For $500, what angers “Jeopardy!” fans? Answer: Airing the wrong episode.
Excited “Jeopardy!” fans expecting to watch the highly anticipated Tournament of Champions became frustrated when WPXI incorrectly aired an old episode of the game show instead.
WPXI, an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Pittsburgh, acknowledged the mistake on their website and said “we apologize for the inconvenience,” failing to elaborate on how the mistake happened. But for those fans in the area who wanted to watch the tournament, which is scheduled to run Thursday evening nationally, they must now wait until 3 a.m. on Friday.
WPXI’s VP and general manager Ray Carter said the mistake stemmed from a computer issue.
“"WPXI, like most stations, uses an automated computer system that plays specific programs at the appointed time. Unfortunately, a computer error brought about the airing of the wrong episode of Jeopardy. By the time the operator on duty realized it was the wrong episode, too much time had passed to replace it with the correct episode. We decided to air the right episode at 3:00am so viewers could set their DVR's. We apologize for this unfortunate error," he said in a statement.
On social media, fans expecting to watch the finale of a weeks-long tournament vented their disappointment, one fan calling it the “worst thing to ever happen in the history of TV.”
Hey, @Jeopardy can you please explain to @MyNBC5 that it’s time for #TournamentOfChampions not #TeenJeopardy. This accidental rerun the worst thing to ever happen in the history of TV.
— Jay Bennett (@JayBennay) November 17, 2017
Sounds like a big thumbs-down and a huge fail to both @WPXI and @MyNBC5 tonight for playing the wrong #Jeopardy episode -- on night 1 of the #TournamentOfChampions final to boot.
— The Jeopardy! Fan (@_thejeopardyfan) November 17, 2017
Tonight @WPXI aired the wrong episode of @Jeopardy (one that had already aired). The correct episode will air at 3 a.m. Set your DVRs!
— Rob Owen (@RobOwenTV) November 17, 2017
3 a.m. lol. Thanks @WPXI . #Jeopardy #tournamentofchampions https://t.co/iD6bRultBk
— EndoraPgh (@EndoraPgh) November 17, 2017
One viewer proposed a solution for those in the area.
#Jeopardy Well the NBC network people messed up tonight on what is the most watched episode in its history. I found it finally on YES TV. I thank them for airing the right program, the 1st night of the finals of the Tournament of Champions!
— Louise Matchett (@ArtmoonLouise) November 17, 2017
First Published: November 17, 2017, 1:24 a.m.
