The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Seacrest Spins the Wheel

MB · June 27, 2023 2:37 pm

It's official: Ryan Seacrest will take over as the new host of Wheel of Fortune, succeeding Pat Sajak, who recently announced his plans to retire after 41 seasons.
Seacrest confirmed the news today in an Instagram post that reads, "I'm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. I can say, along with the rest of America that it's been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them. Pat, I love the way you've always celebrated the contestants and made the viewers at home feel at ease. I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition."
He added, "Many people probably don’t know this, but one of my first jobs was hosting a little game show called Click for Merv Griffin 25 years ago, so this is truly a full-circle moment for me and I'm grateful to Sony for the opportunity. I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White."

RadioActive · June 27, 2023 4:23 pm

More proof that nothing ever dies on the Internet.

RadioActive · June 27, 2023 4:27 pm

Could ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Eliminate Vanna White’s Role Completely?

Brad · June 27, 2023 5:17 pm

As long as he doesn't make it all about him. Get to the puzzles, and keep the chit chat to a minimum.

Tomas Barlow · June 27, 2023 10:51 pm

He won't make it about him. He never has. His lack of personality and depth makes him safe and non-offensive.

Doug Thompson · June 28, 2023 10:20 am

Surely in the entire business of show, there is someone else who could host 'Wheel". Are top executives at SONY Pictures so braindead that they can't see beyond "Can't think of anyone to host 'Wheel'. Let's get Ryan Seacrest." Sajak was witty. Seacrest is not.

Tomas Barlow · June 29, 2023 1:03 am

Doug Thompson wrote:
Surely in the entire business of show, there is someone else who could host 'Wheel". Are top executives at SONY Pictures so braindead that they can't see beyond "Can't think of anyone to host 'Wheel'. Let's get Ryan Seacrest." Sajak was witty. Seacrest is not.

He may not be our cup of tea but getting the most well-known host in US TV of the last 20 years doesn't make someone brain dead. He has been this generation's Dick Clark, with about 75% less personality.

Doug Thompson · June 29, 2023 4:26 pm

Let's wait for the ratings after Seacrest takes over, shall we?

Ryan Seacrest is not this generations Dick Clark. Not by a long shot! Despite him producing "The KardashiansP TV show.

Tomas Barlow · June 30, 2023 12:13 am

Then who else comes close?

He produces the number one cable reality show and his company has produced 25 other TV series, hosts what was the number one TV talent show for nearly a decade and was the top TV show overall for seven years (the longest streak in TV history), hosts the number one radio countdown show in the world, hosts the second most popular syndicated daily music radio show which is also the morning show on the top revenue generating music radio station in America, co-hosted the number one morning TV talk show, and hosts the most successful New Year's Eve show and co-produces it. I don't particularly like him but his track record is extremely impressive.

Doug Thompson · June 30, 2023 1:05 am

It's YOUR opinion that Ryan is this generation's Dick Clark. I don't agree. That's MY opinion.
Like I said, the ratings will tell. Talk to you then.

mace · June 30, 2023 10:20 am

I do not think Wheel's ratings will falter with a new host. The Price is Right is still the same ratings giant with Drew Carey as host.

RadioActive · June 30, 2023 8:17 pm

The host, whoever it is, isn't the star. The game is.

'Wheel of Fortune' Earns an Incredible Amount of Cash for Sony Pictures Television, Report Reveals

Doug Thompson · June 30, 2023 11:39 pm

We'll see gentlemen. It is my opinion is Ryan Seacrest has reached his 'overexposure' point.

However, when I lived in LA in the 1980's, I listened to Seacrest's local afternoon show and thought he was a pretty good DJ.

AspectRatio · July 1, 2023 1:07 am

Doug Thompson wrote:
However, when I lived in LA in the 1980's, I listened to Seacrest's local afternoon show and thought he was a pretty good DJ.

I'm not sure that timeframe is possible; Seacrest was born in 1974 and didn't move to LA until about 1994.

Doug Thompson · July 1, 2023 2:56 pm

Then it was sometime in the 90's then. I lived in LA for 6 years in total 3 different times.

Seacrest did afternoons on Star 98.7 in LA from 1995 until 2003, so I woul have heard him in the at 1990s.

Last edited by Doug Thompson (July 1, 2023 10:43 pm)

AspectRatio · July 2, 2023 7:43 am

Very interesting to get to hear someone before they made it larger into the pop consciousness. Now, he has no lack of working gigs.

Doug, you may want to modify your board footer - you've got two parallel sets of IMG open/close tags wrapped around it, but the larger problem is the image is not found at that tinypic URL, so it won't work for both reasons.

Last edited by AspectRatio (July 2, 2023 7:44 am)

RadioActive · July 3, 2023 10:44 am

Amazing to think Seacrest is doing all this while also still hosting a five-day-a-week morning show on L.A. radio. And he's signed to continue well into 2025. So he's on the air locally every morning, fronting a syndicated countdown program, co-hosting a national TV show, leading a primetime reality show and now taking on a game show.

Does the guy ever take a day off? When does he sleep? Is he secretly a cyborg? Man, what a schedule!

When TV game shows needs talent, they tune in to the radio

Tomas Barlow · July 3, 2023 11:30 pm

Doug Thompson wrote:
We'll see gentlemen. It is my opinion is Ryan Seacrest has reached his 'overexposure' point.

However, when I lived in LA in the 1980's, I listened to Seacrest's local afternoon show and thought he was a pretty good DJ.

If that were true he wouldn't have landed this job. I predict the ratings and will go up, not down because younger viewers will also watch. Again, I don't like him, but my personal opinion doesn't matter. His track record above speaks for itself. He's the most successful TV host of his generation.

Last edited by Tomas Barlow (July 3, 2023 11:40 pm)

Doug Thompson · July 4, 2023 11:37 am

Again, Mr. Barlow, that's your opinion. NOT FACT!

My opinion is as stated above. We shall see.

Tomas Barlow · July 4, 2023 8:44 pm

Doug Thompson wrote:
Again, Mr. Barlow, that's your opinion. NOT FACT!

My opinion is as stated above. We shall see.

It's not my opinion that he hosted the number one TV show for seven years. If no one else has ever done that, how is it my opinion that he's the most successful host? It's a quantifiable fact.

If someone wins 7 grammys and someone else wins 6, is it your opinion that the person with 6 has more? *faceplam*