“Deal or No Deal” Off of NBC’s January Schedule

It’s been rumored, but Primetime Deal or No Deal‘s cancelation is coming closer to truth.  NBC released their midseason January 2009 schedule and Deal or No Deal, one of two or three shows which has kept the network from utter ratings disaster over the past few years, is gone.  It’s been replaced by Howie Do It, a new reality show featuring Howie Mandel.  I think it’s important to note that Daytime Deal or No Deal is in no way in danger of being canceled.  Ratings went up yet again last week, to a 1.9, and really starting to challenge Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.  It’s Primetime Deal that is looking really ugly right now.

In almost a mirror of the rise and fall of ABC Millionaire?, Deal or No Deal looks to basically be dead.  Obviously since the show’s in syndication it’s not hard whatsoever to tape new episodes once stuff inevitably starts failing on their midseason schedule.  It’s just a shame to see it potentially gone.  A shame in a very vague sense.  It was entertaining for the first two years.  However, it really just died from Endemol’s fooling around with it.  I don’t even think over exposure hurt because ratings weren’t that bad when it was constantly on.  I just think they tried so hard to get a millionaire it ruined the mystique of the show.  It’s not a show where people win often, it’s really hard to win.  But they couldn’t take it.  From the missions to the overuse of unbearable gimmicks, the show just got to be too much.

So yeah, it’s a big sad to see it maybe go, but we have the much much much better Daytime Deal to watch.  And I did confirm with NBC a week or so ago that there are absolutely no plans to bring back 1 VS 100.  But again, we don’t know if Deal or No Deal is canceled.  All we know is that taping was indeed stopped for a very long time, episodes past Christmas with a potential of one or two potentially have not been taped.  Deal is no where on the January schedule.  But seeing NBC’s nosedive, I’d be ready for its return at the end of January.  Hopefully back in Monday, where it got good ratings.  Not the ratings wasteland of Friday.