Change in Jeopardy" Prize structure?

[tvrandywest]

Just heard it today:

"Our second place contestant will receive $2,000 cash; our thrid place contestant will receive $1,000 cash."

New? Old? Part of the 2nd phase of Obama's stimulus package? Did they stop manufacturing Rice-A-Roni?


Randy
tvrandywest.com

[MTCesquire]

That's been the prize structure for at least a decade by now...*runs to Wikipedia*...well, not quite a decade.  According to the article, the change took place May 16, 2002.

[chad1m]

I thought it was strange that they added the voiceover too, but I also noticed that the losers' podiums were blank while the champion had her total up. Maybe it was to alleviate any confusion for the poor bluehairs watching?

[Sonic Whammy]

I admit, I found it strange, too, to hear that voiceover. Admittedly, I haven't heard the runner-up money mentioned by Alex in quite a while, so maybe this was a way to just regularly remind the people at home that the runners-up do get something. If anything, I'll bet they've gotten a lot of viewer questions since it HASN'T been said for so long.

As far as the loser's podiums being blanked. If you looked back at them during the credits when they're in view, that's something they've always done, too. If it's a question that they do it sooner now before we get to the credits, then, eh, again, probably stemmed from the same question as above. (And Chad, yeah, I'm sure some of the questions came from the older audience who remember the Fleming days.)

*shrug* Off guard, but not turned off. Bring on the answers.

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' post=\'235127\' date=\'Jan 28 2010, 11:51 PM\']If anything, I'll bet they've gotten a lot of viewer questions since it HASN'T been said for so long.[/quote]
The most recent of the "Ask Alex" segments was "Do the 2nd and 3rd place contestants get to keep their money?"

I must admit hearing it for the first time threw me off for a bit.

[calliaume]

I worked with someone who finished second on J! some 15 or so years ago, and she noted that her vacation was from anywhere she wanted to fly from, but they were going to change it the following year to LA-only -- in other words, the second-place finisher and their spouse/partner/friend had to haul ass to LA and then fly to wherever the trip was.  I suspect there were a lot of unused vacations -- and a few complaints.

[MrBuddwing]

OK, so what happens when somebody becomes "Jeopardy!" champion with less than $2,000? Of course, that person gets to come back, but still ...

And what if 2nd and 3rd place are a tie?

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'235261\' date=\'Jan 31 2010, 09:29 PM\']OK, so what happens when somebody becomes "Jeopardy!" champion with less than $2,000? Of course, that person gets to come back, but still[/quote]
Actually, yeah, that's it.  You get to come back.  There's no minimum guarantee for the winner, only for the runners-up.  In fact, it's entirely possible (and I think it's happened) for a person to make two appearances and still go home with less than a single second-place finish.

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'235261\' date=\'Jan 31 2010, 09:29 PM\']And what if 2nd and 3rd place are a tie?[/quote]
Whomever was ahead last is considered the second-place finisher.  I specifically wanted to know that when I played.  Since the third-place player didn't make it to Final Jeopardy, I wanted to make sure that even if I wagered everything and missed (which is what happened), I'd still take home the second-place money.

[Neumms]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'235262\' date=\'Jan 31 2010, 09:44 PM\']Since the third-place player didn't make it to Final Jeopardy. . .[/quote]

Did he collapse on the way? Did he bleed out?

Okay, I know how it works, but the way Matt put it made me laugh.