Syndie Insider

Jeopardy! super-contestant Ken Jennings has reportedly ended his winning streak at $2.5 million, though he stays on air till November. But last week, King World, Sony and the show's executive producers were thrilled by his winning performance. At an 8.9 rating/16 share among the primary-run shows in the weighted metered markets, Jeopardy!'s season premiere hit a six-year Labor Day high. Tuesday was even better, with a 9.5/18. The show's 9.2/17 two-day average is up 31% from its year-ago time-period average of 7.0/14 and 42% from its lead-in's 6.5/13. Jeopardy! turned in those numbers even with six Florida markets not reporting due to Hurricane Frances.

Jeopardy! may be getting the attention, but King World's Wheel of Fortune is getting a ratings boost of its own. The show's online loyalty program, The Wheel Watchers Club, is now more than 1 million viewers strong. That helps drive the game show's ratings, according to a study by Frank N. Magid Associates, which found the club's members watch 37% more episodes than the average viewer and 80% of those members watch four or five episodes a week. Also driving ratings is the SPIN ID (special prize identification number) promotion, which lets viewers win the same prizes as the show's contestants when the show posts a viewer's number during the program. Club membership has tripled since SPIN ID was introduced five months ago.