Game Show Network
Encyclopedia
The Game Show Network (GSN) is an American cable television
and direct broadcast satellite
channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan
is "The World Needs More Winners". The network is currently available in approximately 75 million homes, and is jointly-owned by DirecTV
and Sony Pictures Television
.
. From 1994 until about 1997, the network aired pre-1972 classics as well as post-1972 game shows, most from the Mark Goodson
–Bill Todman
library. The network aired game shows in a 24-hour cycle, and also used live interstitial programming to wrap around the shows. In the first few months, GSN's commercials consisted of public service announcement
s (PSAs), GSN promos and commercials related to Sony
, the parent company of the network. Once the network became bigger, conventional commercials were added to the network as they gained new sponsors.
and the 1994-1995 season of Family Feud
, which were both on a separate contract.
With the other Goodson-Todman shows gone, lesser-known Sony properties such as Juvenile Jury, The Diamond Head Game, the 1976-1977 version of Break the Bank, and the Bill Cullen
-hosted games Chain Reaction
and Pass the Buck
all found their way onto the schedule.
Game Show Network also aired a children's game show block at this time, highlighted by Joker! Joker! Joker!, Jep!
, and Wheel 2000—adaptations of The Joker's Wild, Jeopardy!
, and Wheel of Fortune
, respectively.
, All New 3's a Crowd
and Hollywood Showdown
. They also created original shows Extreme Gong (a remake of the classic Gong Show) and Burt Luddin's Love Buffet.
In 2000, the network faced another setback when they lost the rights to air The Price Is Right. In 2001, a massive change in both leadership and programming to the network took place. Liberty Media
acquired half of the network and changed the leadership. President Michael Fleming and Vice President Jake Tauber were both fired and former FOX Family president Rich Cronin was hired to head the network. He and incoming Vice President Bob Boden began the biggest original programming venture since the network's inception.
, the first program to air on the network that had nothing to do with traditional game shows. Although the show—a repackaging of somewhat dated British video game review shows (mostly Gamer.tv
)—was short-lived, it was a sign of the network's change of format from Game Show Network's "all game shows, all the time" to what eventually became "GSN: The Network for Games".
On March 15, 2004 at 10:00 PM, Game Show Network began using the abbreviation GSN and introduced the tagline "The Network for Games", a move in line with the network expanding its programming to include the genre of reality television
and various other competitions.
GSN also introduced the original series World Series of Blackjack
, Celebrity Blackjack
, Extreme Dodgeball
, Poker Royale
, and the short-lived Fake-a-Date, Vegas Weddings Unveiled, and Ballbreakers
. GSN also added reruns of The Mole
, Average Joe
, Arsenio Hall
's Star Search
, Kenny vs. Spenny
, and Spy TV, all of which were eventually removed from the schedule (though Kenny vs. Spenny was picked up for new episodes by Comedy Central
in 2007).
Traditional game shows Win Ben Stein's Money
and Street Smarts
were also acquired around this time and aired in various time slots, though neither was regularly programmed as of mid-March 2008.
Blackjack and Poker Royale signified the beginnings of GSN's attempts to cash in on the TV poker-craze at the time. In 2006, GSN introduced High Stakes Poker
, a poker show with a private-game format among professional players, and also programmed additional series of World Series of Blackjack
and a spinoff, Celebrity Blackjack
. One of the most popular shows from the initial TV poker boom
, the World Poker Tour
, was slated to move from the Travel Channel
to GSN on March 24, 2008.
Within a year of GSN's revamp, it began returning its focus primarily to studio-based game shows.
, a live interactive call-in show, hosted by Heidi Bohay
and Fred Roggin
. The show was similar in format to Club A.M., a former Game Show Network program, and aired weekdays from 12pm-3pm Eastern/9am-12pm Pacific during breaks between the programming line-up at the time. The show featured calls from viewers, interviews with classic game show hosts and behind-the-scenes features of game shows.
At three separate points in each day, interactive games were played with at-home contestants. Contestants could win anything from jewelry to GSN merchandise, or during month-long contests, a new car or a hot tub.
Coupled with some of these changes in an aggressive marketing campaign. GSN sent Ribiero on a promotional tour to local television stations to promote Catch 21, while they partnered with the ABC Television Network
to create Play It Again! Game Show Reunion Week, a series of one-off episodes of classic game shows for the network's morning show, Good Morning America
, in exchange for promotion of the September 2008 Play It Back programming blocks, which featured marathons of game shows from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Catch 21
, debuted in July 2008. The game combines questions with the casino
game of blackjack
. Alfonso Ribeiro
hosts the program and is assisted by his co-host and dealer Mikki Padilla
. The original producer of Gambit, Merrill Heatter
, returned in the same capacity. In October of that year, a second season of Bingo America
premiered with former Family Feud
host Richard Karn
as the new host and Diane Mizota
as the co-host, replacing Patrick Duffy
.
In 2008, GSN aired Think Like a Cat
, sponsored by Meow Mix
cat food, hosted by Chuck Woolery
.
Starting February 26, 2011, Norm Macdonald
became the new host of High Stakes Poker on GSN.
In March 2011, DirecTV (which by this point had taken over Liberty Media's stake in the network, which had increased to 65%) sold a 5% stake in the network back to Sony Pictures Entertainment
; although DirecTV
nominally remains the majority owner, it has ceded control of the network to Sony, and has the right to force Sony to increase its stake in GSN to 58%.
On November 6, 2011, GSN began airing the FOX
version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
was a similarly formatted show aired weeknights and hosted by Peter Tomarken
. Wide World of Games was a Saturday night block of four shows built around a common theme.
After a few years, these shows were replaced by Game TV (a half-hour interview show hosted by Nancy Sullivan and Dave Nemeth), Game World (which showed highlights of current game shows from around the world), and standalone 30-minute call-in games like Super Decades and Trivia Track
. Later, the channel attempted a Gong Show remake called Extreme Gong (hosted by George Gray, in which the viewers could phone in their votes as to whether to "gong" acts off the air) and Throut And Neck (hosted by Rebecca Grant
) (where viewers controlled video game characters with their phones). The network also programmed Burt Luddin's Love Buffet, a combination of scripted scenes and a Newlywed Game-esque "game show-within-a-show". But all these efforts were eventually canceled and removed from the network's schedule.
Traditional game show offerings since 2000 have included Hollywood Showdown
, Inquizition
, All New 3's a Crowd
, Mall Masters
, Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck
, Friend or Foe?
(a game based on the Prisoner's Dilemma), Russian Roulette
, WinTuition
, Cram
, and National Lampoon's Funny Money
. The most successful GSN original game was Lingo, a Chuck Woolery
-hosted revival of the 1987-1988 Canadian format in which teams guess five-letter words in a combination of Jotto
/Mastermind
and bingo
. The network produced six seasons of the show from 2002-2007.
Originals debuting in 2006 included PlayMania
, a late-night call-in game that expanded from two to (at one point) six nights per week continuing until October 31, 2007; and a revival of the 1980s game Chain Reaction
, which ended its run on June 9, 2007. That's the Question
, Starface
, and a revival of I've Got a Secret
also debuted in 2006. Debuting in July 2007 were Camouflage
, remade as a word game, and Without Prejudice?
, a remake of a British show where five people decide which contestant would win $25,000 based in part on their responses to questioning. Debuting on August 4, 2007 was Grand Slam, a game show involving big winners from other shows, including Ken Jennings
, John Carpenter
, and Brad Rutter
.
For 2008, a US version of a BBC
game called How Much Is Enough?
debuted on January 8, hosted by actor Corbin Bernsen
, and then in April, Bingo America
made its debut with Patrick Duffy of Dallas and Step by Step fame as host. On July 21, as something of a tie-in with the movie 21
, Merrill Heatter returned to game-show producing with Catch 21
(a revival of the 1970s game Gambit
) hosted by actor-singer-dancer Alfonso Ribeiro
with actress Mikki Padilla
as the dealer. GSN also relaunched a live interactive call-in interstitial series by premiering GSN Live
, which airs during commercial breaks between 12 PM and 6 PM Eastern Monday through Friday. Originally the series took place over a three-hour span, with KNBC
sports anchor and NBC Sports
contributor Fred Roggin
and actress Heidi Bohay
hosting the interstitial segments. Later in the year GSN expanded the series to the six hours it has now, with Roggin moving to the 3 PM to 6 PM block with Kelly Packard
while Alfonso Ribeiro replaced him earlier in the day. Packard was forced to leave her position shortly after taking it, and Roggin has hosted with a guest host until May 15, 2009 when Debra Skelton
was chosen to be a permanent co-host as of May 26. Roggin was forced to leave GSN Live on July 2, 2009 in order to concentrate on his new game show The Money List
. Alfonso was forced to leave GSN Live on August 11, 2009 in order to concentrate on his new job, as well as Catch 21
.
Also in 2009, The Newlywed Game
returned to the air on GSN, this time with Wilson Phillips
singer Carnie Wilson
as host. In June, GSN premiered its Big Saturday Night live interactive show block, hosted by Keegan-Michael Key
of MADtv
, Ross Matthews of The Tonight Show
, and Charissa Thompson
of Fox Sports
. The three-hour block features a variety of games, such as identifying pictures. Included in the block are 20Q
, hosted by Cat Deeley
of So You Think You Can Dance
and featuring the voice of actor-comedian Hal Sparks
as "Mr. Q"; and The Money List
, hosted by Fred Roggin
of GSN Live. A Hidden Camera series, Instant Recall
, hosted by Wink Martindale
, premiered on March 4, 2010. A revival of 1 vs. 100 has been commissioned.
in a block billed as That '70s Hour (a pun on That '70s Show
), which showed the original production slate
before each episode as well as Match Game trivia and brief clips of an interview with host Gene Rayburn
produced shortly before his death. Although production slates had been aired by the network prior to this, "That '70s Hour" was the first time the network intentionally did so.
During the Summer of 2006, the network began a special seven-week run of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time.
In November 2006, GSN started a series of eight documentaries about game shows, beginning with a program on Match Game titled Behind The Blank. Other subjects included game show producer Chuck Barris
, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?, a "Top Ten" countdown of game show hosts, memorable game show moments, women who have featured prominently on game shows, celebrities and how they impacted game shows, and an insider's guide to winning on a TV game show.
One particularly interesting subject was the installments of Press Your Luck in which Michael Larson
won more than $100,000 in cash and prizes by memorizing the sequences of the board then used, which was the subject of Big Bucks: The "Press Your Luck" Scandal. Peter Tomarken, who had hosted Press Your Luck, hosted and narrated this documentary in 2003. The documentary became Game Show Network's most watched show ever (a title it still holds) scoring a 1.7 at one time during the show.
In 2007, the network debuted two new specials: the National Vocabulary Championship
, with a show airing on April 15, 2007 showcasing the first year of the event, and a broadcast of the Cat Fanciers' Association
International Cat Show, Catminster.
In November 2008, GSN and Meow Mix
presented a special entitled Think Like a Cat
, hosted by Chuck Woolery, with a top prize of $1,000,000, one of the few times a game show on cable TV has had that amount as a grand prize.
and GSN parent company Sony
.
Before Liberty Media purchased 50% of the network, GSN had unlimited access to the game shows owned by Sony Pictures subsidiary Columbia TriStar Television
. Once Liberty purchased their stake in the venture, Sony began charging licensing fees for their shows, despite their half-ownership of the network.
From Fremantle, the network licenses Match Game
(currently only the 1973-82 versions; the 1990-91 version aired on the network in the past), Family Feud
(all except the 1999-2002 Louie Anderson
-hosted seasons), Password (all versions), and Card Sharks
(all except 2001–2002 syndicated). Until March 2009, GSN licensed the entire Mark Goodson
-Bill Todman
library. During two weeks in December 2009, GSN picked up the rights to I've Got a Secret again for a limited return.
In the network's infancy, GSN regularly showcased vintage Goodson-Todman game and panel shows from the 1950s and 1960s, many of which were either originally broadcast or only preserved in black-and-white
– such as What's My Line?
, I've Got a Secret
, To Tell the Truth
, Beat the Clock
, and others. These classic shows made up much of the channel's lineup at the outset, but have been gradually cut back in prominence since the late 1990s. On October 1, 2006, only What's My Line? had a regular spot on the schedule, late Sunday/early Monday at 3:00 AM Eastern; it was followed by a selection from various 1950s-1970s Goodson-Todman shows, usually another panel game. On December 31, GSN reinstated the Black and White Overnight to 7 days a week from 3:00-4:00 AM, showcasing What's My Line?
and I've Got a Secret
in the block; other shows, including Choose Up Sides
, The Name's the Same
, and the Bud Collyer-hosted primetime version of To Tell the Truth
have been featured, with the latter currently airing following What's My Line?. GSN cancelled Black and White Overnight, effective March 31, 2009.
In December 2010, What's My Line and I've Got a Secret
returned to GSN for 2 weeks only from December 13 to December 30.
GSN, in addition to its Goodson-Todman library, features shows from other companies:
GSN also airs, or has aired, the Sony Pictures Television
library programming from the following examples:
In October 2003, GSN acquired the rerun rights to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (from Disney-ABC Domestic Television) and have added more episodes since, including the Super Millionaire spin-off from 2005–2007. Among the most well-known classic game shows previously aired regularly on the network are The Price Is Right
, The Joker's Wild
, Tattletales
, Hollywood Squares
, The Dating Game
, and various versions of Pyramid
. Some of these shows still continued to be aired occasionally as part of special events, such as Dick Clark's Pyramid in honor of New Year's Rockin' Eve on December 31.
, Goodson-Todman's longest-running game show, did not appear on GSN's regular schedule until December 1996. Episodes that featured fur coats or other animal-related prizes were not aired, following Bob Barker
's animal-rights wishes. The show's GSN premiere was delayed almost two years in order to remove such episodes from the rotation. The show originally appeared on GSN in occasional pre-emptions of regularly scheduled series such as Match Game or Family Feud, and earned a regular spot just ten months before the network's rights to air the Goodson-Todman library expired.
Various versions of the show were broadcast, specifically those hosted by Barker, Bill Cullen
, and Tom Kennedy (plus one episode sub-hosted by 1972-1977 nighttime host Dennis James
, aired on the day of his death in 1997). In December 1996, Price began airing regularly on the schedule, with half-hour Barker shows in the morning and hour-long episodes in the afternoon and evening, Kennedy shows in late-night, and the Cullen version as part of what was then billed as "Sentimental Sunday". No episodes from either the 1972-1980 or 1994-1995 syndicated versions aired during this time, the former mostly due to Barker's fur ban and the latter due to rights issues involving Paramount Television.
GSN's contract to air Price expired in April 2000 and has not been renewed since. Most Price reruns are held not entirely by FremantleMedia, but also through CBS Television Distribution
, as CBS currently licenses the American Price franchise from Fremantle. GSN would have to pay royalties to both CBS and Fremantle to gain the rights to the show.
high definition
simulcast
, that launched September 15, 2010. It is currently carried nationwide on Dish Network
and in limited markets on Time Warner Cable
, Service Electric
, Comcast
and Bright House Networks
. Ironically, DirecTV
, which owns 60% of GSN, does not carry it in high definition.
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
is "The World Needs More Winners". The network is currently available in approximately 75 million homes, and is jointly-owned by DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
.
1994–1997
Game Show Network went live at 7:00 PM on December 1, 1994. The first aired game show was Match Game '73Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
. From 1994 until about 1997, the network aired pre-1972 classics as well as post-1972 game shows, most from the Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
–Bill Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
library. The network aired game shows in a 24-hour cycle, and also used live interstitial programming to wrap around the shows. In the first few months, GSN's commercials consisted of public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s (PSAs), GSN promos and commercials related to Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, the parent company of the network. Once the network became bigger, conventional commercials were added to the network as they gained new sponsors.
1997–1998
From October 11, 1997 to April 18, 1998 the network's Goodson-Todman library rights expired, with the exceptions of The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
and the 1994-1995 season of Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
, which were both on a separate contract.
With the other Goodson-Todman shows gone, lesser-known Sony properties such as Juvenile Jury, The Diamond Head Game, the 1976-1977 version of Break the Bank, and the Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
-hosted games Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (game show)
Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
and Pass the Buck
Pass the Buck (game show)
Pass the Buck is a game show that aired on CBS television's daytime lineup from April 3 to June 30, 1978. The series was hosted by Bill Cullen and was created by Bob Stewart. Bob Clayton was the announcer.-Gameplay:...
all found their way onto the schedule.
Game Show Network also aired a children's game show block at this time, highlighted by Joker! Joker! Joker!, Jep!
Jep!
Jep! is a children's version of the American quiz show Jeopardy!, hosted by Bob Bergen. The program premiered on January 30, 1998 on GSN and lasted for one season...
, and Wheel 2000—adaptations of The Joker's Wild, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, and Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, respectively.
1998–2003
On April 18, 1998, Game Show Network bought back the rights to the Goodson-Todman library. In late 1998, GSN eliminated all of its Live programming. GSN replaced the live shows with in-show ads like Win TV. In 1999, the network began a slate of original programming, including InquizitionInquizition
Inquizition is an American game show created by Game Show Network and Sande Stewart Television that ran on the network's schedule from October 5, 1998 to October 19, 2001.-Gameplay:...
, All New 3's a Crowd
Three's a Crowd (game show)
Three's a Crowd was an American game show originally packaged by Chuck Barris Productions. The first version aired in syndication from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980...
and Hollywood Showdown
Hollywood Showdown
Hollywood Showdown is an American game show that aired on both PAX and Game Show Network from January to November 2000, then again until April 2002. Reruns aired on GSN again from September 2004 to April 2005 plus June 2006 and June 2007 on TV Guide Network...
. They also created original shows Extreme Gong (a remake of the classic Gong Show) and Burt Luddin's Love Buffet.
In 2000, the network faced another setback when they lost the rights to air The Price Is Right. In 2001, a massive change in both leadership and programming to the network took place. Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
acquired half of the network and changed the leadership. President Michael Fleming and Vice President Jake Tauber were both fired and former FOX Family president Rich Cronin was hired to head the network. He and incoming Vice President Bob Boden began the biggest original programming venture since the network's inception.
2003–2008
In fall 2003, Game Show Network began airing GSN Video GamesGSN Video Games
GSN Video Games was a short-lived block of shows on television network GSN. The show was hosted by Carmen Nicole.The block was merely a repackaging of British gaming programs gamer.tv and Game Sauce, with Nicole's comments interspersed during the block...
, the first program to air on the network that had nothing to do with traditional game shows. Although the show—a repackaging of somewhat dated British video game review shows (mostly Gamer.tv
Gamer.tv
Gamer.tv was a weekly television show produced by the company of the same name, that ran from 2002 to 2008. Each half-hour episode mixed topical video game news, reviews, previews and features. The series aired on a number of networks around the world including Bravo in the UK and Starz in North...
)—was short-lived, it was a sign of the network's change of format from Game Show Network's "all game shows, all the time" to what eventually became "GSN: The Network for Games".
On March 15, 2004 at 10:00 PM, Game Show Network began using the abbreviation GSN and introduced the tagline "The Network for Games", a move in line with the network expanding its programming to include the genre of reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
and various other competitions.
GSN also introduced the original series World Series of Blackjack
World Series of Blackjack
The World Series of Blackjack is a televised blackjack tournament created and produced by the cable network GSN. It is a closed tournament; players are either invited to play or can attempt to win a spot via a satellite tournament. Rounds are edited into 1-hour episodes and broadcast on GSN...
, Celebrity Blackjack
Celebrity Blackjack
Celebrity Blackjack was a television show on GSN where celebrities played tournament style blackjack for charity. The show was hosted by Matt Vasgersian . Dave Stann was the dealer. Season 1 aired weekly from July 5 through August 9, 2004...
, Extreme Dodgeball
Extreme Dodgeball
Extreme Dodgeball is an American Sports Entertainment television show that debuted on Game Show Network in 2004. It has also been shown in the UK on Challenge.-Standard rules:...
, Poker Royale
Poker Royale
Poker Royale was a television series on the Game Show Network , which featured No Limit Texas hold 'em Poker. The first series began on December 7, 2004. The seventh and final series, Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages, began airing on November 4, 2005...
, and the short-lived Fake-a-Date, Vegas Weddings Unveiled, and Ballbreakers
Ballbreakers
Ballbreakers is a pocket billiards game show that began on the Game Show Network on July 18, 2005. The hosts were Sal Masekela, Ewa Mataya Laurance, and Adrianne Curry. GSN cancelled the show in 2006.-Play:...
. GSN also added reruns of The Mole
The Mole (US TV series)
The Mole was an American reality game show that aired on ABC. It was based on The Mole franchise of programs that have aired in numerous countries. The Mole was produced by Stone Stanley Entertainment for its first four seasons. It was cancelled but was later picked up again after a four year...
, Average Joe
Average Joe (TV series)
Average Joe is an American reality television show broadcast on the NBC beginning in 2003. There were a total of four seasons, the first two following the original show premise, and the last two bringing back contestants from prior seasons.-Show Premise:...
, Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...
's Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
, Kenny vs. Spenny
Kenny vs. Spenny
Kenny vs. Spenny is a Canadian comedy reality television series about Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice, who face each other in various competitions. The loser of the episode must perform an act of humiliation, usually selected by the winner. Hotz and Rice helped create the series, and it was typically...
, and Spy TV, all of which were eventually removed from the schedule (though Kenny vs. Spenny was picked up for new episodes by Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in 2007).
Traditional game shows Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money is an American television game show that ran from July 28, 1997 to January 31, 2003 on the Comedy Central cable network with episodes airing until May 8, 2003. It featured three contestants who competed in a general knowledge quiz contest to win the grand prize of $5,000 from...
and Street Smarts
Street Smarts (game show)
Street Smarts was a United States game show that features two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people that were found on the street. The show aired in syndication from October 2, 2000 to September 23, 2005, hosted by Frank Nicotero.A French-Canadian version, Les...
were also acquired around this time and aired in various time slots, though neither was regularly programmed as of mid-March 2008.
Blackjack and Poker Royale signified the beginnings of GSN's attempts to cash in on the TV poker-craze at the time. In 2006, GSN introduced High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...
, a poker show with a private-game format among professional players, and also programmed additional series of World Series of Blackjack
World Series of Blackjack
The World Series of Blackjack is a televised blackjack tournament created and produced by the cable network GSN. It is a closed tournament; players are either invited to play or can attempt to win a spot via a satellite tournament. Rounds are edited into 1-hour episodes and broadcast on GSN...
and a spinoff, Celebrity Blackjack
Celebrity Blackjack
Celebrity Blackjack was a television show on GSN where celebrities played tournament style blackjack for charity. The show was hosted by Matt Vasgersian . Dave Stann was the dealer. Season 1 aired weekly from July 5 through August 9, 2004...
. One of the most popular shows from the initial TV poker boom
Poker boom
The poker boom was a period between 2003 and 2006, during which poker, primarily no limit Texas hold 'em, but also other variations, became considerably more popular around the world...
, the World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
, was slated to move from the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
to GSN on March 24, 2008.
Within a year of GSN's revamp, it began returning its focus primarily to studio-based game shows.
2008–present
On February 25, 2008, GSN returned live television games and debuted GSN LiveGSN Live
GSN Live is an American live interactive show on Game Show Network that premiered on February 25, 2008 at noon ET and officially ended its 3 year run on July 29, 2011. The last "live" edition aired May 13, 2011...
, a live interactive call-in show, hosted by Heidi Bohay
Heidi Bohay
Heidi Bohay is an American actress and television presenter.Born in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, Bohay is best known for her role as Megan Kendall from 1983 to 1987 on the prime-time ABC drama Hotel. She appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows, including The $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramid,...
and Fred Roggin
Fred Roggin
Fred Roggin is the sports anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. He was also a sports talk radio host at KMPC in Los Angeles, and until Fall 2007 hosted a morning sports show on KLAC with Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers...
. The show was similar in format to Club A.M., a former Game Show Network program, and aired weekdays from 12pm-3pm Eastern/9am-12pm Pacific during breaks between the programming line-up at the time. The show featured calls from viewers, interviews with classic game show hosts and behind-the-scenes features of game shows.
At three separate points in each day, interactive games were played with at-home contestants. Contestants could win anything from jewelry to GSN merchandise, or during month-long contests, a new car or a hot tub.
Coupled with some of these changes in an aggressive marketing campaign. GSN sent Ribiero on a promotional tour to local television stations to promote Catch 21, while they partnered with the ABC Television Network
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to create Play It Again! Game Show Reunion Week, a series of one-off episodes of classic game shows for the network's morning show, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, in exchange for promotion of the September 2008 Play It Back programming blocks, which featured marathons of game shows from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Catch 21
Catch 21
Catch 21 is an American game show centered around blackjack, created by Merrill Heatter and taped at the Hollywood Center Studios...
, debuted in July 2008. The game combines questions with the casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
game of blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
. Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro is an American actor, director, dancer, game show host, and comedian. While he received attention for his performance in the title role of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid and his appearance as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial featuring Michael Jackson, Ribeiro is best...
hosts the program and is assisted by his co-host and dealer Mikki Padilla
Mikki Padilla
Mikki Padilla is a Spanish American actress, model and writer. She is best known for being the co-host/card dealer on GSN's Catch 21....
. The original producer of Gambit, Merrill Heatter
Heatter-Quigley Productions
Heatter-Quigley Productions was an American television production company that was launched in 1960 by two former television writers, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley....
, returned in the same capacity. In October of that year, a second season of Bingo America
Bingo America
Bingo America is an American game show airing on GSN that follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000, as well as letting at-home viewers print bingo cards at GSN.com that allow them to play along with the show to win money....
premiered with former Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
host Richard Karn
Richard Karn
Richard Karn is an American actor and game show host. He is most well known for his co-starring role as Al Borland in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement and his tenure as the host of Family Feud during the 2000s.-Early life:...
as the new host and Diane Mizota
Diane Mizota
Diane Kiyomi Mizota is an American dancer, actress, and hostess.-Life and career:Mizota, a Japanese American, was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Danville, California. Mizota studied dance in high school and in UCLA and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Communication Studies...
as the co-host, replacing Patrick Duffy
Patrick Duffy
Patrick George Duffy is an American character actor of stage and film. He is best known for his role on the CBS television drama Dallas, where he played Bobby Ewing from 1978 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1991, Duffy returns to reprise his role as Bobby in a new up-to-date Dallas currently scheduled to...
.
In 2008, GSN aired Think Like a Cat
Think Like a Cat
Think Like a Cat is a GSN-original game show hosted by Chuck Woolery, and sponsored by Meow Mix. Eight cats and their owners compete in the contest, which is played like a game show rather than a pageant like Catminster, another GSN special centering on cats. The show has a top prize of $1,000,000...
, sponsored by Meow Mix
Meow Mix
Meow Mix is a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. It is a product of Del Monte Foods.-Company background:The Meow Mix Company operates from a facility in Decatur, Alabama, and also produces Alley Cat brand cat food products. Originally a product of Ralston Purina,...
cat food, hosted by Chuck Woolery
Chuck Woolery
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an American game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975–81, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983–94, and Scrabble from 1984–90...
.
Starting February 26, 2011, Norm Macdonald
Norm MacDonald
Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
became the new host of High Stakes Poker on GSN.
In March 2011, DirecTV (which by this point had taken over Liberty Media's stake in the network, which had increased to 65%) sold a 5% stake in the network back to Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
; although DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
nominally remains the majority owner, it has ceded control of the network to Sony, and has the right to force Sony to increase its stake in GSN to 58%.
On November 6, 2011, GSN began airing the FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (U.S. game show)
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is an American quiz game show on Fox. It is produced by Mark Burnett and is hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. The show premiered as a three-day special which began on February 27, 2007 with the first two shows each a half-hour in length...
Original programming
GSN has also produced several original series. In the channel's early days, Club A.M. was a three-hour block consisting of five classic game shows, surrounded by thirty minutes' worth of interstitial trivia, interviews with game show producers, personalities, contestants and fans, and interactive call-in games, all hosted by Laura Chambers and Steve Day (which was also rerun in late night, with some new segments, under the title Late Night Games). Prime GamesPrime Games
Prime Games was a live Interactive television show produced by Game Show Network, in the mid 1990s. The show was hosted by Peter Tomarken, later joined by Marianne Curan as co-host. The format was similar to GSN Live, with the evening's live interactive segments aired in between classic game shows....
was a similarly formatted show aired weeknights and hosted by Peter Tomarken
Peter Tomarken
Peter David Tomarken was an American television personality primarily known as the host of Press Your Luck.-Early life:...
. Wide World of Games was a Saturday night block of four shows built around a common theme.
After a few years, these shows were replaced by Game TV (a half-hour interview show hosted by Nancy Sullivan and Dave Nemeth), Game World (which showed highlights of current game shows from around the world), and standalone 30-minute call-in games like Super Decades and Trivia Track
Trivia Track
Trivia Track was an interactive live game show that premiered on the Game Show Network March 17, 1997 and ran until October 2, 1998; it was taped at the network's Sony Pictures Studios facilities in Culver City, California...
. Later, the channel attempted a Gong Show remake called Extreme Gong (hosted by George Gray, in which the viewers could phone in their votes as to whether to "gong" acts off the air) and Throut And Neck (hosted by Rebecca Grant
Rebecca Grant (American actress)
Rebecca Grant , is an American actress. Grant is a graduate of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York with a joint major in psychology and communication . She was a hostess on NFL Under the Helmet and Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors television programs. After losing her mother to...
) (where viewers controlled video game characters with their phones). The network also programmed Burt Luddin's Love Buffet, a combination of scripted scenes and a Newlywed Game-esque "game show-within-a-show". But all these efforts were eventually canceled and removed from the network's schedule.
Traditional game show offerings since 2000 have included Hollywood Showdown
Hollywood Showdown
Hollywood Showdown is an American game show that aired on both PAX and Game Show Network from January to November 2000, then again until April 2002. Reruns aired on GSN again from September 2004 to April 2005 plus June 2006 and June 2007 on TV Guide Network...
, Inquizition
Inquizition
Inquizition is an American game show created by Game Show Network and Sande Stewart Television that ran on the network's schedule from October 5, 1998 to October 19, 2001.-Gameplay:...
, All New 3's a Crowd
Three's a Crowd (game show)
Three's a Crowd was an American game show originally packaged by Chuck Barris Productions. The first version aired in syndication from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980...
, Mall Masters
Mall Masters
Mall Masters is the name of a game show from Stone-Stanley that aired from April 1 to December 1, 2001 on GSN, hosted by TV personality Chris Harrison, who also introduced himself in the intro. Three contestants competed to test their knowledge of pop culture...
, Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck
Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck
Whammy! is an updated version of the American television game show Press Your Luck. Taped at Tribune Studios, the FremantleMedia production aired on Game Show Network from April 15, 2002 to December 5, 2003 with repeats that continue to air...
, Friend or Foe?
Friend or Foe?
Friend or Foe? is an American game show based on knowledge and trust which aired on Game Show Network. Three teams of two strangers attempted to persuade their partner into sharing their accumulated winnings rather than stealing it for themselves....
(a game based on the Prisoner's Dilemma), Russian Roulette
Russian Roulette (game show)
Russian Roulette is an American game show created by executive producer Gunnar Wetterberg that ran for two seasons on Game Show Network from June 3, 2002 to June 13, 2003. It was hosted by Mark L. Walberg, with Burton Richardson announcing. Todd Newton hosted an April Fool's Day episode in 2003....
, WinTuition
WinTuition
WinTuition is an American game show created as an original series for Game Show Network, on which it ran from December 9, 2002 to April 1, 2003, with reruns airing until 2004. The game had a school-oriented theme in which three contestants competed to answer questions on general...
, Cram
Cram (game show)
Cram is a game show that aired as an original series for GSN in 2003. The show featured two teams, each composed of two contestants. For 24 hours before taping, the contestants were sequestered in a warehouse, with the intent of staying awake and "cramming" various material such as trivia...
, and National Lampoon's Funny Money
National Lampoon's Funny Money
National Lampoon's Funny Money is a comedy game show that aired on GSN from June 15 to October 24, 2003. The show was hosted by stand-up comedian Jimmy Pardo, and Budd Friedman served as the announcer.-Format:...
. The most successful GSN original game was Lingo, a Chuck Woolery
Chuck Woolery
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery is an American game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975–81, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983–94, and Scrabble from 1984–90...
-hosted revival of the 1987-1988 Canadian format in which teams guess five-letter words in a combination of Jotto
Jotto
Jotto is a logic-oriented word game played with two players, a writing implement, and a piece of paper. Each player picks a secret word of five letters , and the object of the game is to correctly guess the other player's word first...
/Mastermind
Mastermind (board game)
Mastermind or Master Mind is a code-breaking game for two players. The modern game with pegs was invented in 1970 by Mordecai Meirowitz, an Israeli postmaster and telecommunications expert, but the game resembles an earlier pencil and paper game called bulls and cows that may date back a century or...
and bingo
Bingo (US)
Bingo is a game of chance played with randomly drawn numbers which players match against numbers that have been pre-printed on 5x5 matrices. The matrices may be printed on paper, card stock or electronically represented and are referred to as cards. Many versions conclude the game when the first...
. The network produced six seasons of the show from 2002-2007.
Originals debuting in 2006 included PlayMania
PlayMania
PlayMania is a live interactive game show on GSN, hosted by Mel Peachey, Shandi Finnessey, Jessica York, Angelle Tymon and Jeff Thisted. The two-hour program featured interactive games that the viewers could play to win cash prizes...
, a late-night call-in game that expanded from two to (at one point) six nights per week continuing until October 31, 2007; and a revival of the 1980s game Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (game show)
Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
, which ended its run on June 9, 2007. That's the Question
That's the Question
That's the Question is an American quiz game show on GSN hosted by Bob Goen which aired from October 2, 2006 to December 1, 2007. The first season was shot in the Netherlands with Canadians and Americans who live there as contestants. The second season was filmed in Los Angeles aired on September...
, Starface
Starface
Starface is an American television game show which ran on GSN on August 1, 2006 to November 4, 2006. Reruns aired until January 2007.-Format:...
, and a revival of I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
also debuted in 2006. Debuting in July 2007 were Camouflage
Camouflage (2007 TV series)
Camouflage is a television game show airing on GSN. Hosted by Roger Lodge, and billed as "the hidden word game where the answer is always right in front of you", Camouflage originally aired for 40 episodes from July 2 to 27, 2007...
, remade as a word game, and Without Prejudice?
Without Prejudice?
Without Prejudice? is a game show created and produced by 12 Yard that aired in the UK on Channel 4 from 4 January 2003 to 16 April 2004 and ran for 2 series. It was hosted by Liza Tarbuck. A short-lived US version aired from 17 July to 16 September 2007 on GSN and was hosted by psychotherapist Dr...
, a remake of a British show where five people decide which contestant would win $25,000 based in part on their responses to questioning. Debuting on August 4, 2007 was Grand Slam, a game show involving big winners from other shows, including Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings
Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows...
, John Carpenter
John Carpenter (game show contestant)
John Carpenter became the first millionaire on the United States version of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on November 19, 1999. He held the record for the largest single win in United States game show history, until it was broken by Rahim Oberholtzer who won $1.12 million on...
, and Brad Rutter
Brad Rutter
Bradford Gates "Brad" Rutter is the biggest all-time money winner on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and the second biggest all-time money winner on a game show....
.
For 2008, a US version of a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
game called How Much Is Enough?
How Much Is Enough?
How Much Is Enough? was a game show that aired on GSN from January 8, 2008 to March 28, 2008. The show was hosted by Corbin Bernsen, and four contestants competed with a "money clock".-Gameplay:...
debuted on January 8, hosted by actor Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
, and then in April, Bingo America
Bingo America
Bingo America is an American game show airing on GSN that follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000, as well as letting at-home viewers print bingo cards at GSN.com that allow them to play along with the show to win money....
made its debut with Patrick Duffy of Dallas and Step by Step fame as host. On July 21, as something of a tie-in with the movie 21
21 (2008 film)
21 is a 2008 drama film directed by Australian director Robert Luketic and stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Aaron Yoo. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the...
, Merrill Heatter returned to game-show producing with Catch 21
Catch 21
Catch 21 is an American game show centered around blackjack, created by Merrill Heatter and taped at the Hollywood Center Studios...
(a revival of the 1970s game Gambit
Gambit (game show)
Gambit is a television game show, created by Wayne Cruseturner and produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions, that originally ran on CBS from September 4, 1972 to December 10, 1976. A slightly retooled version, Las Vegas Gambit, aired on NBC from October 27, 1980 to November 27, 1981, originating...
) hosted by actor-singer-dancer Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro is an American actor, director, dancer, game show host, and comedian. While he received attention for his performance in the title role of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid and his appearance as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial featuring Michael Jackson, Ribeiro is best...
with actress Mikki Padilla
Mikki Padilla
Mikki Padilla is a Spanish American actress, model and writer. She is best known for being the co-host/card dealer on GSN's Catch 21....
as the dealer. GSN also relaunched a live interactive call-in interstitial series by premiering GSN Live
GSN Live
GSN Live is an American live interactive show on Game Show Network that premiered on February 25, 2008 at noon ET and officially ended its 3 year run on July 29, 2011. The last "live" edition aired May 13, 2011...
, which airs during commercial breaks between 12 PM and 6 PM Eastern Monday through Friday. Originally the series took place over a three-hour span, with KNBC
KNBC
KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson...
sports anchor and NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
contributor Fred Roggin
Fred Roggin
Fred Roggin is the sports anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. He was also a sports talk radio host at KMPC in Los Angeles, and until Fall 2007 hosted a morning sports show on KLAC with Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers...
and actress Heidi Bohay
Heidi Bohay
Heidi Bohay is an American actress and television presenter.Born in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, Bohay is best known for her role as Megan Kendall from 1983 to 1987 on the prime-time ABC drama Hotel. She appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows, including The $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramid,...
hosting the interstitial segments. Later in the year GSN expanded the series to the six hours it has now, with Roggin moving to the 3 PM to 6 PM block with Kelly Packard
Kelly Packard
Kelly Chemane Packard is an American actress who has starred in TV shows such as Baywatch and California Dreams and has also hosted shows such as Ripley's Believe It or Not!....
while Alfonso Ribeiro replaced him earlier in the day. Packard was forced to leave her position shortly after taking it, and Roggin has hosted with a guest host until May 15, 2009 when Debra Skelton
Debra Wilson
Debra Wilson Skelton , professionally known as Debra Wilson or Debra Wilzon, is an American comedienne and actress. Wilson is likely most famous for being the second longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv, having appeared for the show's first eight seasons...
was chosen to be a permanent co-host as of May 26. Roggin was forced to leave GSN Live on July 2, 2009 in order to concentrate on his new game show The Money List
The Money List
The Money List was a revival of the American version of The Rich List, which lasted just one episode in its original American run. The game show premiered on June 13, 2009 on GSN with Fred Roggin serving as host, having left his hosting position on GSN Live on July 2, 2009 in order to pursue the...
. Alfonso was forced to leave GSN Live on August 11, 2009 in order to concentrate on his new job, as well as Catch 21
Catch 21
Catch 21 is an American game show centered around blackjack, created by Merrill Heatter and taped at the Hollywood Center Studios...
.
Also in 2009, The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
returned to the air on GSN, this time with Wilson Phillips
Wilson Phillips
-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Other charted songs:-Awards and nominations:...
singer Carnie Wilson
Carnie Wilson
Carnie Wilson is an American singer and television hostess, perhaps best known as a member of the pop music group Wilson Phillips.-Early life and musical career:...
as host. In June, GSN premiered its Big Saturday Night live interactive show block, hosted by Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key is an American comic actor best known for his roles as a cast member on MADtv for six seasons. He has also had recurring roles on Reno 911! and Gary Unmarried. He used to be the host of The Planet's Funniest Animals...
of MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
, Ross Matthews of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
, and Charissa Thompson
Charissa Thompson
Charissa Thompson is an American television host and sportscaster, currently for ESPN.-Education and early career:Thompson grew up in Seattle, Washington...
of Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
. The three-hour block features a variety of games, such as identifying pictures. Included in the block are 20Q
20Q (game show)
20Q is a Canadian/American game show based on the online artificial intelligence and handheld computer game of the same name. Licensed to and produced by Endemol USA, Minds Eye Entertainment, Buffalo Gal Pictures, Anaid Productions, Breakthrough Films and Television it premiered on June 13, 2009...
, hosted by Cat Deeley
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley is an English television presenter and model. Since 2006, Deeley has also been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition...
of So You Think You Can Dance
So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
and featuring the voice of actor-comedian Hal Sparks
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...
as "Mr. Q"; and The Money List
The Money List
The Money List was a revival of the American version of The Rich List, which lasted just one episode in its original American run. The game show premiered on June 13, 2009 on GSN with Fred Roggin serving as host, having left his hosting position on GSN Live on July 2, 2009 in order to pursue the...
, hosted by Fred Roggin
Fred Roggin
Fred Roggin is the sports anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. He was also a sports talk radio host at KMPC in Los Angeles, and until Fall 2007 hosted a morning sports show on KLAC with Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers...
of GSN Live. A Hidden Camera series, Instant Recall
Instant Recall
Instant Recall is an American hidden camera, game show hosted by Wink Martindale. The series premiered on GSN on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8:30 p.m., with a new episode airing each Thursday for eight weeks....
, hosted by Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
, premiered on March 4, 2010. A revival of 1 vs. 100 has been commissioned.
Specials
The network has run blocks of classic game shows on Saturday nights, and for the first few months of 2006 programmed back-to-back episodes of Match GameMatch Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
in a block billed as That '70s Hour (a pun on That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
), which showed the original production slate
Clapperboard
A clapperboard is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in the synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark particular scenes and takes recorded during a production...
before each episode as well as Match Game trivia and brief clips of an interview with host Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades....
produced shortly before his death. Although production slates had been aired by the network prior to this, "That '70s Hour" was the first time the network intentionally did so.
During the Summer of 2006, the network began a special seven-week run of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time.
In November 2006, GSN started a series of eight documentaries about game shows, beginning with a program on Match Game titled Behind The Blank. Other subjects included game show producer Chuck Barris
Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch "Chuck" Barris is an American game show producer, film director and presenter best known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game. Barris, a survivor of lung cancer, is also an author and claims to have worked for the CIA.-Early career:Barris was born in Oakland, New...
, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?, a "Top Ten" countdown of game show hosts, memorable game show moments, women who have featured prominently on game shows, celebrities and how they impacted game shows, and an insider's guide to winning on a TV game show.
One particularly interesting subject was the installments of Press Your Luck in which Michael Larson
Michael Larson
Paul Michael Larson was a contestant on the American television game show Press Your Luck in May 1984 that aired on TV in June 1984. Larson's claim to fame was his winning $110,237 in cash and prizes, at the time the largest one-day total ever won on a game show...
won more than $100,000 in cash and prizes by memorizing the sequences of the board then used, which was the subject of Big Bucks: The "Press Your Luck" Scandal. Peter Tomarken, who had hosted Press Your Luck, hosted and narrated this documentary in 2003. The documentary became Game Show Network's most watched show ever (a title it still holds) scoring a 1.7 at one time during the show.
In 2007, the network debuted two new specials: the National Vocabulary Championship
National Vocabulary Championship
The National Vocabulary Championship was the first-ever U.S.-wide vocabulary competition for high school students created by GSN, in association with The Princeton Review. Thirty thousand high school students from across the United States participated in the inaugural year .The NVC aimed to...
, with a show airing on April 15, 2007 showcasing the first year of the event, and a broadcast of the Cat Fanciers' Association
Cat Fanciers' Association
The Cat Fanciers' Association was established in the United States in 1906 and is the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats and the predominant pedigreed cat registering association in North America...
International Cat Show, Catminster.
In November 2008, GSN and Meow Mix
Meow Mix
Meow Mix is a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. It is a product of Del Monte Foods.-Company background:The Meow Mix Company operates from a facility in Decatur, Alabama, and also produces Alley Cat brand cat food products. Originally a product of Ralston Purina,...
presented a special entitled Think Like a Cat
Think Like a Cat
Think Like a Cat is a GSN-original game show hosted by Chuck Woolery, and sponsored by Meow Mix. Eight cats and their owners compete in the contest, which is played like a game show rather than a pageant like Catminster, another GSN special centering on cats. The show has a top prize of $1,000,000...
, hosted by Chuck Woolery, with a top prize of $1,000,000, one of the few times a game show on cable TV has had that amount as a grand prize.
Syndicated programming
GSN's rerun programming comes primarily from two sources: FremantleMediaFremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
and GSN parent company Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
.
Before Liberty Media purchased 50% of the network, GSN had unlimited access to the game shows owned by Sony Pictures subsidiary Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television was the third name of the television studio Screen Gems, named after its then-current 1991 home video division....
. Once Liberty purchased their stake in the venture, Sony began charging licensing fees for their shows, despite their half-ownership of the network.
From Fremantle, the network licenses Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
(currently only the 1973-82 versions; the 1990-91 version aired on the network in the past), Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
(all except the 1999-2002 Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson
Louie Perry Anderson is an American stand-up comedian. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the second revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002....
-hosted seasons), Password (all versions), and Card Sharks
Card Sharks
Card Sharks is an American television game show created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Two contestants compete for control of a row of oversized playing cards by answering questions posed by the host and then guessing if the next card is higher or lower in value than...
(all except 2001–2002 syndicated). Until March 2009, GSN licensed the entire Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
-Bill Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
library. During two weeks in December 2009, GSN picked up the rights to I've Got a Secret again for a limited return.
In the network's infancy, GSN regularly showcased vintage Goodson-Todman game and panel shows from the 1950s and 1960s, many of which were either originally broadcast or only preserved in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
– such as What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
, I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
, To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock
Beat the Clock is a Goodson-Todman game show which has aired on American television in several versions since 1950.The original show, hosted by Bud Collyer, ran on CBS from 1950–1958 and ABC from 1958–1961. The show was revived in syndication as The New Beat the Clock from 1969–1974, with Jack Narz...
, and others. These classic shows made up much of the channel's lineup at the outset, but have been gradually cut back in prominence since the late 1990s. On October 1, 2006, only What's My Line? had a regular spot on the schedule, late Sunday/early Monday at 3:00 AM Eastern; it was followed by a selection from various 1950s-1970s Goodson-Todman shows, usually another panel game. On December 31, GSN reinstated the Black and White Overnight to 7 days a week from 3:00-4:00 AM, showcasing What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
and I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
in the block; other shows, including Choose Up Sides
Choose Up Sides
Choose Up Sides was a children's television game show that aired on NBC Saturday mornings from January 7 to March 31, 1956. It was hosted by Gene Rayburn and announced by Don Pardo and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions-NBC version:...
, The Name's the Same
The Name's the Same
The Name's the Same is an American game show that was produced by Goodson-Todman for the ABC television network from December 5, 1951 to August 31, 1954, followed by a run from October 25, 1954 to October 7, 1955....
, and the Bud Collyer-hosted primetime version of To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
have been featured, with the latter currently airing following What's My Line?. GSN cancelled Black and White Overnight, effective March 31, 2009.
In December 2010, What's My Line and I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
returned to GSN for 2 weeks only from December 13 to December 30.
GSN, in addition to its Goodson-Todman library, features shows from other companies:
- NBCUniversal Television Distribution: Twenty-OneTwenty One (game show)Twenty One is an American game show which aired in the late 1950s. While it included the most popular contestant of the quiz show era, it became notorious for being a rigged quiz show which nearly caused the demise of the entire genre in the wake of United States Senate investigations...
(2000), Weakest Link, Dog Eat DogDog Eat Dog (US game show)Dog Eat Dog is an American game show, which originally ran from June 17, 2002 to August 26, 2003, it is loosely based on the UK version of the show by the same name...
, Deal or No Deal, and 1 vs. 100 (original version; a 2010 revival is a GSN Original) - Warner Bros. TelevisionWarner Bros. TelevisionWarner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
: Love ConnectionLove ConnectionLove Connection is an American television game show, hosted by Chuck Woolery, in which singles attempted to connect with a compatible partner of the opposite gender. The show debuted in syndication on September 19, 1983 and ended on July 1, 1994, after more than 2,000 shows. Reruns continued to air...
(Woolery) and Street SmartsStreet Smarts (game show)Street Smarts was a United States game show that features two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people that were found on the street. The show aired in syndication from October 2, 2000 to September 23, 2005, hosted by Frank Nicotero.A French-Canadian version, Les... - 20th Television20th Television20th Television is an American television production and syndication company that was formed in 1992 by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, a division of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation....
: GreedGreed (game show)Greed is an American television game show that aired on Fox from November 4, 1999 until July 14, 2000. The game consisted of a team of contestants who answered a series of multiple-choice questions for a potential prize of up to $2 million... - FremantleMedia: Press Your LuckPress Your LuckPress Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
and Let's Make a DealLet's Make a DealLet's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...
(both of which were included in the Goodson-Todman license from the company, although made by other companies – Bill Carruthers and Hatos-Hall, respectively) - CBS Television DistributionCBS Television DistributionCBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
: Hollywood SquaresHollywood SquaresHollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
(Bergeron version only in conjunction with Sony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
)
GSN also airs, or has aired, the Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
library programming from the following examples:
- Barris Industries/The Guber-Peters Entertainment Company: The Newlywed GameThe Newlywed GameThe Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
, The Dating GameThe Dating GameThe Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, The Gong ShowThe Gong ShowThe Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
(except the Gary OwensGary OwensGary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
version), 3's a CrowdThree's a Crowd (game show)Three's a Crowd was an American game show originally packaged by Chuck Barris Productions. The first version aired in syndication from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980...
, and Quiz Kids ChallengeQuiz Kids ChallengeThe Quiz Kids Challenge is an American game show series that aired in syndication from September 10 to December 28, 1990. It was a slightly different version of the Quiz Kids, and was hosted by Jonathan Prince and announced by Johnny Gilbert and Charlie Tuna.-Gameplay:A team of three Quiz Kids...
. - Barry & Enright ProductionsBarry & Enright ProductionsBarry & Enright Productions , was a United States television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright.-History:Jack Barry and Dan Enright first met at radio station WOR in New York, where...
(except the pre-scandal owned by NBCUniversal Television and those owned in partnership by StudioCanalStudioCanalStudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
and CBS Television DistributionCBS Television DistributionCBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
): Tic-Tac-DoughTic-Tac-DoughTic-Tac-Dough is an American television game show based on the pen-and-paper game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, X or O, on the board. Three versions were produced: the initial 1956–59 run on NBC, a 1978–1986 run initially on...
(1978-1986 syndicated), The Joker's WildThe Joker's WildThe Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
(1972-1986 versions), Break the BankBreak the Bank (1976)Break the Bank is an American game show created by Jack Barry and Dan Enright and produced by their production company Barry & Enright Productions...
(1976-1977 versions), and Bumper StumpersBumper StumpersBumper Stumpers is a Canadian game show in which two teams of two players attempted to decipher vanity license plates. It aired on the USA Network in the United States and on the Global Television Network in Canada from June 29, 1987 to December 28, 1990...
. - Merv Griffin EnterprisesMerv Griffin EnterprisesMerv Griffin Enterprises was a television production company founded by Merv Griffin, in business from 1964 to 1994.-History:The company was first established as Merv Griffin Productions in 1964 and Griffin's first production was Jeopardy! In 1965, his talk show The Merv Griffin Show returned to...
: Headline ChasersHeadline ChasersHeadline Chasers is a syndicated game show that ran daily from September 9, 1985 to September 5, 1986. The series was created, hosted, and produced by Wink Martindale with Johnny Gilbert as announcer...
, Jeopardy!Jeopardy!Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
(for Wheel, exceptions are the Benirschke and Goen versions). - Stewart Tele EnterprisesStewart Tele EnterprisesStewart Tele Enterprises was an American major game show production company formed by Bob Stewart in 1964 originally based in New York City.-History:...
(excepting the 1970s Jackpot!, The $50,000 Pyramid, shows owned by CBS Television Distribution, and the 1991 The $100,000 Pyramid (jointly owned by CTD and StudioCanal)): Jackpot!Jackpot (game show)Jackpot! is a television game show seen in three different runs between 1974 and 1990. Geoff Edwards hosted the original version of this Bob Stewart production from January 7, 1974 until September 26, 1975 on NBC. A second version, produced in Canada, aired from September 30, 1985 to December 30,...
, Pass the BuckPass the Buck (game show)Pass the Buck is a game show that aired on CBS television's daytime lineup from April 3 to June 30, 1978. The series was hosted by Bill Cullen and was created by Bob Stewart. Bob Clayton was the announcer.-Gameplay:...
, GoGo (game show)Go is an American television game show created by Bob Stewart and aired on NBC from October 3, 1983 to January 20, 1984. The show featured two teams, each composed of four contestants and a celebrity. The teams had to construct questions one word at a time to convey a word or phrase to their...
, Chain ReactionChain Reaction (game show)Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
, and the surviving PyramidPyramid (game show)Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
incarnations. - Columbia Pictures TelevisionColumbia Pictures TelevisionColumbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
: Dealer's ChoiceDealer's ChoiceDealer's Choice is a play by Patrick Marber first performed at the Royal National Theatre in London in February 1995 where it won both the 1995 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and the Writers' Guild Award for Best West End Play....
, The Diamond Head GameThe Diamond Head GameThe Diamond Head Game is an American game show that aired from January 6 to July 4, 1975 in five-day-a-week syndication. Borrowing its name from a long dormant volcano on the island of Oahu, the series was hosted by Bob Eubanks and assistant Jane Nelson, and is the only game show that was taped...
, and The Fun Factory (all were produced by Fishman-Freer Productions). - 2waytraffic2waytraffic2waytraffic is a television production company based in Hilversum, Netherlands. It was established in 2004 by former Endemol executives Kees Abrahams, Unico Glorie, Taco Ketelaar and Henk Keilman....
: That's the QuestionThat's the QuestionThat's the Question is an American quiz game show on GSN hosted by Bob Goen which aired from October 2, 2006 to December 1, 2007. The first season was shot in the Netherlands with Canadians and Americans who live there as contestants. The second season was filmed in Los Angeles aired on September... - Columbia TriStar Television/Sony Pictures Television: Pyramid (Osmond), Russian RouletteRussian Roulette (game show)Russian Roulette is an American game show created by executive producer Gunnar Wetterberg that ran for two seasons on Game Show Network from June 3, 2002 to June 13, 2003. It was hosted by Mark L. Walberg, with Burton Richardson announcing. Todd Newton hosted an April Fool's Day episode in 2003....
, new incarnations and new series co-produced by Sony-owned Embassy Row, and post-1994 episodes of Wheel and Jeopardy!.
In October 2003, GSN acquired the rerun rights to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (from Disney-ABC Domestic Television) and have added more episodes since, including the Super Millionaire spin-off from 2005–2007. Among the most well-known classic game shows previously aired regularly on the network are The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
, The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
, Tattletales
Tattletales
Tattletales is a game show which first aired on the CBS daytime schedule on February 18, 1974. It was hosted by Bert Convy, with several announcers, including Jack Clark, Gene Wood, Johnny Olson and John Harlan, providing the voiceover at various times...
, Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
, The Dating Game
The Dating Game
The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, and various versions of Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
. Some of these shows still continued to be aired occasionally as part of special events, such as Dick Clark's Pyramid in honor of New Year's Rockin' Eve on December 31.
The Price Is Right
The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
, Goodson-Todman's longest-running game show, did not appear on GSN's regular schedule until December 1996. Episodes that featured fur coats or other animal-related prizes were not aired, following Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
's animal-rights wishes. The show's GSN premiere was delayed almost two years in order to remove such episodes from the rotation. The show originally appeared on GSN in occasional pre-emptions of regularly scheduled series such as Match Game or Family Feud, and earned a regular spot just ten months before the network's rights to air the Goodson-Todman library expired.
Various versions of the show were broadcast, specifically those hosted by Barker, Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, and Tom Kennedy (plus one episode sub-hosted by 1972-1977 nighttime host Dennis James
Dennis James
Dennis James was an American television personality, actor, and announcer. He is credited as the host of television's first network game show, the DuMont Network's Cash and Carry in 1946...
, aired on the day of his death in 1997). In December 1996, Price began airing regularly on the schedule, with half-hour Barker shows in the morning and hour-long episodes in the afternoon and evening, Kennedy shows in late-night, and the Cullen version as part of what was then billed as "Sentimental Sunday". No episodes from either the 1972-1980 or 1994-1995 syndicated versions aired during this time, the former mostly due to Barker's fur ban and the latter due to rights issues involving Paramount Television.
GSN's contract to air Price expired in April 2000 and has not been renewed since. Most Price reruns are held not entirely by FremantleMedia, but also through CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
, as CBS currently licenses the American Price franchise from Fremantle. GSN would have to pay royalties to both CBS and Fremantle to gain the rights to the show.
GSN HD
Game Show Network also has a 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
, that launched September 15, 2010. It is currently carried nationwide on Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
and in limited markets on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, Service Electric
Service Electric
Service Electric Cable TV, Inc. is a cable television company serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Through three affiliates, the company operates systems in the Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre , Kutztown, Hazleton, Sunbury, Mahanoy City and Bloomsburg , and Sparta, New Jersey...
, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
. Ironically, DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, which owns 60% of GSN, does not carry it in high definition.
See also
- Challenge (a United Kingdom channel devoted to airing British game shows from various archives along with some international games)
- GameTV (a Canadian channel devoted to airing Canadian game shows and game-show documentaries)
- Nickelodeon GASNickelodeon Games and Sports for KidsNickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids was an American cable television network that was part of MTV Networks's suite of digital cable channels. The channel was available to all Digital cable providers and satellite provider Dish Network...
(a now-defunct channel devoted to airing Nickelodeon game shows)