Author Topic: Game Shows Offering No Prize Money (Read 6613 times)

pownster · « **on:** April 02, 2010, 10:58:18 PM »

I have observed (here in Australia at least) that the game shows which are receiving the highest ratings at the moment are all formats which offer nothing in the way of cash or prizes. We have five home-grown GS airing at the moment - and the top two rated (Talkin' 'bout Your Generation, Spicks and Specks) do not have any monetary reward at all. Viewers are tuning in simply for the entertainment values of the shows. All the recent attempts to introduce high-money stake games here (Power of 10, Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune) have floundered big time and been axed quickly.

This leaves the question - is it really necessary for networks to release formats onto the public stage simply because they offer mega bucks - when a "cheap and cheerful" format could generate the advertising revenue more cost-effectively and better feed the viewers' appetite for entertaining television? What do you think?

chris319 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 03, 2010, 12:13:13 AM »

It's the game that keeps audiences hooked, no doubt about it. If all it took were giving away money, lottery games would be the biggest thing on TV. The novelty wore off of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? years ago, yet people still watch because it's an entertaining Q&A game.

WhammyPower · « **Reply #2 on:** April 03, 2010, 12:55:35 AM »

Countdown's grand prize is the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary.

TLEberle · « **Reply #3 on:** April 03, 2010, 01:02:01 AM »

How many of England's game shows that offer a trophy or crystal bowl as the grand prize are on BBC or one of the offshoots? That would seem to be a reason for no prize money; airing on the state channel. (England also seems to have the panel comedy quiz thing down to a science, as well.)

The prize money needs to be pegged to the difficulty of winning the prize. Get it wrong either way and the show suffers for it. (I suppose it didn't hurt Match Game, but I thought it a bit absurd that you could win $21,000 in a single show for that amount of game play.)

Mr. Brown · « **Reply #4 on:** April 03, 2010, 01:14:24 AM »

How about Japan's Sasuke (broadcast as "Ninja Warrior" here in the U.S.)? I'm pretty sure the few winners that show produces get absolutely nothing except "glory", and the show's immensely popular in Japan.

chris319 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 03, 2010, 01:18:28 AM »

They don't have Turtle Wax in Japan?

TLEberle · « **Reply #6 on:** April 03, 2010, 01:23:54 AM »

[quote name=\'Mr. Brown\' post=\'238796\' date=\'Apr 2 2010, 10:14 PM\']How about Japan's Sasuke (broadcast as "Ninja Warrior" here in the U.S.)? I'm pretty sure the few winners that show produces get absolutely nothing except "glory", and the show's immensely popular in Japan.[/quote]I was under the impression that the winners get/divide a million yen for reaching the pinnacle of the fourth level. That said, the show isn't about winning the prize, but in not failing at each particular obstacle.

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'238797\' date=\'Apr 2 2010, 10:18 PM\']They don't have Turtle Wax in Japan?[/quote]They're just preparing to roll out a new wax made with 20% more turtles, is all.

pownster · « **Reply #7 on:** April 03, 2010, 05:22:13 AM »

[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'238794\' date=\'Apr 3 2010, 03:55 PM\']Countdown's grand prize is the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary.[/quote]

Another example where a commercial network (in this case Channel 4) have built an institutional program which obviously pays for itself in its early afternoon time slot, and has garnered a loyal audience of viewers over the years. Interestingly - Australia will be getting its own version of "Countdown" later in the year (around June) - being produced by our government-owned, multicultural broadcaster SBS (who also produce "RockWiz" - another freebie game-show).

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'238795\' date=\'Apr 3 2010, 04:02 PM\']How many of England's game shows that offer a trophy or crystal bowl as the grand prize are on BBC or one of the offshoots? That would seem to be a reason for no prize money; airing on the state channel. (England also seems to have the panel comedy quiz thing down to a science, as well.)[/quote]

Certainly that is the requirement here for all game-show/panel shows on our government-run networks (ABC and SBS). The shows still attract high-calbre contestants and/or celebrities.

Example of current performance of game shows (and their respective top prizes) - based on last-weeks ratings.

1. Talkin' 'bout Your Generation (Ten) - 1,193,000 viewers - No Prizes/Money
2. Spicks and Specks (ABC) - 1,077,000 viewers - No Prizes/Money
3. Good News Week (Ten) - 775,000 - No Prizes/Money
3. Deal or No Deal (Seven) - avg. 580,000 viewers - $200,000 Top Prize
4. Millionaire Hot Seat (Nine) - avg. 540,000 viewers - $1,000,000 Top Prize
5. RocKwiz (SBS) (Repeat Episode) - 208,000 viewers - No Prizes/Money.

A clear pattern?

MikeK · « **Reply #8 on:** April 03, 2010, 09:45:09 AM »

[quote name=\'pownster\' post=\'238803\' date=\'Apr 3 2010, 05:22 AM\']lExample of current performance of game shows (and their respective top prizes) - based on last-weeks ratings.

1. Talkin' 'bout Your Generation (Ten) - 1,193,000 viewers - No Prizes/Money
2. Spicks and Specks (ABC) - 1,077,000 viewers - No Prizes/Money
3. Good News Week (Ten) - 775,000 - No Prizes/Money
3. Deal or No Deal (Seven) - avg. 580,000 viewers - $200,000 Top Prize
4. Millionaire Hot Seat (Nine) - avg. 540,000 viewers - $1,000,000 Top Prize
5. RocKwiz (SBS) (Repeat Episode) - 208,000 viewers - No Prizes/Money.

A clear pattern?

[/quote]
Possibly.

I download Generation, Deal, and Hot Seat whenever they're available at a certain Aussie-centric torrent site. It is an entertaining show. The Deal still doesn't fail to entertain me, thanks to Andrew O'Keefe. Deal has been on in Oz for at least 6 years. Maybe its luster is fizzling a bit? Hot Seat doesn't sit well with me on several levels. See the episode from a week and a half ago in which the first contestant got 13 questions right, missed question 14, and gave person #2 in line a 1 in 4 shot at $200,000, while 4 others warmed seats for half an hour.

I'll admit a little bias towards AUS Deal. For heaven's sake, one of my cats is named after the 50c case's monkey mascot. It was fun getting odd looks from everybody at the vet clinic last week over the Banoodles name, then explaining the name's derivation.

TLEberle · « **Reply #9 on:** April 03, 2010, 11:48:30 AM »

[quote name=\'MikeK\' post=\'238810\' date=\'Apr 3 2010, 06:45 AM\']The Deal still doesn't fail to entertain me, thanks to Andrew O'Keefe. Deal has been on in Oz for at least 6 years. Maybe its luster is fizzling a bit?[/quote] The fact that Deal Down Under consistently puts out a good daily show helps a great deal. Plus Andrew O'Keefe is an excellent host for the format.

Quote

Hot Seat doesn't sit well with me on several levels. See the episode from a week and a half ago in which the first contestant got 13 questions right, missed question 14, and gave person #2 in line a 1 in 4 shot at $200,000, while 4 others warmed seats for half an hour.

This irked me too. But it was also good TV watching Martin knock off question after question, until I realized that he either had to win the million or nothing because there weren't enough questions for him to get back.

But I like most of the material, and everyone signed on the same dotted line, so it doesn't detract enough for me to stop. Plus there's Eddie McGuire, who is closer to Chris Tarrant than Regis Philbin, and I like that.

Brig Bother · « **Reply #10 on:** April 03, 2010, 12:13:53 PM »

Certainly in the UK, people don't (or rather, don't usually) watch panel shows on the strength of the actual quiz element, it's just something to hang the comedy off of.

Similarly, it would be a mistake to assume that things like Countdown (about 1m), Mastermind (2m), Uni Challenge (2.5m-3m), Only Connect (0.5m) and so on are massive viewer pulls, but they are certainly very good for channel image and have inertia on their side (not quite so much with Only Connect that's only had three series, but still).

Joe Mello · « **Reply #11 on:** April 04, 2010, 12:18:23 PM »

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'238800\' date=\'Apr 3 2010, 01:23 AM\'][quote name=\'Mr. Brown\' post=\'238796\' date=\'Apr 2 2010, 10:14 PM\']How about Japan's Sasuke (broadcast as "Ninja Warrior" here in the U.S.)? I'm pretty sure the few winners that show produces get absolutely nothing except "glory", and the show's immensely popular in Japan.[/quote]I was under the impression that the winners get/divide a million yen for reaching the pinnacle of the fourth level. That said, the show isn't about winning the prize, but in not failing at each particular obstacle.[/quote]
It's 2 million, reportedly doubled to 4 million, and recently it was confirmed that a car was added to the prize pool.

Sasuke is about the human drama aspect, but unfortunately, it's also about the name aspect. A good chunk of the Sasuke's roster is comedians, actors, and performers from Muscle Musical (which is produced by the same team as Sasuke). The most recent edition aired in Japan last week, had barely any of the above, and ended up being the lowest-rated iteration in the franchise's history by a country mile. There were other factors, too (such as going against Figure Skating) but the lack of star power certainly didn't help.

Mr. Armadillo · « **Reply #12 on:** April 05, 2010, 10:57:37 AM »

[quote name=\'pownster\' post=\'238789\' date=\'Apr 2 2010, 09:58 PM\']This leaves the question - is it really necessary for networks to release formats onto the public stage simply because they offer mega bucks - when a "cheap and cheerful" format could generate the advertising revenue more cost-effectively and better feed the viewers' appetite for entertaining television? What do you think?[/quote]
I couldn't tell you, because I can't remember the last time the good ol' U. S. of A. pumped out a show that didn't offer mega-bucks.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that Family Feud's the only show on the air here that has never offered a million-dollar prize/gimmick.

/Not counting GSN, obviously
//We're only talking about shows that people actually watch, right?

Joe Mello · « **Reply #13 on:** April 05, 2010, 11:37:42 AM »

[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'238888\' date=\'Apr 5 2010, 10:57 AM\']At this point, I'm pretty sure that Family Feud's the only show on the air here that has never offered a million-dollar prize/gimmick.[/quote]
You forgot The Singing Bee and Wipeout

BrandonFG · « **Reply #14 on:** April 05, 2010, 02:42:18 PM »

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'238890\' date=\'Apr 5 2010, 11:37 AM\'][quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'238888\' date=\'Apr 5 2010, 10:57 AM\']At this point, I'm pretty sure that Family Feud's the only show on the air here that has never offered a million-dollar prize/gimmick.[/quote]
You forgot The Singing Bee and Wipeout
[/quote]
And if you want to include recent syndicated shows, there's Temptation, M.G.'s Crosswords, and Trivial Pursuit: America Plays.