Sale of the Century

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$ale of the Century

Genre	Game show
Creator(s)	Jones-Howard Productions, Reg Grundy Productions
Starring	see article
Country of origin	United States, Australia, United Kingdom, et al.
No. of episodes	in Australia 4610 (1980 - 2001)
Production
Running time	30 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC (USA); Nine Network (AUS); ITV (UK), et al.
Original run	September 29, 1969 (USA); 1971 (UK); 1980 (AUS) – March 24, 1989 (USA), current (AUS)

Countries which have their own version

Sale of the Century is an international television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. The show found its biggest success in Australia, where it aired weeknights from 1980 to 2001. A new version has aired in Australia since May 2005 under the title of Temptation.

The format is a general knowledge quiz, where contestants (usually three) earn money for correct answers, and occasionally have the chance to "buy" heavily-discounted prizes with their score money via "Instant Bargains" (also known as "The Gift Shop"). Long-running champions would compete to win enough money to buy larger prizes, such as trips or cars, at show's end; more successful ones could end up buying all the prizes on offer and/or a large cash jackpot.

After its original run (1969-74) in the USA and during its successful run (1971-83) in the UK, the format was purchased by Australian TV mogul Reg Grundy, whose Grundy Television had produced a similarly formatted program called Temptation (as well as a primetime version called The Great Temptation) between 1971 and 1976. The Grundy version of Sale premiered on Nine Network on July 14, 1980 and became a massive success, spawning versions all across the world (including new versions in the United States and the United Kingdom). At its close in 2001 it was Australia's longest-running game show (a record since surpassed by Wheel of Fortune).

The game format varied in its details over the years and in various nations, however the core format which debuted in the 1980 Australian version, remained unchanged.

[edit] Versions throughout the world

In the United States, Sale of the Century made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. The series aired until July 13, 1973, then aired in a weekly syndicated version for one additional year. A new version of the show ran weekday mornings (again on NBC) from January 3, 1983 to March 24, 1989, with a concurrent version airing weeknights in syndication from January 1985 to September 1986. The original version was hosted by Jack Kelly and later by Joe Garagiola. Both of the 1980s versions were hosted by Jim Perry. A syndicated edition of Temptation is set for a September premiere. Rossi Morreale is scheduled to host.
The United Kingdom version of Sale of the Century, produced by Anglia Television, was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. A 1988 remake presented by Peter Marshall aired on Sky TV, and Keith Chegwin hosted a Challenge TV version in 1997 and 1998.
In Australia, Tony Barber hosted the original Temptation series and later hosted Sale of the Century from its 1980 debut until 1991, when Glenn Ridge took over for the rest of its run. The current Temptation is co-hosted by Ed Phillips and Livinia Nixon. All have aired on Channel Nine.
In New Zealand, the host of the show was ex-radio DJ Steve Parr (assisted first by Judith "Jude" Dobson (née Kirk) and then later by Julie White after the show switched networks). The show ran on TVNZ from 1989 to 1993 and later TV3 in 1994,. Grant Walker was the announcer.
A Hong Kong version debuted in 1982 ("Dat Sou But").
The hosts for the German version (Hopp Oder Top) included Andreas Similia, Thomy Aigner and Hermann Toelcke, and has run on Tele 5 from 1990 to 1992 and a few months in 1993 on DSF.
In Greece, the show's title translated as "The Boss Has Gone Crazy".
Paraguay had its own version ("La Venta del Siglo") from the mid-1990s until at least 1998.
As of 2004, India has had a version called Super Sale, hosted by Sajid Khan, for the STAR One channel.
As of 2006, South Africa has its own version of the show (called Temptation, just like the current Australian revival). It airs on M-Net, and the host is James Lennox while Bridget Masina is the hostess. M-Net also has a version airing out of Nigeria, where it follows a similar format, with contestants competing to win prizes of more than US$100,000 (about 13,000,000 Nigerian naira).