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Ryan Seacrest, “Wheel of Fortune” and the Lasting Pull of Game Shows



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One by one, as streaming services grow in popularity, old standbys of the TV landscape are falling by the wayside.The number of soap operas, a decades-old linchpin of daytime television, has fallen to a small handful. Hit daytime talk shows — once hosted by the likes of Phil Donahue, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres — are becoming rarer by the year. Late-night shows are dwindling.But one golden oldie is still standing strong: game shows.ABC’s lineup this fall is populated by many of them. On CBS, one of the longest-running shows, “The Price Is Right,” is getting a new studio. And ratings for “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” tops in the category, are among the most-watched programs in television — at least outside of live sports. Both attract around nine million viewers on a typical night, and generate tens of millions of dollars in profit each year.This week, Sony, the studio behind both “ …

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