Donny explains Pyramid issue and asks for help

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tommycharles\' date=\'Jan 18 2004, 08:39 PM\'] I know GSN would kill to get Pyramid's ratings (yes I know ratings for a syndie show are apples and oranges compared with a niche cable net)...do you think it would succeed on GSN? [/quote]
 Under the current lax judging, celebrity prompting, and what not, it couldn't afford to. It gives away WAY too much money.

Now, get back to the standards set by the 80's version, and you might have a chance.

[pyrawoman]

Latest note and suggestions from Donny:

January 18, 2004
Hello,

I knew that members of Donny.com would unite and help us to fight against the decision to discontinue Pyramid, but I wasn't prepared for the response that came in...it is overwhelming!! I can't thank you enough for the time and efforts that you have put into this "campaign". You have once again gone above and beyond my expectations, but it's not over.

We need to fight this for as long as we can to make sure that our voices are heard by those making the decisions. We need to make as much noise as possible. Get everyone you know involved in this. It's a great show and needs to stay on the air!

Thank you again to the Donny.com community. You really are the best. I've always known it and will continue to believe it.

Donny Osmond
--------------------------------------

So many people have coordinated ideas and Donny has approved these ideas for the Save Pyramid Project!


#1
Important contact information on the bottom of Donny's letter. The list of executives that need to hear from you directly!


#2
These links to 3 stations. Please write to them!

http://kcal9.com/feedback   (Los Angeles)

http://kyw.com/feedback   (Philadelphia)

http://www.upn38.com/feedback  (Boston)
 
#3
Email Pyramid Executives and thank them for all they are doing. They are on our side, and are working hard to keep the show going too.

#4
Flood the desks at The Venetain Hotel, it is the host hotel for the NAPTE Conference Lets bombard them with faxes!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND CALLS for Don Corsisi from KCAL 9.
1 702 414 1100 (fax)
1 702-414-1000 (phone)

#5
http://www.fox5ny.com Email or call and find out if Fox can put the announcement on their stations in areas that are jeopardized.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 18 2004, 08:57 AM\'] Obphillysportscurse:TEAGTL=The Eagles are Going to Lose, and the 21 year Philly sports championship curse will continue [/quote]
 Boy, you're good.  Care to pick a few lottery numbers?  

Doug -- who lives in the city of the most cursed sports team on the planet (with apologies to Red Sox fans)

[Michael Brandenburg]

Just want to say I'm glad someone put this up.  I was off work and watching this morning's Pyramid episode on WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, and when it came time for the show's "contestant plug," I thought of how the late Rod Roddy might have done it in the wake of the show's cancellation announcement last week.

   Consider, fellow game show fans, what the stations carrying Pyramid might choose to replace it with if this show is cancelled:  Another t**k s**w?  Another "courtroom show"?  Or worse -- reruns of TLC's Junkyard Wars Seasons 11 and 13, or maybe that new show they premiered last Saturday evening (1-17-2004 called In a Fix in which a bunch of drunken workers go to work on some poor soul's house and do things like rip out porch support columns, dump 2½ tons of sand in the yard, and create a lot of upset among the neighbors.  (And that was just on the first episode!)

   No -- give us good, clean-cut Donny Osmond in the mornings in Cincinnati!


   Michael Brandenburg
   (Better yet, have him followed in the mornings by that other guy who not only does a great job with his own game show, but, or so I understand, was on a good home improvement show some years ago!)

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 18 2004, 05:17 PM\']Well, I just signed the petition. I hope there's enough signatures to keep the show running.[/quote]
Online petitions don't work anymore (if they ever did).  No one pays attention to them at all because there are way too many of them.

I'm officially sitting on the fence on this one, since there are good arguments from both sides, but my advice for those of you who want to write about "Pyramid" is this:  Respectful, cleanly-typed or written, articulate snail mails (or E-mails, if you really need to) to the stations or to Sony count more than online petitions or rants.  They won't guarantee that you'll get "Pyramid" back, but they help more than the quickly-fired off phone call or board posting.

And if there is a form letter going around, rewrite it in your own words.  Form letters become way too obvious when 1,000 letters say the same thing in the exact same words.

[passwordplus]

I wonder if Sony would be pulling this garbage if Dick Clark was hosting. I bet they would think twice about it in that case. Donny is doing a decent job, but the show has a few things it needs to fix. Go back to 7 in 30 seconds, and have the mystery 7(it's funner imo)

[tommycharles]

[quote name=\'passwordplus\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 12:36 PM\'] I wonder if Sony would be pulling this garbage if Dick Clark was hosting. I bet they would think twice about it in that case. Donny is doing a decent job, but the show has a few things it needs to fix. Go back to 7 in 30 seconds, and have the mystery 7(it's funner imo) [/quote]
 I don't see how going back to 7 in 30 would fix anything.

[DrJWJustice]

[quote name=\'passwordplus\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 12:36 PM\'] I wonder if Sony would be pulling this garbage if Dick Clark was hosting. I bet they would think twice about it in that case. Donny is doing a decent job, but the show has a few things it needs to fix. Go back to 7 in 30 seconds, and have the mystery 7(it's funner imo) [/quote]
 Let's not forget that Winning Lines got its plug pulled with unaired shows still in the can, thanks to lousy Nielsens.  Dick Clark hosted that one, and it was clear that he was really enjoying what he was doing.  That set also cost the network a cool half million, too.  As much as I enjoyed the show (and still do on tape), I can see how the economics just didn't work out in CBS's favor.  It's not about who hosts -- it's about who's watching.

[cmjb13]

[quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 06:24 PM\']It's not about who hosts -- it's about who's watching.[/quote]
Exception...

TPIR

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'tommycharles\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 04:57 PM\'] [quote name=\'passwordplus\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 12:36 PM\'] I wonder if Sony would be pulling this garbage if Dick Clark was hosting. I bet they would think twice about it in that case. Donny is doing a decent job, but the show has a few things it needs to fix. Go back to 7 in 30 seconds, and have the mystery 7(it's funner imo) [/quote]
I don't see how going back to 7 in 30 would fix anything. [/quote]
 That would make the show more rushed, as it would add two more minutes of game time. More commercial time than in, say, 1991 when Davidson's version aired was the main reason for cutting from 7 in 30 to 6 in 20 IIRC.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'passwordplus\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 12:36 PM\'] I wonder if Sony would be pulling this garbage if Dick Clark was hosting. [/quote]
The $50,000 Pyramid, hosted by Dick Clark, lasted seven and a half months--including about three months of repeat telecasts (or in the B & E language: "choice shows").

[DrJWJustice]

[quote name=\'cmjb13\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 06:42 PM\'] [quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 06:24 PM\']It's not about who hosts -- it's about who's watching.[/quote]
Exception...

TPIR [/quote]
 The real test of whether or not this is true will come when Barker on the baton to someone else.  May that day not come any time soon. :-)

[pyrawoman]

Update From Donny! - January 19, 2004
Once again thank you for all of your support in contacting Viacom. You have done an amazing job and your work has not gone unnoticed. This is what we need to do now. At this point we need to broaden our efforts and try a different angle. It may not be possible to get Viacom to change their strategy, but maybe we can convince Sony not to cancel Pyramid and keep pursuing finding replacement stations in those cities where Pyramid was dropped. There are three primary Sony executives holding the fate of Pyramid in their hands. They are the ones who should be contacted if you want to let them know how much you enjoy Pyramid and want it to come back for another season.

They are:
Steve Mosko, John Weiser and Russ Krasnoff.

This is their contact information:
Sony
10202 W. Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Fax 310-202-3770
Phone 310- 244-4000

Steve Mosko, President - email:

steve_mosko@spe.sony.com

Russ Krasnoff, President of Programming - email:

russ_krasnoff@spe.sony.com

John Weiser, Exec. Vice President of Sony Pictures Television.
email:

john_weiser@spe.sony.com

Let's keep it going. Let 'em hear your voices!

Again, thank you for all your efforts. I couldn't do it without you.

Donny

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 10:51 PM\'] The real test of whether or not this is true will come when Barker on the baton to someone else.  May that day not come any time soon. :-) [/quote]
 Well, CBS made the official announcement this past weekend: Barker's staying on for next year.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: he'll stay as long as he still has it.  Right now, he still has it.

[DrJWJustice]

[quote name=\'GS Warehouse\' date=\'Jan 20 2004, 10:36 AM\'] [quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Jan 19 2004, 10:51 PM\'] The real test of whether or not this is true will come when Barker on the baton to someone else.  May that day not come any time soon. :-) [/quote]
Well, CBS made the official announcement this past weekend: Barker's staying on for next year.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: he'll stay as long as he still has it.  Right now, he still has it. [/quote]
 And this surprises ... no one!  I'll keep watching, FWIW.