Old Disclaimer

[byrd62]

During the "Chuck & Susan" era of Wheel, Charlie O. would rapidly read a disclaimer at the end of some episodes that said something like:

"All airfares are based on high-jet economy, Los Angeles departure."

This tag was heard before the government deregulated airfares and airline routes [the Civil Aeronautics Board was abolished in 1979], so I was wondering if anyone has any inside knowledge why that disclaimer was read.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'byrd62\' date=\'Oct 10 2004, 03:59 PM\']During the "Chuck & Susan" era of Wheel, Charlie O. would rapidly read a disclaimer at the end of some episodes that said something like:

"All airfares are based on high-jet economy, Los Angeles departure."

This tag was heard before the government deregulated airfares and airline routes [the Civil Aeronautics Board was abolished in 1979], so I was wondering if anyone has any inside knowledge why that disclaimer was read.

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Seems to me that back then *all* NBC game shows that gave away trips had that disclaimer.  Probably because there wasn't the equivalent of "you'll fly economy from Los Angeles to..." in the plug copy if there wasn't an airline to plug--"TPIR" and "LMAD" both tended to have something like that in their actual plug copy (with "LMAD," it was coach on the daytime version, first class on the nighttime version).

[tvrandywest]

It's the equivaqlent of today's TPiR standard copy:

"We'll fly you and a guest, roundtrip coach, from Los Angeles to _______ for ___ nights at ______." Apparently you have to amuse yourself during the days.   ;-)


Randy
tvrandywest.com

[vtown7]

Randy (or others),

Is there a price break for people who don't live near there to get to LA to get that initial flight (ie. to Hawaii, Japan)?

Alternatively, if you lived in New York, won a trip to London, would the prize agency arrange for you to fly from there?  It would seem a bit of a waste to fly to LA just to fly back again.

Ryan

[tvrandywest]

The show's only legal obligation is to provide the prize as described; you may accept or forfeit depending upon whether or not you think any added costs (transportation to the departure city, taxes, etc.) are worth incurring.

My experience has been that most prize brokers and networks are usually happy to accommodate most reasonable requests, provided there is no significant added cost. Each prize is budgeted at a certain dollar amount and nobody wants to absorb added costs.

So in your example, if the roundtrip airfare was budgeted from LA to London there would likely be no added cost (and perhaps some savings) for you to fly from New York. With a little sweet talk you would likely be accommodated. In my experience it's all on a case-by-case basis with money being the primary consideration.

Here's an extremely unusual piece of history from the 1980s: because of my relationship with one producer through working on a few of his pilots, when I won on one of his regular on-air series ("All Star Blitz") I was able to trade all manner of furniture for 2 weeks in Mexico because it represented a net savings to him. In this case the cash he was spending in his deal for the furniture was greater than the mostly-traded vacations in the more popular vacation destinations. I would have been happy to take a week in Puerto Vallarta, but as an inducement to have me give up another cash-dependent gift  that was not important to me he added a second week in Mazatlan that he traded with the prize folks at "Scrabble's" Exposure Unlimited.

Alas, as there are so many fewer shows on air now there is far less trafficing in prizes. But with a smile and a good reason, such as living near New York, the departure city for your trip to London would likely be changed.


Randy
tvrandywest.com