I remember my parents commenting on the clock giving away the outcome of game play even with straddling shows. (IIRC, it was Greed and we figured that the team was going to walk away because there wasn't enough time to play the full question but they would have put that decision at the start of the next episode if they had decided to continue.)
One of the clearest memories I have of watching Greed first run was when Curtis, Melissa & Dan were hanging on the decision to go on for $2 million. Once they started to recap everything that happened in the past 45 minutes, I knew something was up.
I know buyers & networks have their reasons, but I'd much rather see the game affect the airing style rather than the other way around. With many formats, particularly in the big money space, it's clear whether self-contained or straddling will be best, and yet, there's always a push to make it self-contained, even at the expense of a clean, dramatic game.
To the OP: I once put down a few of my dad's thoughts while watching Price is Right in October 2009. He was watching maybe every other day and I happened to be home from college, so I kept my mouth shut, but noted what he said. Among the quotes were: "didn't [the car prices] used to end in 5 more?" And "what does 'a year's supply of gas' mean?" (my response: I dunno) And: "Drew gives them hints [in Clock Game] way too much." (referring to how he'd pitch his voice when the contestant was close).
-Jason