23Jan2007
Greg Proops Has a New Gig: GSI
Not a game show, but Greg Proops is an improv god and has game show hosting experience, so why not pimp his project. Proopdog is piloting a new show for ESPN called "GSI", or Game Scene Investigation. In the show, Greg will set out to investigate and uncover the truth behind some of sport's most famous myths. Are they real or fake? Sounds like an interesting concept if you ask me.
Read MoreView Comments (2)23Jan2007
GSN December Ratings
The ratings for the month of December just came in, and it's just about the average GSN always has. The Network For Games got the usual .04, with 218K headcount. They better watch out, though, because CNBC's catching up. The network that religiously reruns "Deal or No Deal", "1 VS 100", and "Identity" had a .2 but 202K headcount. If we want to go by the point ratings, GSN did better than a lot of networks, like HLN, TVGuide, Oxygen, and others, but those were ahead in the number department.
Read MoreLeave a Comment22Jan2007
“Play2Win” Dead on National Basis
Thanks to reader Troy Diggs for this story. On Thursday night, the poor hosts of "Play2Win", another "Playmania" ripoff, were making a big deal over the fact that the show is no longer on nationally. It still airs on WPIX in New York, but unless there are some other stations we're not aware of, that's about it. Supposedly, on Thursday night, they upped the money a bit but only did three puzzles. I'm sure you can imagine the huge amount of stalling they did then.
Read MoreView Comments (10)20Jan2007
Syndicated Game Show News
Nothing completely major happened at NATPE, so this is going to be a very short article. Twentieth Television gained a 40% clearance as of now for "Temptation(s)", and that may change eventually so be on the lookout. The only other syndicated game show news is Merv Griffin's "Let's Play Crosswords" has a go from 12 stations, and Program Partners owner founder Ritch Colbert said "We were confident coming in to NATPE, and we're leaving even more confident (in the show). There's an 80% chance this will launch, and we'll know in the next 10 days."
Read MoreView Comments (4)20Jan2007
Bob Barker’s Final “Price is Right”
Bob Barker will be grabbing the microphone for the final time on the set of "The Price is Right" on June 6th. In a recent interview, Barker said the secret to hosting a game show well is the ability to listen to the contestants. He stated "Too many are thinking of what they should say next instead of picking up on what the contestants are telling them. These people are little gems with which you can create laughter and good times." When asked how he maintains his energy, he said "Booze." Most amusingly though, Bob said he doesn't know why his show and he are so popular among colleges. Maybe from his famous line in the movie Happy Gilmore. "I've been in television 50 years and what am I going to be remembered for? The Price is Wrong,
Read MoreView Comments (9)19Jan2007
“Chain Reaction” Going The Way Of “Lingo”?
I ask that because I found an article that GSN is going to high schools, recruiting for a "Teachers vs. Students" theme week. We get a "sneak peek" of sorts into the audition process: You get 8 minutes to complete written 7-word chain(s), but you're only allowed the first letters in each word (except, of course, the top and bottom words are filled in completely). Then, you're filmed as you complete another chain verbally.Also, the article says second season of Chain Reaction is slated to premiere March 1st at 10pm EST, "contrary" to our previous report of March 13th, so take this with a grain of salt.
Read MoreView Comments (1)17Jan2007
“Identity” Renewed + New Improv Show for NBC
B&C stated that NBC has renewed "Identity" for seven episodes. The Penn Jillette hosted psychological guessing game stayed steady throughout it's debut week in December, staying in the same ratings level as "1 VS 100". NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly said these will debut in March. Also, and I believe we reported on this previously, NBC has picked up the improv show "Thank God You're Here" hosted by David Alan Grier and featuring who is, in my mind, one of the funniest people on earth: Dave Foley. The show, which should debut in spring, will throw comedians randomly into improv situations. Sounds remotely similar to the "Whose Line is it Anyway?" game Superheroes, doesn't it?
Read MoreView Comments (7)16Jan2007
New “Price is Right” Host Auditions
Thanks to a good friend of Buzzer for IMing us this information as well as posting it to the Game Show Forum. We have more "The Price is Right" hosting auditions. Right now we have John O'Hurley, Todd Newton, and Doug Davidson. John O'Hurley currently hosts "Family Feud", which only tapes on weekends. Todd Newton is doing whatever work he can find. Doug Davidson hosted the short-lived syndicated edition of "The Price is Right". Sorry, but I have to throw in my opinion. I've said it once, I'll say it again: hiring Todd Newton to host "The Price is Right" is a bad bad bad idea. He was OK on Hollywood Showdown, but we saw what happens when he hosts a fast-paced, high-energy, silly game like "Whammy!". Quite frankly, at least to me,
Read MoreView Comments (49)16Jan2007
BCI Announces New Game Show DVDs
The "Match Game" DVD was a success, so obviously we will be having more game shows on DVD. More official announcements will be made today, but BCI is said to be launching "The Price is Right" and "Family Feud" on DVD in the upcoming future. Each set will be a "best of", containing some of each series' most memorable and greatest moments. No projected launch date has been announced yet, but we'll keep filling you in as news comes in. BCI recently landed a five year deal with Fremantle to do more DVD collections from their extensive episode archives. NATPE is today, Wednesday, and Thursday, so we'll have constant updates.
Read MoreView Comments (4)16Jan2007
What’s Going on With 88SLIDE, You Ask?
We've gotten a lot of emails and other things about what's been going on with 88SLIDE recently. Well, as you can tell, it's taken a little break from production. Nothing has been said yet, but look out as the show will have bigger episodes and bigger prizes, and people like bigger prizes. We're getting an interview/comment soon, so we can tell you exactly what's going on. NATPE season is busy, isn't it?
Read MoreLeave a Comment15Jan2007
“The Joker’s Wild” and The Other Show Dead
No one can censor us with this one: according to Broadcasting & Cable, Roger King's two new shows, "The Joker's Wild" and The Other One are not being taken to NATPE 2007. Reasons? He says the lack of right time periods. This is a bit confusing counting that three shows were just announced recently. What I'm going to believe is that they don't feel that the two shows can compare or that it's just not worth the cost. Either one, so who knows. Roger King says they are reassessing "The Joker's Wild" and The Other One. He says we may see them in January of next year, but we'll have to see about that. Now what I've wanted to type for a bit: there's a reason we aren't using "The Joker's Wild"'s companion by name. Recently "people close
Read MoreView Comments (12)15Jan2007
Correction to “New Syndication News”
Thanks to our terrific friends at Bother's Bar for this. We accidentally said that "Guess Who" started as a French show. That was false. It was an Italian show called "Cultura Moderna". Bother's Bar has a page up about it, as a matter of fact: be sure to check it out. Thanks for the corrections. If you ever see anything false on the site, please tell us and we'll be glad to correct it and admit we're wrong.
Read MoreLeave a Comment15Jan2007
Buena Fortuna–big oops!
Earlier this month, I mentioned that Buena Fortuna would premiere today at 2 PM Eastern. My digital cable box and TiVo both had 2 PM as the air time. They're both wrong. Telemundo's site says Buena Fortuna airs at 1 PM Eastern weekdays. Here's the show's official site en Espanol. If you didn't take Spanish in high school, Babelfish can give you a rough English translation. With any luck, a recap of Buena Fortuna will be posted on this very blog tomorrow night. In other Telemundo news, Vas o No Vas, the Spanish-language version of Deal or No Deal, has moved from 9 or 9:30 PM Eastern on Sunday nights to 7 PM Eastern on Saturday nights.
Read MoreLeave a Comment15Jan2007
“Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Renewed Through 2010-2011
Terrific syndication news: what is in my opinion the best game show on television right now, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" has been renewed through the 2010-2011 season. The show, currently in its fifth season, has recently experience quite a bump in ratings. It's up by a double-digit-percentage from last year, most likely because of amazing host Meredith Vieira's place on NBC's "The Today Show". Vieira shows no signs of stopping as of yet, though. In fact, and I never noticed this before, Vieira is co-executive producer to the show. I keep meaning to ask this, and I'd like your opinions on it: what are your feelings comparing ABC "Millionaire" to syndicated "Millionaire"? For me, syndie "Millionaire" is better in every possible way.
Read MoreView Comments (14)15Jan2007
New Syndication News: Crosswords, Laugh Off, and Guess Who
We've been informed about two new shows being pitched at NATPE this week. One is "Let's Play Crosswords". This one comes from Merv Griffin and is being pushed by Program Partners. The push apparently began last night. Nothing is really known about this show's format, though. However, it's Merv Griffin so I think we'll be safe to say it won't be a flaming sack of crap. B&C stated that Griffin probably went with an independent than a major study because he can reap more of the upside coin if the show is a success. Also, Distraction, the company that did the incredible Game Show Network pilot "Casino", is getting set to launch "Guess Who?" at NATPE. "Guess Who?" is a French show that involves famou personalities, a talent contest, gu
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