Game shows have died out since the ‘90s with the odd exception here and there. What would it take to keep them popular enough to go into present day and be relatively successful? They don’t have to rule daytime but get decent respectable ratings.
AHC: Keep Game Shows going until present day
- Thread starter 20thCenturyBoy
- Start date
Well yes but they’re exceptions. In the ‘70s there were tons of game shows on. Now there’s only 5 mainstream. Three of them are so old you just can’t cancel them (Jeopardy, Wheel, Price is Right). One new but old (Lets make a deal) and one which is admittingly popular. (Family Feud). I want to see how to make it where game shows are more in the daytime than talk shows.
I'd argue that the reality TV shows are the spiritual successors of the game show, and in that respect, they never went away.
nbcman
Donor
Talk shows and reality TV (like courtroom shows such as Judge Judy) are cheaper to produce and syndicate than game shows. Additionally, the rise of cable channels such as GSN allowed those networks to purchase the rights to older game shows so the 'broadcast' networks have to come up with new game show content rather than retreading an older show. Maybe prevent the rise of the multitude of channels which would allow the broadcast networks to be able to charge more for advertising in game shows to support the production costs of the game show.
It's hard to keep momentum going for more than a few seasons, because you can't really progress game show plot like you can a drama or comedy, outside of just increasing the prize money. You might be able to keep Who Wants to be a Millionaire going long if ABC didn't completely overkill it and start showing it four nights per week. Outside of that, Survivor and the Apprentice have had pretty good runs.