LAST season everyone wanted a “Desperate Housewives” or a “Lost” knockoff.
This season, the game show has made a comeback – and it’s the new, hot programming commodity.
With the success of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” and Fox’s “Unan1mous,” game shows are once again in demand, recalling the heady days when “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” ruled the prime-time roost – and spawned a slew of imitators.
“I really can’t speak to what goes on behind network doors, but I can say that we’re in the hunt for the next great game show,” says David Goldberg, president of game show and reality giant Endemol USA.
“We see there’s an opportunity,” Goldberg says. “And, in fact, we have at least two to three [gameshow] formats we’re preparing to pitch to broadcasters.”
Game shows are manna to programmers. They’re cheaper to produce than hourlong dramas or sitcoms – “That’s what’s appealing,” Goldberg says – and there’s no way a primadonna cast member can hold out for more money.
“There’s definitely that cost factor, but at the end of the day, it’s a ratings issue,” says David Luner, VP marketing for FremantleMedia, producer of such game-show hits as “The Price is Right” and “Family Feud.”
“There are a number of trends pointing to game shows as being a hot topic right now,” Luner says. “From a marketing angle, they usually trend toward family programming – and, on the global landscape, game shows are formats that travel well.
“With the licensing, it creates a perfect storm.”
Many games shows that have been successful here – including “Millionaire” and, recently, “Deal or No Deal” – began overseas.
The “global” factor already has programmers salivating over two upcoming game shows premiering in the U.K. on ITV.
One, “The Rich List,” reportedly has triggered programmers’ calls from overseas before it’s even aired.
“American broadcasters … are really interested in finding established formats with overseas track records,” says Endemol’s Goldberg. “Right now, there seems to be renewed interest in formats from abroad.”
And, of course, there’s the “copycat” factor, and now that “Deal or No Deal” is averaging around 16 million viewers a week for NBC – the network’s hottest show – the call has gone out to other networks to “find a ‘Deal or No Deal.’ ”
“There’s every reason to believe that every network has something in development, or is having discussions” based on the success of “Deal or No Deal,” says industry analyst Marc Berman of Mediaweek.
“The game show is a hot entity right now,” he says. “‘Deal or No Deal’ brought back the flavor of the traditional game show, and I’m sure the networks are going to start copying that.
“You’ll start to see more of that traditional sort of game show in prime time.”
CBS, in fact, has already put “Game Show Marathon” into production. Hosted by Ricki Lake, it will use celebrities as contestants in seven throwback episodes of classics “Let’s Make a Deal,” “Match Game,” “Card Sharks,” “Press Your Luck,” “Beat the Clock” and “Family Feud” and “The Price is Right.”
“Broadcasters chase trends and, if all of a sudden a genre that’s sort of been lying dormant for a couple of years suddenly hits, it creates a renewed interest,” says Goldberg.