‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Notice Change That May Impact Who Wins

Eagle-eyed Jeopardy! viewers have spotted a change that could make a big impact on the show. It was sparked by one fan noticing something different about show icon Brad Rutter during his return to the spotlight for Jeopardy! Masters.

“I’m loving watching Brad playing again and – at least a little bit – getting his buzzer mojo back,” said a fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.”Also got me thinking…” they continued. “When did J! switch from incandescents to LEDs for the signal lights?”

This might seem inconsequential, but die-hard fans think it could make a difference to who wins games, as well as what viewers see at home on their TVs.

“I’m curious: if anyone knows, when did the show switch the ‘Hey, you can answer now’ lights from incandescent lights to LEDs? If the implications in Bob Harris’ Prisoner of Trebekistan are to be believed, Brad’s era of tournament buzzer dominance was during the era of tungsten filaments. LED lights turn on faster than incandescent – and I bet that’s affected the buzz timing for contestants over the years, so I’d love to know when it happened because it’s definitely LEDs now,” the fan on Reddit explained.

“(Also, even though I doubt anyone who’s allowed to post here knows enough to say anything, did the show change anything else about the buzzer system when they switched to LEDs, or did they just change the lights and not care about the slight change in activation delay?).”

The Reddit user appears to be talking about the lights on the side of the board, which viewers can’t see while watching from home. See an example of the lights here. The site says that the board “illuminates a series of lights on both sides of the gameboard to let the contestants know that their devices are now armed and that they can ring in.”

However, the fan is most likely referring to the white light that illuminates the contestant’s podium after they buzz in to answer the clue. The lights indicate to host Ken Jennings who buzzed in first.

“Jeopardy! started to switch from incandescent to LEDs for the signal lights somewhere between 2010-2013,” another Reddit user replied.

Have you noticed this change? Let us know in the comments.