Sony Pictures Entertainment is soliciting bids for the streaming rights to the two popular game shows.
“Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” are two of the biggest holdouts of the streaming revolution, available only on traditional broadcast television.
Not for much longer.
Sony Pictures Entertainment, the owner of the popular game shows, said on Thursday that it was soliciting bids from major media and tech companies for the streaming rights to new episodes of the two series for the first time.
“Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” still command big audiences — roughly seven million viewers a night for each, according to Nielsen. That audience, however, is getting older and declining, just like the audiences for rest of traditional television.
Other mainstays of broadcast television have recently made their way to streaming as well. “WWE Raw,” which used to run on cable television, began streaming on Netflix every week in January. The National Football League streams Thursday games on Amazon Prime Video, and Fox’s broadcast of the Super Bowl this month streamed live on the free platform Tubi. On Sunday, the Academy Awards will stream live on Hulu for the first time.
“The world is changing around us,” said Keith Le Goy, the chairman of Sony’s television division. “Consumption on streaming is now overtaking consumption of other forms of delivery of television. Big iconic franchises, like the N.F.L, the N.B.A. and W.W.E., are moving over.”
The initial streaming rights to “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” would begin in September and could be for three years, Sony officials said. During that time, the company that wins the rights will be able to stream new episodes the day after they air on syndicated television. Exclusive same-day rights to new episodes are available starting in September 2028, when all pre-existing syndication deals expire.