'Jeopardy' Fans Are Outraged Over Contestants Paying Their Own Travel
Jeopardy! fans are all riled up again, but in a surprising turn of events, it's not over the phrasing of a clue or an unfair ruling.
No, now they're calling out the show for something that's been going on in the background for years. As it turns out, the series doesn't cover travel or accommodations for contestants, forcing players to pay their own way if they want to be able to compete. This has been public knowledge since at least 1994, though it's clear a number of vocal fans were not aware.
News broke when Andy Saunders, a fan of the show who runs a weekly blog, mentioned it in his June 19 post. He quoted an Oakland Tribune article from the early '90s, in which former contestant co-ordinator Kelley Carpenter explained, “Because we have both out-of-towners and locals appearing on the show, if we were to pay for an airfare and a hotel, we would have technically given away money to some contestants coming from the East Coast, which wouldn’t be fair to someone who only lives 20 minutes away.”
Ben Goldstein, who won five games this season and has qualified to come back in September for the Tournament of Champions, retweeted Saunders' post on the social media site, sparking a conversation among viewers.
"Interesting discussion of the 'Why doesn’t #Jeopardy pay airfare and accommodations' question here," Goldstein wrote. "Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show more accessible to a wider range of contestants. Not everyone can afford a trip to LA with no guarantee of payback."
Many fans were stunned by the revelation, trying to break down the potential impact covering travel would be.
"Of the $125m in profit per year that show makes you'd think they could carve out $1.725m for travel for 230 shows x 3 contestants x $2500 per trip," one suggested, adding, "I mean they've got to be saving on host salary now."
Someone else countered that there must be "budgetary constraints" stopping the show from paying. "Can you imagine the cost at the end of the season? It would be $$$ just flying a few east coasters in & out."
Goldstein replied, "Without seeing Jeopardy's P&L sheet, I can't really speak to the 'constraints.' But we're talking about an additional ~$2,500 per episode to pay for a flight and two nights in a local hotel for the two new challengers. That really doesn't strike me as that much."
"Disappointing to hear," another wrote. "Such a high value marque engaging in such low-rent/no-rent behavior. Literally, every profession will bill a pass-through expense for travel and lodging. You are 'cast' on a TV show, not contestants, per se. Even actors get paid."
According to one fan, third-place contestants receive a stipend of $1,000 and second-place winners receive $2,000, but it's still unlikely to cover the associated expenses for most.
"I remember thinking 'at least the $1,000 third prize would pay for the trip', but that’s probably not true anymore," one person thought.
The money also reportedly isn't issued until several months after a contestant's appearance, which could also cause problems for those for which money is tight.
"At the *very least*, consolation prizes should be increased, to offset the costs of travel/lodging," someone else suggested. "It’s kinda disappointing seeing people play well into the 5-figure range and then drop to $1,000 or $2,000 after Final."
"I was *just* talking to someone who said that when they qualified locally to audition in LA (many years ago), that was it for them because they couldn't pay their own way to LA," someone else said.
And there were some, of course, who felt that contestants didn't deserve to have their way paid. But, certainly, there are worthy players out there who will never have the opportunity without a little help.
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