Sweeps stunt

November is here, so game shows are trundling out their sweeps specials. Jeopardy's teen tournament starts November 7.

I've grumped a lot about all the Jeopardy specials, with the exception of the Tournament of Champions. The T of C is a truly interesting clash of top contestants. The other tournaments are just attempts to garner a few extra viewers at Nielsen's most crucial times of the year.

Not that I have anything against the brainy teenagers competing for quizzer glory on the only game show with a Peabody. Best wishes to all of 'em.

I do wonder if Jeopardy sees any real ratings benefit from the stunts. I've never noticed any particularly large bumps in the weekly household numbers when the specials air. Maybe I just don't have data that's detailed enough. The showrunners must think there's some benefit in the stunts, after all.

UPDATE: Sweeps months may not mean much of anything any more. Nielsen seems to be "sweeping" all the time. But game shows are still putting on stunts in the traditional sweeps month of November.