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‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ won’t air on 6ABC Friday due to the NFL Draft

I’ll take annoyed Philadelphia viewers for $400, Alex.

'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek (left) stands beside current champion James Holzhauer. Both 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' won't air Friday night on 6ABC due to day two of the NFL Draft.
'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek (left) stands beside current champion James Holzhauer. Both 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' won't air Friday night on 6ABC due to day two of the NFL Draft.Read moreJeopardy!

I’ll take annoyed Philadelphia viewers for $400, Alex.

Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer won again Thursday night, bringing his 16-game cash winnings up to $1.2 million. But fans following Holzhauer’s historic run on the long-running game show will have to stay up into the wee hours to see if the professional gambler extends his winning streak to 17 games.

Because ABC is airing the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft on Friday starting at 7 p.m., both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune will be preempted. Instead, Jeopardy! is scheduled to air at 1:35 a.m. Saturday, following Nightline. Wheel of Fortune is scheduled to follow at 2 a.m.

According to 6ABC, if your DVR is already set up, it will automatically record either show. But there are bound to be disappointed Jeopardy! fans throughout the Delaware Valley, where the show remains among the most popular programs on television.

This month, Jeopardy! is the second-most-watched show in the Philadelphia market, slightly behind ABC World News Tonight. In fact, more people watch Jeopardy! on an average night in and around Philadelphia then the number who tuned into to watch Virginia’s thrilling win over Texas Tech in the NCAA men’s basketball championship.

So far in April, Jeopardy! is the averaging a 10.5 household rating in the Philadelphia market (about 296,000 households per episode). Wheel of Fortune — hosted in syndication by Pat Sajak and Vanna White since 1983 — isn’t far behind with a 7.8 household rating (about 219,000 households)

Jeopardy!'s ratings have gotten a bump from Holzhauer’s winning streak, where the professional gambler (who recently compared himself to Phillies slugger Bryce Harper) has quickly become the second-most-successful contestant in the show’s history. Ken Jennings, who remains in first place with winnings of $2,520,700 over 74 games, weighed in on Holzhauer’s aggressive approach.

In March, longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announced that he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Earlier this month, the 78-year-old host offered a health update for fans on the last day of filming for Season 35, saying he was “feeling good” and already hard at work on next season.

“I look forward to seeing you once again in September with all kinds of good stuff,” Trebek said.

» READ MORE: NFL draft: Will the Eagles finally draft a running back in the second round?