Top Ten Moments of 2011: Number Two (With Guest Blog from Executive Producer Gaby Johnston)
We’re in the final stage of the Top of 2011 countdown. The last three were very close, but this edged out Roger Craig’s Jeopardy! experience. It’s always a tough choice when a show makes a big change in tone and cast. Sometimes it ends up well. Look at how Match Game shifted to the comedy game it became. Other times it’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I don’t think a large shift in feel has ever worked out the way it has for Family Feud, though.
You voted Steve Harvey’s run on Family Feud, and its meteoric rise, as the second most memorable moment of 2011. It’s not even a moment, per-say, as much as it is a collective group of moments that made what you voted for. The rise of Family Feud is nothing short of unbelievable. Yes, they benefitted from an adjustments in the ratings system but the 50%+ increase in ratings regardless is amazing. Has a host change ever worked out this well before? I can’t remember anything like this. The last ratings still have it at a 3.2. It had about half that two years ago.
Family Feud has been on for over twelve years and it just now exploded. It’s beating Who Wants to be a Millionaire for the first time and I don’t think many expected that to happen. In addition to Steve Harvey, the social networking has been a major force in the rise in popularity. From multi-million viewed YouTube clips to the incredibly popular Facebook and iOS game, Feud‘s exposure is constantly growing. It’s actually being talked about and getting noticed. Something like this just doesn’t happen often, and it’s showing no signs of growing. It’s incredible to watch and I hope it continues.
Gaby Johnston, the executive producer of the show, wanted to give a message to all BuzzerBlog readers and fans of the show:
I wanted to take a few moments to both look back over the last two seasons of Family Feud and also take a peek forward. As you can probably guess…we are very excited about the future!
We are really enjoying working with Steve Harvey. His quick wit, the great families and the format of Family Feud have proven to be a great combination!
First, as many of you may have figured out, our primary goal is to entertain our viewers. Our fans have helped drive our ratings to new highs these past two years. We really appreciate our loyal audience…and the NEW viewers!
We also want to take a moment and thank Alex Davis at Buzzerblog for keeping his eye on our show…and writing very kind words ;-) We were honored to be included in the “Best of 2011” Buzzerblog poll.
We have enjoyed putting funny moments on the Family Feud YouTube channel and have enjoyed “tweeting” with our fans. It’s also been fun to see more people enjoy playing Family Feud on their mobile phones and game consoles.
We are actively interviewing families for next season. We’ll be visiting various cities in the coming months to meet new families. We’ve also setup a page on Facebook for families to submit a video audition to us. So, if you want to have some fun with us on Family Feud, please try out! For all the latest details please visit: familyfeud.com.
As for the future, the show has been picked up through 2015 and this next season we’ll tape the show in HD! More fun to come! Thanks again for another great year.
Gaby Johnston
This is an example of how to create a new following. You don’t need outrageous gimmicks like Price is Right or Wheel of Fortune do (often to their detriment). Just get a great host, let him be him, and have fun. Can’t wait to see the show continue to grow in 2012.
Agreed. Also, good to see that Feud’s 3rd season will be in HD. :)
That is, the 3rd season with Harvey hosting, I meant to say.
Scott & David…thanks for all your support! Happy New Year.
Why haven’t there been any holiday/Christmas episodes of Family Feud?
you know what also amazing, the show is pretty low budget, the most a family can win is $20k and there’s a bevy of families winning less than $1,000. but yet, it’s beating millionaire which hands out tons more money, so clearly it’s not about the money.
and also, as far as feud’s rise to prominence, during the Louie Anderson era I didn’t even know the show was still running until the late CNR mentioned it on GSN’s y2Play marathon. then I wne tlooking for it, and stumbled across it months later. so I’d say it’s largely the social media push, but to be honest. if they had pushed this hard, during either the Anderson, Karn or O’Hurley eras. it wouldn’t have done so well, the other eras didn’t really have any rofl moments, a few chuckles but nothing huge. in other words, The Feud is fun again thanks to Steve.
I’m still furious that my local network didn’t pick up Family Feud. Hopefully this immense increase in popularity will make its way to my TV soon.
Still a tad annoyed at the way the show was edited. At the recordings I’ve been to, the show was absolutely hilarious, but I’ve never really enjoyed watching the actual show since the O’Hurley era. Unless they can fix that, I won’t be tuning in any time soon.
Whilst there was no singular moment attached to this, it’s safe to say this was the game show story of 2011. Feud must now be up for taking some very good syndication timeslots next season at the expense of fading shows in other genres. Aren’t there still some markets where it’s only on overnight?
Hey Brad, What zip code do you live in?