Price On Another Network

[tpir73fan]

The poll about TPIR making it to season 40, got me thinking.  When the dreaded day finally comes that CBS decides TPIR has run its course, do you think another network would pick it up?

[chad1m]

Syndication is always a viable option, especially with today's affiliates looking for cheap ways to fill a lot of programming space. An hour's worth of fresh programming would be nice.

[katrinka_ohio]

That's a very good idea.

[brtsimpson142]

Would CBS relinquish the rights though?  Correct me if I'm wrong but even after cancelling Press Your Luck and Family Feud (the Dawson and Combs versions), didn't CBS show reruns for forever, before finally letting the rights go to other networks?  My prediction is, when and if Price does "run its course," they'd probably hold on to the rights so they could do a revival without tripping over anyone else's schedule.  Same principle as why there's no Bob-Drew overlap now--if they revived the show with a new host and set, I can see how they mightn't want a previous version showing elsewhere that would cause audiences to compare.

[leafsfan17]

When and if TPIR gets the dreaded cancellation slip from CBS, I really don't see another network picking up the show nor do I see it going into syndication. I have gotten used to seeing Price on CBS all these years, so I don't think seeing it on a netowrk other than CBS would appeal to me.

[imhomerjay]

NBC has shown zero interest in much else other than expanding the Today franchise, and at this point would have to be considered a long, long, long shot to consider a game show in daytime (on the network side; the station group could buy something on the syndicated market, but that's not the scenario).

ABC?  The View remains strong, and it would seem unlikely it's going anywhere for the near term, and that's the only slot they have right now.  The future of soaps may be murky long-term, but for now that block isn't going anywhere.

And that leaves...what, the co-owned CW?  Price has a better chance of outliving the CW than the other way around.  Fox hasn't done network daytime in quite some time, and a game show seems unlikely.

And then finally, there's the bigger issue.  The likely reason for a cancellation would be ratings that don't justify the cost.  After something in the neighborhood of 40 years under the hypothetical scenario, why would another network jump right in to scoop up something that was dropped because it finally reached the end of its life?  Even the few instances of prime-time shows getting picked up by one network after getting cut elsewhere have an underlying financial interest at work (Scrubs being produced by a Disney unit, etc.).  Nothing like that is at work with Price.

[nickkrol]

I actually thought about this a few times.  My prediction would be that if Price were canceled, CBS would hold on to it at least for awhile (or a long time) and run occasional/limited series of primetime million dollar spectaculars and/or just the show (without the million) in primetime.

Either while that's happening or after CBS finally does dive it up for good, I could see Fremantle trying to syndicate it.  I'm not sure how feasible it would be since it would require a 60-minute slot on a station / many 60-minute syndicated shows do not exist.  Perhaps they would change back into a 30 minute show.

As far as appearing on another network:
-Broadcast Network Daytime: The only way I could ever see that happening would be if ABC canceled one of their soaps or NBC went through with the cancellation of Days of our Lives, in other words Price would replace a program.  There is no way that Price nor any other show would be "added" to the daytime network schedule this day in age because it would involve taking time away from the affiliates.  (See my post from awhile back: http://www.golden-road.net/index.php/topic,1986.msg34071.html#msg34071)

-Broadcast Network Prime Time: If it were done once a week or as an occasional special, maybe, but like I said earlier, I think CBS, if anyone, would be the one to do this.

-Cable Network: Doubtful.  Any TV production requires alot of effort, but in my opinion Price would require ALOT of effort for a cable game show.  Most games which air exclusively on cable are relatively simple (e.g. GSN originals).  Plus, on a cable network the show probably wouldn't stand out as much from other cable shows, further raisng my doubts that a network would be willing to produce it.

In the end, I'm willing to go with my original thoughts that Primetime CBS Price will stick around after the daytime is gone and maybe it will wind up in first-run syndication.

[jharvey79]

Unfortunately I think once the show is cancelled, that will be it.  I feel it may just hit 40, but beyond that is a crapshoot. 

The other networks will not pick it up because if the show has declining ratings, they would not want something to pull their network down. It probably will not go into syndication; if the popularity decreases on that show, why would people all of a sudden watch it in syndication? It just does not seem all that feasible.

Having said that, I really hope it does happen. The best scenario for the short term would be for Carey to realize he has it too good on the show. The real question would be what happens when his contract ends.

[Jnelson09]

NBC has shown zero interest in much else other than expanding the Today franchise, and at this point would have to be considered a long, long, long shot to consider a game show in daytime (on the network side; the station group could buy something on the syndicated market, but that's not the scenario).

NBC actually considered reviving Concentration not too long ago. In daytime. With Matt Lauer hosting. It almost made it to air.

[tpir73fan]

The best scenario for the short term would be for Carey to realize he has it too good on the show. The real question would be what happens when his contract ends.

I've often wondered this too.  If ratings are still declining, or have declined and leveled off, I think that CBS and Fremantle need to take a good, hard look at whether or not they made the correct choice for their host.  However, if Drew decides not to re-new his contract, then that pretty much makes it all a moot point.

[price_authority]

Would CBS relinquish the rights though?

CBS has no rights to relinquish. The rights are held 100% by Fremantle.

[leafsfan17]

CBS has no rights to relinquish. The rights are held 100% by Fremantle.

I believe price_authority is correct.

[SteveGavazzi]

Correct me if I'm wrong but even after cancelling Press Your Luck and Family Feud (the Dawson and Combs versions), didn't CBS show reruns for forever, before finally letting the rights go to other networks?

No...and Dawson's Feud wasn't even on CBS.  It aired on ABC.

[Superballer]

I'm pretty sure someone will try a revival at some point after the current run comes to an end--probably not immediately, since as noted rights would likely need to be negotiated to a degree depending on who would broadcast it, and they'd probably like a buffer period anyway to get the TV audience miss the show enough to be pumped up by a revival.  The current run will probably end for good when the current staff or the network decide they've had enough; if nothing else, the costs of transporting the sets to a new location would likely be prohibitively high, and even if they did, it's likely another network would be bent on spending less than even the current somewhat depressed budget offers, and certainly we the viewers wouldn't want to see the show run with absolute minimal standards.  Rather that they make the final episode when it comes a seminal event and promote it as such for what it will be, the ending of an era in television history, which will maximize the ratings at any rate and be a fitting epitaph to the great world we all once knew.  

[GameShowFan1987]

No...and Dawson's Feud wasn't even on CBS.  It aired on ABC.

I think he was referring to the 1994-1995 syndicated Dawson run which was indeed TAPED at CBS.