'Jeopardy!' Producers Promise Host Announcement Is Coming Soon as Ratings Slip

Jeopardy! ratings are down, but there’s an announcement on the way.

The long-running competition series has been cycling through guest hosts following the sad death of longtime host Alex Trebek last year.

Months later, the show is still working on settling on a permanent host for the gig.

Find out more inside…

Most recently, Anderson Cooper took to the podium as the latest guest host, and ratings fell to a 5.1 rating, via The Wrap. The rating fell behind guest hosts Dr. Oz and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which brought in 5.2 and 5.6 ratings respectively.

Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings is the highest-rated guest host, bringing in a 6.2 rating. Alex Trebek‘s final week brought a 6.6 rating, and his final episode brought in 14 million viewers.

Executive producer and recent guest host Mike Richards opened up to the Wall Street Journal‘s podcast, The Journal, where he revealed that the show’s choice of host will be announced in late July or early August.

He added that it “all come down to testing” for the Sony executives.

“They’ve been a part of it. They know what’s going on in the studio. They’re watching the feed, the tapings. It’s very extensive. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of, as far as testing in its size and scope,” he went on to explain.

LeVar Burton is set to guest host in the next weeks, and there is already a Change.org petition to make him permanent host, which is nearing 300,000 signatures.

LeVar Burton has previously said he would be interested in taking over.

“In many respects, I feel like I have been preparing my whole life for the job,” he said to MSNBC.

“I think there’s different ways fan response can play into it…what we are working on, as far as really understanding what the fans are saying and who’s saying it, is very important,” Mike Richards added on the podcast.

Find out what else LeVar Burton has said about possibly taking on the job.