Amazing Race on GSN is now official

[CaseyAbell]

The Prof and Variety both said that Fox Reality was bidding for Amazing Race, and I believe them. There has to be some reason the price went so high. That six million tag is about 7% of GSN's entire annual revenue. This is a major commitment.

The only way Fox Reality could get into a lot of households fast is to outbid for big properties like Survivor and Amazing Race. It took $16 million to snag the shows, which of course would be big money for a just-launched network. But the deep pockets of News Corp. could have afforded the deals. If Fox Reality had landed both shows, its safe to say that the effect on its household availability would have been positive (to put it mildly).

But OLN and GSN made the decisions to bid high. Both networks seem over the moon about the acquisitions. The OLN site looks like one big Survivor ad.

GSN sure hopes that Amazing Race draws big. They're betting at least some of the lead-in audience from Millionaire sticks around, plus new viewers not entranced by traditional game shows. With six million bucks committed, they better be right. This is a network that's never turned a full-year profit, after all.

[xibit777]

They have it leased through 2009.  Are you sure that isn't 6 million total?  If that's the case, they can split it out over 4 years.

Either way I predict it will really boost primetime ratings for a year or 2, then it is going to become a viewer's nightmare.  

Like I posted on other boards, there are 110 episodes.  There are 4 years to air them.   Aired every day they will go through each and every season not once, not twice, but THREE times a year.   Are you really going to be watching the 5th or 6th rerun through?  They're going to end up with 12 or 13 reruns!

And since they paid such a high price, this damn show is going to be stuck airing 7 days a week in primetime all the way through 2009.  Basically taking up a huge chunk of the schedule.   If people thought that one season of Wheel / Jeo were rerun to death, at least it isn't easy to remember game show results.  Reality rerun to death.... that's going to be a nightmare.

Another thing that sucks for game show fans is because they spent so much money on this, don't look for any new game shows or game show libraries for a loooong time.

[itiparanoid13]

If GSN has proven anything, rerun abuse means nothing if a show gets new viewers.  Dog Eat Dog was on forever on a weekly spot, and it's still on at least twice a week with 3 or 4 new episodes.  Yet, DED still gets good ratings.  Just FYI, don't be totally shocked if GSN makes their own version, but I digress.  Russian Roulette ran through at least 15 times, even in the low period of GSN about two or three years ago, and it STILL got a .3.  Lingo still had higher ratings.  This show is a bit different than the othe reality shows they have done.  You can pick up in the middle of the show and not be totally confused, which is very easy to happen on The Mole or American Crap Derby.  It'll do good; it's the most game show like of the reality shows, besides The Mole.

[xibit777]

Yeah it's good for the network, but bad for loyal viewers.    Loyal viewers will watch it for a year at the most, then have nothing to watch from 9-10 every night through 2009.   That isn't something to celebrate if you're a loyal viewer.  I wish they had only leased it for a year or 2.   But CBS probably forced them to lease it through 2009 so they would get more money.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'gamed121683\' date=\'Jun 8 2005, 07:22 PM\']Although, I'm just afraid that if that is a hit over time GSN could become RSN (REALITY Show Network). So for those who want to tape your favorite classic "traditional" game show, do it now! I fear that for this network "The Game Show Apocalypse" could come when we least expect it. I'm not sure but you all, but I'm getting prepared. [/quote]
Wow, it's been WEEKS since someone's mentioned the latest "game show apocalypse".  I'd sorta missed it.

Now that I see the price tag, I've gotta think that this is a huge mistake for GSN economically.  With obvious exceptions such as TV Land, a cable network rises and falls on the strength of their original programming, not on some cool rerun they bought.  OLN needs the attention that Survivor will bring them, but for a (slightly) more established operation like GSN, Race is just one more off-network repeat.  Those six big ones could have gone a long way toward developing better new shows.

[cmjb13]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 01:39 PM\']Those six big ones could have gone a long way toward developing better new shows.

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But this will (probably) get better ratings and more publicity than developing originals ever could.

[CaseyAbell]

Yep, the six-million-dollar men (and women) on Amazing Race didn't come cheap. Of course, I'm only relying on Variety. Rich Cronin didn't run the agreement past me before signing.

Even amortizing the money over four years means it's a significant commitment of resources for a mid-sized (at best) cabler. Yes, GSN has two deep-pocketed parents, but even the most long-suffering corporate parent would like to see a profit sooner or later.

I don't know that originals would have been a much better bet, though. The network never made a full-year profit with them, either. At least this deal gets GSN some visibility and maybe some interest from system operators put off by the network's reputation for a retirement-home audience.

GSN has to start growing its household availability again - not to mention its household delivery - or real bad things could happen, like a genuine (if only in business terms) apocalypse. I doubt that another series of Russian Roulette would have thrilled the system operators or the Great Unwashed Cable Audience. Sure, I'd like to see more Russian Roulette. But I'm a game show freak, and most teevee watchers aren't.

[davewalls]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 12:39 PM\']
Now that I see the price tag, I've gotta think that this is a huge mistake for GSN economically.  With obvious exceptions such as TV Land, a cable network rises and falls on the strength of their original programming, not on some cool rerun they bought.  OLN needs the attention that Survivor will bring them, but for a (slightly) more established operation like GSN, Race is just one more off-network repeat.  Those six big ones could have gone a long way toward developing better new shows.

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I see your point, and to be honest, I'd rather see more original shows from GSN. However, on GSN's side, they are picking up one of the hottest reality shows on TV right now. Not to mention the aforementioned fact that they are seasons that a majority of Race viewers did not see. Promote the hell out of it, and if GSN has any kind of quality salespeople working, you could see a strong increase in ad revenue.

It's a gamble, no doubt, but it's a gamble I'm glad GSN is taking.

[CaseyAbell]

Zap2it's writers may be peeking at this thread, because their take echoes much of what's been chatted about here. They think Amazing Race may be a better bet than Survivor because fewer people have seen it, which does sound familiar.

It's true that Survivor's first season bombed - by CBS standards - when it was rerun quickly (against the Olympics, no less). But a bomb by CBS standards would be just fine for OLN or GSN. I've seen little of Survivor and less of Amazing Race, and that might give me something in common with most of OLN's and GSN's audiences.

On the famous other hand, ABC isn't doing giant numbers for its Desperate Housewives reruns, which could signal that reality (more accurately, multi-episode serials) truly doesn't repeat well.

OLN and GSN have pushed big bets out there. Talk about casino programming.

[itiparanoid13]

No, the writer was at the same press conference I was at, as was the professor and InTouch, among others.  Boy, my fingers were really tired from typing as fast as I could during that press call, though.

[The Pyramids]

[quote name=\'davewalls\' date=\'Jun 8 2005, 07:17 PM\'][quote name=\'gamed121683\' date=\'Jun 8 2005, 06:22 PM\']I fear that for this network "The Game Show Apocalypse" could come when we least expect it. I'm not sure but you all, but I'm getting prepared.

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Can't be any worse than another rerun of "Celebrity Blackjack". This is coming from someone who likes blackjack and poker a LOT.

I say, bring in the Amazing Race, grab whomever you can with it, and take it from there. If GSN was going to get one reality show, they picked up the best one of the bunch.  

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I agree. This looks a heck of a lot better on the schudule than 'Star Search,' 'Vegas Weddings' and 'Average Joe,' all of which launched a year ago.