'Jeopardy!' Fan's Research Shows Just How Complicated Airing Schedule Is

A Jeopardy! fan has presented extensive research showing the different times the syndicated quiz show is aired across different areas of the U.S.

The enduringly popular show, which is hosted by Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, returned to screens for its 40th season on Monday following its summer break.

As Americans across the country settle in for the show at the times they're accustomed to, Jeopardy! fan Matt Carberry revealed in a series of color-coded maps just how different timings are in different parts of the country.

Using his account @mfc248, Carberry posted a map that showed how Jeopardy! airings in local times have the show hitting screens at either 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. in the large majority of markets on the East and West coasts.

However, the variations are such that local broadcasts in other states have the show hitting screens as early as 11 a.m. Large parts of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Minnesota see the show air between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

A chunk of Oklahoma, meanwhile, has a 3 p.m. broadcast schedule. According to the map, Utah's broadcasts are largely at 6:30 p.m., while fans in most of New Mexico get to enjoy the competition a half-hour earlier each day.

"I mentioned last week I was working on maps. Now, I'm ready to share them," Carberry wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. "Here's a color-coded map of when #Jeopardy airs by local time, in each media market in the United States."

Carberry, who is followed on X by the official Jeopardy! account, followed up by posting another color-coded map that showed "standardizing on #Jeopardy airing by Eastern Daylight Time. So here, New York (7:00 pm ET) and Dallas-Fort Worth (6:00 pm CT) are the same color."

To round out his series of posts, Carberry, who describes himself in his bio as an "ardent" Jeopardy! fan, shared a third map that showed various states color-coded by the networks that carry Jeopardy! in different markets. The networks are ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. The show is also broadcast independently in several markets.

Responding to a fellow Jeopardy! fan thanking him for the maps, Carberry said there may be more clarification to come. "One thing I'm considering on the Eastern map is some kind of indication for Phoenix, Yuma, Tucson, and Honolulu that they move 1 hour earlier in Eastern time from November to March, because of no spring ahead/fall back there," he explained.

Former Jeopardy! champ Bryan White, who competed on the show during Season 39, said in a post to Carberry: "This is fascinating to me. I knew it aired at all odd times across the country, but the extent of the difference is bizarre."

"When I first assembled the data in 2017, I knew about some, like 3:30 in Chicago," Carberry responded. "What surprised me when the tabulation was complete, a Long Island native living now near Philly, was that 7:30 had more stations & more households than 7:00. Montgomery, AL was 9:30 am until 2020."

White wrote: "When I was on the show, I knew Chicago had it early because a buddy wrote and congratulated me early on my air date. I have always lived in CA, so it's always been 7 or 7:30 for me."

Jeopardy! has returned to screens with some changes in light of the ongoing writers' strike that has led to a number of shows shutting down.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike in May after six weeks of talks over contractual terms with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC Universal, Sony and Paramount—all under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers—broke down.

Several weeks after picket lines assembled, the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced in July that its 160,000 members would go on strike. This has essentially shut down Hollywood, marking the first time in more than 60 years that both groups have staged a walkout.

As a result, writers and actors are barred from promoting their projects. Most series that were filming or were due to film, including major nightly talk shows, have been off the air, unless they were recorded before the work stoppage began.

Big Bang Theory star Bialik supported the strike by bowing out of the final week of episodes. All-time Jeopardy! champ Jennings stepped in to replace Bialik.

While Jeopardy! features contributions penned by WGA writers, the clues were written well in advance of the strike, allowing Season 39 to finish unaffected. However, since there were not enough clues already written for Season 40, the show will reuse clues from its 39 previous seasons.

In an episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Executive Producer Michael Davies said that as well as reusing clues from previous seasons, the show would be inviting back contestants from Seasons 37 and 38.