The Price Is Right

The Price Is Right franchise logo, used (with variations) in most countries since 1972.

The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, and is produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed media and board games. The franchise began in 1956 as a television game show hosted by Bill Cullen and was revamped in 1972. This version was originally hosted by Bob Barker. Since 2007, Drew Carey hosts the program.

In the show, contestants compete to win cash and prizes by bidding on the pricing of the merchandise. The program has been critically successful and remains a stalwart in the television ratings.^[1] It also managed to break away from the quiz show format that has been used in other game shows.^[2] Since the current version of The Price is Right premiered, it has also been adapted in several international formats around the world, most notably in the United Kingdom, Australia and Mexico.

1956-1965

The original version of The Price is Right was first transmitted on the NBC, and later ABC, television networks in the United States from 1956 to 1965. Hosted by Bill Cullen, it involved four contestants bidding on expensive products, doing so in the manner of auctions except that Cullen did not act out the role of auctioneer (contestants tried to bid closest to the product's actual retail price without going over that price.) After a set round of bids, the player whose bid was closest to the correct value of the prize – and had not gone over that value – would win it. At the end of each edition, the player who had won the most (by dollar value) was declared the winner and became the returning champion, entitled to play again in the next edition. This version of The Price Is Right ended in 1965.

1972-

The updated version returned to the air in 1972 as The New Price Is Right; the "new" addendum was later removed. It is still in production in the United States. From September 4, 1972, to June 15, 2007, the show was hosted by Bob Barker. Barker's episodes continued to air in reruns until October 15, 2007, when Drew Carey debuted as the new host.

Format

In this new version, four contestants place a single bid on an initial product, in dollars only as the production company will round off all retail prices to the nearest dollar; the player who bids closest to the product's actual retail price without going over then gets to play one of several mini-games, which are called Pricing Games in most countries, including the United States, for an additional and more substantial prize or group of prizes. One contestant, through various elimination formats, could find themselves winning a large showcase of prizes at the show's conclusion by predicting the total price of a "showcase."

Originally thirty minutes in length, the show was expanded to its current hour-long format on November 3, 1975. At this time, a new feature, the "Showcase Showdown," was introduced and remains in use. The three contestants who make their way on stage in each half of the show are asked to spin a large wheel, which is labeled from five cents to one dollar in five cent increments. The contestants in each of the two Showdowns who come closest to one dollar in no more than two spins that then have to take the wheel through one complete revolution, without going over, are brought back to compete for the Showcases at the end of the show.

History

See also The Price Is Right broadcast history.

The 1972 American version was hosted by Bob Barker from September 1972 to June 2007; his last new episode aired on June 15, 2007. After a season-long search for a new host, Drew Carey took the helm of the show, with production resuming in August 2007 and Carey's first episode airing on October 15. It is believed to be the second longest-running game show on television, trailing only the Spanish-language variety show Sábado Gigante;^[3] it is also the longest running five-days-a-week game show in the world. The Price Is Right is the only game show franchise to be seen nationally in either first-run network or syndication airings in the US in every decade from the 1950s onward. CBS has occasionally aired extra episodes of the show for short periods between the cancellation of one daytime program and the premiere of its successor.

Versions and runs

Versions and runs of the current format have included:

• The Price Is Right (1972-Present): The current daytime version; hosted by Bob Barker (1972-2007), and Drew Carey (2007-Present).
• The Price Is Right (1972-1980): A weekly syndicated series hosted by Dennis James (1972-1977) and then Bob Barker (1977-1980). It was referred to on-air as "the nighttime Price Is Right".
• The Price Is Right (1985-1986): A daily syndicated version hosted by Tom Kennedy, also referred to on-air as "the nighttime Price Is Right".
• The Price Is Right Special (1986): A prime time Summer series on CBS hosted by Bob Barker.
• The New Price Is Right (1994-1995): A short-lived daily syndicated nighttime version hosted by Doug Davidson.
• The Price Is Right Salutes (2002): A series of special shows that have been produced based on the current daytime version, and have been aired during CBS's primetime lineup. These specials saluted branches of the United States armed forces, in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
• The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular (2003-Present): Special primetime episodes featuring chances at winning $1,000,000; either as a Showcase Showdown bonus spin in place of its previous grand prize, or in the Drew Carey-hosted specials — meeting a specific goal in a pricing game or bidding within $1000 (or later $500) of the actual retail price of a Showcase (along with the traditional practice of winning both Showcases). More expensive prizes are also offered during these specials, including cash prizes whose amounts are doubled from their daytime counterparts.

International versions

The 1972 revised format appeared on Australian TV the following year and debuted in the UK in 1984; and has also been adapted around the world. A few staff members from the international versions have made appearances on the U.S. version in the audience, namely hosts (so far, only Alain Leveille from the French-Canadian version, Larry Emdur from the Australian version, and Marco Antonio Regil from the Mexican version (along with other staff members) have appeared on the U.S. show, as well as a model from the Italian version.

Region/Country	Local name	Network	Main Host	Date premiered
Argentina	El Precio Justo	Canal 9	Fernando Bravo	1990s
Australia	The Price Is Right	Seven Network Network Ten Nine Network	Ian Turpie Larry Emdur	1981-1989 1993-2005
Belgium	De Juiste Prijs	VTM	Jan Theys
Brazil	O Preço Certo	SBT Rede Record	Silvio Santos Juan Alba	1980s October 2009
Canada French	Misez Juste	TQS	Alain Léveillé	1994-1995
Chile	Diga lo que vale	Canal 13	Don Francisco	1981-1987
China	苟邬其额道 Gòu Wù Jiē Dào	CCTV-2	Gao Bo
Colombia	El Precio es Correcto	Canal Uno	Gloria Valencia de Castaño	1980s
Estonia	Kuum Hind	Kanal 2	Emil Rutiku	October 2007
Finland	Mitä Maksaa	Nelonen MTV3	Mikko Yoderson Petri Liski	1983-1988 1998-2000
France	Le Juste Prix	TF1	Vincent Lagaf'	1987-88 1988 1988-1992 1992-2001 2009-
Germany	Der Preis ist heiß	RTL	Harry Wijnvoord	May 2, 1989-1997
India	Yehi Hai Right Price	Zee
Indonesia	The Price Is Right	Indosiar	TBA	August 10 2010
Israel	פחות או יותר Pachot o' Yoter	Channel 2	Aki Avni	1994
Italy	OK, il Prezzo è Giusto!	Italia 1 Rete 4 Canale 5 Rete 4	Gigi Sabani Iva Zanicchi Emanuela Folliero Iva Zanicchi Maria Teresa Ruta	1983-1986 1987-April 1999 May-June 1999 September 1999-June 2000 September 2000-June 2001
Japan	The Chance	Tokyo Broadcasting System	Shiro Ito	1979-1986
Latvia	Veiksmes cena		Valters Krauze	January 7, 2007
Lebanon	The Price Is Right بلا TVA	LBC	Tony Baroud	May 25, 2010
Meridian Province	El Precio Justo	YASMIN BRINKLOW, SONY TV MERIDIAN
Mexico	Atínale al Precio	Televisa	Marco Antonio Regil (1997-1999, 2010-present)	1997-1999 2010-present
Morocco	السعر الصحيح Al seer al Saheeh	2M		2002
Netherlands	Prijs je Rijk Prijzenslag Cash en Carlo	RTL 4 RTL 7	Fred Oster Hans Kazan Carlo Boszhard	1987 1989-1995 2000
New Zealand	The Price Is Right	TV3	Dave Jamieson	1992
Pakistan	The Price Is Right	Geo TV	Ali Salman	2010
Peru	Diga lo que Vale	Panamericana Televisión	Johnny López	1982-1984; 1987
Philippines	The Price Is Right	ABC-5(now TV5)	Dawn Zulueta	2001-2003
Poland	Dobra cena	TVN	Grzegorz Wons	1997-1998
Portugal	O Preço Certo O Preço Certo em Euros (from January 2002 to March 2006)	RTP1	Carlos Cruz and Nicolau Breyner Jorge Gabriel and then Fernando Mendes	Late '80s / early '90s (first edition) January 2002 - March 2006 Septemer 2006 - present
Romania	Preţul Corect Spune-mi Preţul	ProTV Kanal D	Stelian Nistor Cosmin Cernat	November 1997 2009
Russia	Цена удачи	NTV	Boris Smolkin, replaced by Anton Komolov	September 11, 2005 - June 25, 2006
Spain	El Precio Justo	TVE1 Antena 3	Joaquín Prat Carlos Lozano Guillermo Romero Juan y Medio
Thailand	ทายได้ให้เลย	JSL	Bundit Kosolpisit
Turkey	Kaç Para?	aTV	Özkan Uğur Vatan Şaşmaz	September 8, 2003-January 23, 2004.
United Kingdom	The Price Is Right	ITV Sky One	Leslie Crowther (ITV primetime) Bob Warman (Sky One daytime) Bruce Forsyth (ITV primetime) Joe Pasquale (ITV daytime)	March 24, 1984-January 12, 2007.
United States	The Price Is Right	NBC ABC CBS Syndicated	Bill Cullen (1956-65) Bob Barker (1972-2007 multiple versions) Dennis James (1972-77 syndication) Tom Kennedy (1985-86 syndication) Doug Davidson (1994-95 syndication) Drew Carey (2007-present)	November 26, 1956- March 9, 1965 September 4, 1972-present
Venezuela	El Precio Justo	RCTV	Winston Vallenilla	2002
Vietnam	Hãy chọn giá đúng	VTV3	Lại Văn Sâm (2004) Lưu Minh Vũ (2004-ongoing)	2004

Nations not listed

According to Fremantle's website, versions of the show have also aired in Greece and Lithuania.

Executive producers

Games

Cast

Former cast

See also

• List of television show franchises

Licensed merchandise

Endless Games, which in the past has produced board games based on several other game shows, including The Newlywed Game and Million Dollar Password, distributes home versions of The Price Is Right, featuring the voice of Rich Fields, including a DVD edition and a Quick Picks travel-size edition. Ubisoft also released a video game version of the show for the PC, Nintendo DS, and Wii console on September 9, 2008. An updated version of the game (The Price Is Right: 2010 Edition) was released on September 22, 2009. Both versions feature the voice of announcer Rich Fields.

References

External links

• Official Fremantle website and video social network community for The Price Is Right
• Official CBS website for The Price Is Right
• The Price Is Right at the National Film and Sound Archive

The Price Is Right U.S. versions Current series • 1956-1965 original series • 1994-1995 syndicated series • The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular • The Price Is Right Live! International versions Australia • United Kingdom • Other international versions Major elements One Bid • Showcase Showdown • The Showcase Cliff Hangers • Plinko • Other Pricing Games Hosts (U.S.) Bob Barker • Drew Carey • Bill Cullen • Doug Davidson • Dennis James • Tom Kennedy Others on-air (U.S.) Rich Fields • Johnny Olson • Burton Richardson • Rod Roddy • Models Production staff (U.S.) Paul Alter • Marc Breslow • Roger Dobkowitz • Mark Goodson • Mike Richards • Bob Stewart • Bill Todman • Frank Wayne • Jay Wolpert Notable international hosts Leslie Crowther • Larry Emdur • Bruce Forsyth • Marco Antonio Regil • Gigi Sabani • Ian Turpie • Carlo Boszhard • Iva Zanicchi