayim is hosting.
What’s a real fan? They accept anything their show puts out?
How about folks are allowed their opinions without someone questioning their fandom.
Mayim seems like a lovely person and does well hosting Celebrity Jeopardy and the college tournament, but for the Jeopardy nerds, there’s no comparison; Ken does an absolutely fantastic job. It’s very hard to believe that he’s only done it a couple years because he has everything down to a science already.
Yeah, the neurobiologist isn’t a nerd? Strong Mayim preference. I find Ken a bit irritating… always have, even when he was a contestant.
ok so the point is everyone watches Jeopardy regardless out of respect for Alex Trebek and we have watched it from the beginning. Having said that, I would much rather see ken Jennings every single episode because he is much smarter because he has competed before and knows all of the Questions?!? Much more charismatic, Mayim takes for ever to respond to the contestant.
While I personally think Mayim is a tolerable host and has improved in many aspects compared to her early episodes, I still think Ken fits the bill in terms of experience and how many episodes he’s hosted this season.
It’s also weird how Davies is still keen on keeping Mayim, despite the fact that she was chosen by the former EP who also declared himself the host. I’ll still be watching and I’m used to it at this point, but I still find this whole situation odd.
I like James holzhauer. I think he would be the best.Jennings is just different and doesn’t fit the role as smoothly as miayn does.
Thank you. I’ve been loving James on Jeopardy Masters, the way he has been needling Ken is just tv gold. I think that Ken is closer to Alex personality wise and Miaym doesn’t take the game as “seriously”, she feels looser and more at ease to me, but again all of that is just my opinion.
I like them both fine. Ken has definitely improved quite a bit during the time he’s been hosting. But… if there’s so much “Jeopardy” that one host can’t handle it all, maybe that means there’s too much “Jeopardy.” I can’t keep up both the half-hour daytime show and the hourlong “Masters” tournament at once, and the episodes are piling up on my DVR. I’m a fan, but it’s still just a game show.
Apparently, Mayim makes up for lost viewers with her legions of hate-watchers LOL
I don’t watch when she hosts.
End of tweet.
Not a true fan of the show, then. Your loss. The show is always great.
Oh, Dan…go for a walk outside.
That’s right, Dan, I’m not a true fan. I’ve been watching for only 59 years. Not a fan of MB. Simple as that.
I cannot watch Mayim Bialik. I find her very overbearing and annoying. She acts like she knows all the answers and the contestants are not as intelligent as she is. When she talks to the contestants she doesn’t seem interested in what they are saying.
On the other hand I love Ken Jennings. He is so much more relaxed than when he started. And he is very funny and easy going and terrific when he talks to the contestants. I think he treats them as equal and puts them at ease. Ken is the GOAT but he doesn’t lord it over the contestants.
I enjoy Jeopardy when Ken is the host. I won’t watch Jeopardy when Mayim is the host. Ken reminds me of Alex Trebek and I believe that Alex would want Ken Jennings to be the one and only host of his show.
I agree with above. She was never a contestant.
I seem to feel you wrote about Mayim and then edited Ken in the description. He’s a bit irritating and know-it-all for me.
I’d be surprised if there was any big difference. I think everyone who watches is watching because it’s Jeopardy. While one might prefer one host to the other, it’s still Jeopardy.
I prefer Ken, but if what Davies says is true (and I don’t necessarily believe we’re getting all the data), it’s because most people, as I do, watch the show for show not for who’s hosting it.