What’s Going on With Daytime “Deal or No Deal”?

11 Sep

Posted by Alex Davis as Deal or No Deal, Syndication

Again, I think the headline needs repeating. What’s going on with daytime Deal or No Deal. As far as I can tell, online critics (game show fans and non-game show fans alike) are saying the daily syndicated version blows the primetime version out of the water in terms of quality. However, in terms of ratings, I’m a bit stunned at how low they are. The first airing got a 1.4/3, which they said is the highest game show opening in syndication since Who Wants to be a Millionaire? which isn’t that much of a complement since, and correct me if I’m wrong, weren’t Crosswords and Temptation the only shows since then that have premiered in daytime? Episode 2 slumped to 1.3/3, which still isn’t that bad.

We move to day 3, though, and it gets a tiny bit ugly. Wednesday got a 1.0/3, which I will note Crosswords achieved once. In the first three days its averaged 1.2/3. However, when we look at some percentages, we see that it’s doing 29% better than a year ago with whatever shows were in that time slot. Some markets are liking it too. Cleveland’s affiliate got a 2.3/4 on Tuesday.

So I mean it’s not a disaster and it’s not doom and gloom three days into the season like it was with shows like Temptation, but is anyone relatively stunned by the crappy ratings? The primetime version is still a pretty big hit and I figured the aggressive ad campaign NBC did for this would have made it a bit bigger. I was severely wrong apparently. The comparisons to Millionaire in all of these ratings sites I’m finding, though, are interesting and amusing. Millionaire is a much bigger cultural phenomenon than Deal is. Deal doesn’t even come close. So comparing the two, while it’s inevitable, isn’t exactly accurate. But I expected the show to stomp at least Family Feud. I wasn’t expecting it to settle on or around Crosswords territory. I know daytime ratings are down across the board basically, but this was a shock to me.

What exactly could be causing it though? I’d love to hear your theories. It’s not that people don’t care, because the primetime version, again, still does very well. It’s not that it wasn’t known. There are banner ads all over the place, as well as great time slots for a good number of stations. I think we’re finding that people watched for solely for the models or for the big money. What do you think?

29 Responses

Nick Todor
1
September 11th, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Or, along with the big money, seeing the million dollar win on Labor Day could’ve had an effect, too…
Mike B.
2
September 11th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

I think people are just dead-set in their daytime viewing habits. You just can’t expect any new show to instantly make a dent in Judge Judy or Oprah’s viewing audiences. In spite of heavy advertising, a lot of people probably still aren’t too aware of it. But give it some time and maybe it will find an audience.
B-W
3
September 11th, 2008 at 5:19 pm

You say “it’s not that it wasn’t known,” but if it wasn’t for sites like this one, I still wouldn’t even be aware that DOND was *on* yet, and I *still* don’t know what time or channel it’s on in my area (which is the Los Angeles area, a rather major market).

Stations have to TELL us how to FIND the shows they want us to watch….
David
4
September 11th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

And some of the timeslots aren’t good either- here in Baltimore for example, it’s up against the 6pm news…
Damion
5
September 11th, 2008 at 6:11 pm

Looking at all the affiliates, the show’s on all of the crap stations (MyTV, CW, Fox, Independent). That’s just my theory.
Tim Tender
6
September 11th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

I didn’t even realize it was on yet, either. In Pittsburgh, we have it on at 5 and 5:30 against the news. I did find it on the NBC station in Steubenville (close to home) around 12:30. I just didn’t see anything advertising it locally. Maybe I missed it… I don’t know.

As far as the game, I like the models, but the average joe opening the case adds something to the game. I thought it was pretty good!

I honestly think that it has to be lack of advertising and promos. I watch a lot of TV and have NEVER seen one!
Shon
7
September 11th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

I think the main problem is it’s on way to often. Think about it you have the primetime series, which is on once sometimes twice a week, and they show reruns of those shows on CNBC then you get the syndicated version on top of that. As that old saying goes “familiarity breeds contempt.” Not that the syndicated version is a bad idea I just don’t think it needs to be on a whole hour a day like it is here in LA. I think one half-hour show daily would have been fine. It’s a shame really that it’s not doing better in the ratings because I’m starting to like it more than the primetime version.
Gene
8
September 11th, 2008 at 8:46 pm

Im going to have to agree with Shon

Its on too much it comes on in the afternoon and then its going to come on at night. Then a repeat comes on cnbc. And it has only two models and none holding the cases it looks really strange seeing average people holding the cases. If the set was like the uk version or the Australian version it could work And i think people like the gimmicks Million dollar mission,Deal Wheel etc Imo i thought Deal was fine airing two nights a week in prime time i don’t see the need of a syndicated version.

And Deal or No Deal even though i like it it can get stale after a while
Adam
9
September 11th, 2008 at 9:00 pm

Very damaging is the West Palm Beach, FL market. DoND is on WFLX Fox 29 at 7:30pm, where it competes against J! on WPBF (ABC) and Syndie Millionaire on WPEC (CBS). DoND, watch out for both of those shows AND Entertainment Tonight on WPTV (NBC).
Measles!
10
September 11th, 2008 at 9:41 pm

The show is at the mercy of the syndicators. All they can do is try to put something fun up on the screen. Syndication is a b**** sometimes, especially when you got something like this.

As for the show itself, I love it. Though I’ve only been able to catch the 4 PM showings here, I love the pace of the game. Reminds me of pre-gimmickfest Primetime DoND. They don’t fill it up with fluff and puff, and that makes the game so much better for it.
homerjay
11
September 11th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

It’s most likely a number of factors all contributing. First of all, though Temptation and Crosswords never rebounded, the first-week numbers don’t always predict what can happen as the weather generally turns colder and people watch more TV.

Then you do have to consider what everything from the time slots (bring slotted against Oprah or Jeopardy for example is going to kill you in those markets) to the stations carrying the show to the promotion they give it to the ever-expanding number of TV choices.

The clever “most popular game launch since Millionaire” tag is not the first time utterly silly yardsticks like that are used to put lipstick on a pig (no offense to the McCain-Palin ticket, of course), not will it be the last. You can’t take any of those “biggest since….” statements seriously. While overall TV viewing continues to rise slightly, so too does the number and “quality” (it’s subjective, I know) of other choices. For a while, while cable networks focused on building their primetime audiences to compete with the broadcasters, they paid little attention to daytime–there’s only so much budget to go around. In the past few years, though, many networks that built their niche in primetime have expanded to putting better (not their best, but better than before) stuff on daytime to keep their key audience tuned in. The result is a much more fragmented audience than ever before.

Finally, for the sake of a simple list, sometimes a success in one daypart just won’t translate. It’s fascinating from this game show fan’s perspetive that we moved from “syndie” being the big extra edition of network daytime shows (Match Game PM, the Nighttime Price is Right, Family Feud, etc.) to the syndie versions being the lower budget spin-offs of prime time shows.

Maybe what you’re seeing is all any daytime game show can hope to achieve right now (save the prime-time access kings of Jeopardy and Wheel), or for the forseeable future.
MegaWord85
12
September 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm

Syndicated DoND has a primo timeslot (6:30pm) on the ABC affiliate here, and replaced syndicated Millionaire–a show now no longer available in the Montgomery, AL television market (!). Curiously, half of the TV listings sites say Millionaire airs in that timeslot, including my DVR’s listings (Zap2It has it right, though).

Personally, I was curious about the show, but held off until the syndicated version to give it a full try. I like it. It’s not WoF or TPiR, mind you, but its enjoyable enough. My grandparents, who have watched the NBC version before commented that it was different, but sat down and watched it too.
Jordan Hass
13
September 11th, 2008 at 11:27 pm

It does blow the Nighttime out of the water, but I have 5 GOOD REASONS why the numbers aren’t working…

#1 - TIME

It seems the time slot for the shows are always conflicting other shows, or are on when people are still working (3:00 here in Los Angeles). They need to try and bump the show on at a time that could precede Jeopardy! and Wheel.

#2 - PRIZE

The thing people know the most about DOND is the top prize - $1,000,000. The Syndicated version knocks it in half. $500,000 does not have the same effect as $1,000,000. I know people will be complaining at me about the budget, but if Who Wants to be a Millionaire? can do it, I know SDOND could too. (Although I do love the syndicated board more)

#3 - LADIES… please?

I agree with a few of the comments above - there is only 2 models now instead of 26. Even though Daytime is more geared towards women (and lets face it there is a DOND Club and “Beauty Tips” from the models) The male demographic is always a key in terms of ratings. And the guys watch for the models.

#4 - CASES LEFT.

The format on Primetime was easy to remember 6-5-4-3-2-1-1-1-1. I could remember that in my sleep. the Daytime has 5-5-4-2-2-1-1. That’s confusing, and hearing “two more cases” twice, still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

If at all make it 6-5-4-3-2. or change make it 5-5-4-2-1-1-1-1.

#5 - BURNT OUT.

The show has been on for 4 seasons now, the audience has been burnt out now on the format. They never have a winner, and they are sick of the fake tension and the “Howie Breaks”. At least with Wheel they don’t cut to commercial during a tense moment. I bet nobody was thinking this show would last more than 2 seasons. But now it’s on EVERY WEEKDAY.

You could agree or disagree with that, but I love the show. I try my best to watch it as much as I can.
Julia
14
September 12th, 2008 at 1:01 am

First thig…This is week one…calm down.

Secondly, it’s getting poor time slots. I’ll tell ya, with so much syndicated programming out there, even Family Feud is religated to 4:30 AM on the only Philly affiliate. (Thankfully, all Philly cable and satelite providers carry WFMZ-69 from Allentown which plays it at 9 and 9:30 PM, and plays a double run of Deal at 4:00)

In Philly, the NBC-owned station picked it up for a single run at noon. Normally, I watch TPiR at 11 and then the news at noon. I would guess that quite a few people do that. Well…the past few days, I remember that Deal is on about halfway through the news, so I turn over to it. Then I remember to watch Millionaire at 12:30 on the ABC owned station. That being said, the NBC affiliate has such faith in the show that they did not pick up the double run, but are instead running an INFOMERCIAL at 12:30. That is a gaping hole in the daytime lineup. Do they really think that Deal would make them so much less than an infomercial? That is just crazy!

But, finally…take a chill pill. I know it’s only the first week, and some stations have slated it in poor time slots, but Millionaire found good time slots eventually, especially when ABC gave the local stations back the 12:30 time slot. That being said, this show, while I’m not too convinced it will work, should find good time slots and find some legs. If the ratings dip too much more within the next month as a whole, I’d be worried. An average below 1.0 for the first month for this show would be a disaster. ratings in the 1.0 range for the first week, in this day and age, are not too shabby.
durablend
15
September 12th, 2008 at 6:11 am

I think another reason nobody’s mentioned–yes, it’s much better this way to us diehards (the “no BS” approach to the game), but to the casual viewer, it’s obvious there isn’t much to DOND without all the fluff from the primetime version. Open case, rinse-repeat, answer call from banker, accept-reject offer, rinse-repeat. I can see people thinking “This is BORING” and changing the channel.
ScottNotSteve
16
September 12th, 2008 at 9:06 am

Two theories: (1) Bad time slots (here in Louisville it is on Fox at 6:30 pm when no one is going to watch — it is as if no one will watch anything other than Jeopardy and WOF at 7-8pm; (2) Viewer fatigue. Yes, the game works as a once or 2x show for an hour in prime time, but not so much as a strip show. By contrast, WWTBAM has no prime time competition, they have rejuvenated the format, Meredith has finally settled in, and folks are watching even in the morning hours (well, we TiVo ours). Oh, and it actually engages the viewer with play-along value (ahem, like Jep! and WOF).

It would be interesting to know how many NBC affiliates actually picked this up…
Pacmantech
17
September 12th, 2008 at 10:08 am

It’s not the timeslot that’s hurting the show in our market, it’s the crap station on which the show is airing. In the Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA market, DoND airs at 7:30pm on WLYH, the CW affiliate. WLYH just doesn’t have very high viewership numbers in any timeslot. Also, their signal quality, even on cable, is just awful…Phillies games that air on the station are almost unwatchable.

However, if the show aired on our Fox affiliate, they wouldn’t slot it in early fringe. So I don’t mind that WLYH picked it up, I just hope people see it and start to tune in.

Also, someone wrote that it’s the format that turns people away. No one is watching this version and thinking, “well, I’m never going to watch this again because the case-opening pattern is weird.” It’s about getting eyes on the show in the first place. Has nothing to do with the prize, the models, the format - all three of which are very strong in this version - it’s all about getting eyes on the show.
DB25
18
September 12th, 2008 at 11:44 am

I’m not sure what’s going on with the ratings, but the DOND SYN is MILES AND MILES better than the hour long primetime one! It gets an A+ from me!!! There isn’t all this corny jibber-jabber about personal junk, family members and models crying, or stupid gag jokes from the banker. I think this should of been how the primetime version was played!!!
Whammy
19
September 12th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

I agree with DB25 in that this is how the primetime version should be played, but the cases should follow the UK’s “opening ladder”, i.e. 5-3-3-3-3-3. The banker has been more of a hardass than on the primetime show. In Buffalo and surrounding areas, as well as Toronto, SYNDoND airs on WUTV FOX 29 at 5:30pm.
Devon
20
September 12th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

It could be that a huge portion of DOND’s audience is possibly working during the day.
Justin
21
September 12th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Another reason why the overall average rating is low could have something to do with it’s positioning in New York…4PM Opposite OPRAH On an NBC Station! That’s like shielding yourself with a beach umbrella during a nuclear fallout. Just like real estate, it’s all about Location, Location, Location.
Mark
22
September 12th, 2008 at 7:03 pm

Well, those of us in Los Angeles, where there is a dense working population, are getting the syndie at 3 PM, the time where everybody is either at work or at school. For a half-million-dollar daytime gameshow to be worth its production value, putting the show on at 3 PM completely defeats its purpose. Nobody is watching, and probably nobody will, except for housewives and infants. For Los Angeles, shows are put in the 2-4 PM block to be left there to die.
Matt K
23
September 12th, 2008 at 7:48 pm

Yeah, it’s up against Wheel and J! here. And I never saw one commercial for it, either.
MillRL
24
September 12th, 2008 at 10:14 pm

All I can say it give it time. Unlike today’s primetime television world where you need to be strong off the start or else you are gone, syndicated shows get more time to establish an audience. Let’s see how DOND fares over the next few months. The show is good and IMO better than the primetime version. The audience will come. Look at how Syndie WOF started back in 1983…and look at it now.
homerjay
25
September 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

For better or worse, any game show in syndication has to be able to compete with the talk and court shows that dominate daytime. The “but nobody’s home” argument is no excuse.

Reality: prime access slots on the “big three” network affiliates in major markets simply aren’t going to happen in any meaningful number. One incumbent has the Wheel/Jeopardy combo (and in central time zones, you generally only have 30 minutes of access time to program locally, compounding the issue). Most new games now and for the forseeable future that get access slots get them in smaller markets and/or on your CW or My TV type stations.

Millionaire caught a huge break when ABC dumped Port Charles. Getting the post-noon news slot on market leaders WPVI and WABC (among others) more than made up for being moved (in some cases) from later afternoon slots. I’d rather have the 12:30 slot following WPVI’s news any day of the week than be put up against WPVI running Oprah, as had been the case.

Whether Deal catches any kind of similar break remains to be seen–maybe CBS will dump Guiding Light and stations will be on the prowl for something to fill that hole next fall. (I just used that as an example, I am not suggesting it will or won’t happen.)

Give it a few months before any conclusions are drawn. Unless you see mass moves to banish Deal to overnights–then you’ll know it’s over. for now, it’s holding its own in a market where the bar for success is not what it was five, ten or twenty years ago.
Futuregsh
26
September 13th, 2008 at 12:30 am

I think the lower numbers are a few reasons, many stated already. As someone who works in the industry, I know NBC put a lot behind this. However, it sounds to me from the above that unless it’s an NBC affiliate, the affiliate themselves may not have put much, if any, marketing behind the show. That hurts. As has been said, no one knows it’s on. I’d be curious to see if people have seen promos for the other syndicated game shows (new or returning) for this season.

Second, and this is a Catch-22, they have great time slots. Yes, they may be on weaker stations, but for a brand new show to get prime access is HARD, plain and simple. Yes, it may be weaker, but it’s HARD. Those are normally for upgrades, not fresh out of the box. Because of that, they are competing on the level of familiarity, the bad part of it. Most people know what shows are on in prime access, and they already watch them, To get someone to change their habit is tough, plain and simple. I would be willing to wager that even Oprah in a prime access slot up against Wheel and Jeopardy! would be a tough sell. Which kind of leads to my third point.

Third, the slots may not be right for the show- Yet. Reason- it’s need to establish itself with a syndicated audience. It maybe should be on earlier in the day. It gets to build a loyal audience who then will follow it to a later time, where it will pick up MORE viewers, not try and totally carve out a piece. Those same viewers who watch at 3PM may very well (and likely are) watching at 7PM, so if you start at 3, get a base, and then move to 7, you bring a lot of the 3’s with you and add some new 7’s (again, this is a theory, but certainly has been shown in practice). They may have thought they were launching a “guarantee”, but as many of you have observed, there is no such thing in syndie anymore.

Last, the audience for the show may not be in prime access. They may be in the afternoon. But unless you are in LA (which notoriously scores game shows poorly) or NY, you don’t get it there. Kind of a tough sell then.

But I agree mostly with some who have said “Just relax. It’s only been one week”. This is where syndie differs from Primetime. It will at least stay put with numbers like this.
Paul B
27
September 13th, 2008 at 12:56 am

In Sacto, KQCA-TV!!! The sister station of the worst NBC station KCRA 3 carries DOND in a prime slot at 6:30 PM (Coincidentally, it also competes with J! on KXTV NEWS 10 ABC at the same timeslot.) Originally FOX 40 in Sacto was getting DOND but at the last minute The evil Hearst-Argyle TV station KQCA took the show I don’t watch it there because I hate that station! I HATE IT! However, I do watch DOND via KNTV 11 in San Jose/San Francisco which carries the show at 12 PM weekdays does give it a good lunch hour to watch 22 models with the deal wheel which looks like The wheel from CA Lottery’s Big Spin and the fact of the 5/4/4/2/2/1/1/1/1 format seems so fast paced.

Then Howie IMO seems more hyphed up with his big question “DEAL or NO DEAL?’ IT’s great but he’s too fast unlike the nighttime version he seems more soft toned on the answer.

I do however like the fact that the players stay on the whole week which gives the show more fairness and gives players the chance to win the $500K.

My rating 8/10

The Primetime version seems more homey, but the daytime version does seem to be like this “DEAL or NO Deal and I WANT THE ANSWER NOW!” I feel Howie is great on the primetime, but in the daytime, he seems like he’s up on caffeine because of the pace of the game.

That’s my .5 cents worth.
DJ
28
September 13th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

I agree that the show needs time to get its legs…remember that Pat Sajak and company had problems at first, then it exploded. Game-wise there’s some stiff competition, and habits are hard to break.

Of course the timeslots have a lot to do with it. Here, it’s on at 4:00, against Judge Judy the killer, when nobody in my large household is home. I wonder what its DVR numbers are.

We’ll probably know by Christmas. They need a major at home tie-in promotion. My channel never even ran many ads.
MrQuiz
29
September 18th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Overall, the daytiine version blows primetime out of the water!
Having said that, apart from the issues of affiliates, scheduling, and so forth, the big problem is that the show has still “jumped the shark.” Despite the prime time numbers, DoND has plain and simple, outlived its usefullness. Unlike WWTBAM, it has had only one $1M winner, and that was spoiled by some unnecessary hype. There were too many attempts to boost the chances of bgetting a big winner- via the “Million Dollar Mission,” and the Deal Wheel. The only near-compelling gimmick was the “Winner Take All” series of shows.

Sorry if I’m playing spoiler here, but, sometimes, netorks suits, propducers, and maybe even syndiactors can be in some sort of denial when a given TV show’s time has come and gone; never mind the ratings. There’s no shame in “going out a winner.” It worked wonders for classic sitcoms like “M*A*S*H” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The original “Family Feud,” while its ratings were sagging, still went out with some class and dignity. Is it me, or are there some TV shows/producers/network suits, whose egos display just enough hubris to run a show into the ground, rather than let it “go out on top?”