Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show originally devised by Merv Griffin, who also created Jeopardy!. Three contestants compete against each other to solve a word puzzle similar to those seen in the game Hangman. The name of the show comes from the large wheel that determines the dollar amounts and prizes won (or lost) by the contestants.

The show debuted as a daytime program on NBC on January 6, 1975. The nighttime version, which is syndicated by King World and remains to this date, began on September 19, 1983. Since 1984, Wheel of Fortune has had the highest Nielsen Rating of any syndicated program. It is the longest-running syndicated game show in American television history, and the second-longest in either network or syndication (behind the current CBS version of The Price is Right, which began airing on September 4, 1972). Wheel of Fortune has been renewed through the 2011-2012 season.

For the 24th nighttime season (2006-07), the show began broadcasting in HDTV. King World and Sony indicated that as of August 10, 2006, some 49 of the 210 stations which carry the show in syndication were prepared for the transition. Because "Wheel" is syndicated, it appears in both the 1080i and 720p formats, depending on the equipment used by each station. [1] The show's 25th nighttime season begins in September 2007.

More information on the show's history, and its original daytime version, can be found here. Unless otherwise specified, the information in this article refers to the nighttime syndicated version.

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