The Price Is Right

The current U.S. version logo

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 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 has hosted the program.

In the show, contestants compete to win cash and prizes by guessing the pricing of 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 premiered, it has also been adapted in several international formats around the world, most notably in the United Kingdom, Australia and Mexico.

In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #5 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.^[3]

1956–65

The original version of The Price Is Right was first broadcast on NBC, and later ABC, from 1956 to 1965. Hosted by Bill Cullen, it involved four contestants bidding on a wide array of merchandise prizes, whose values ranged anywhere from a few dollars, (in many cases, "bonus" prizes were attached after the fact, to the winner) to thousands, 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). Depending on the prize, contestants were allowed, in proper turn, to make multiple bids; or only allowed one bid. In the case of the former, each contestant would bid on the displayed item, until a buzzer sounded. They could make a final bid, or "freeze." The contestant whose bid was closest to the correct value of the prize – and had not gone over that value – won it. There was also a special game set aside for the home viewer, which offered several prizes in a package, which usually included a luxury vacation trip, and/or a new car as part of the package. Viewers would submit their bids via post cards; the winner being announced on the air. At the end of each episode, the contestant who had won the most (by dollar value) was declared the winner and became the returning champion, entitled to play again in the next episode. This version began humbly enough, as part of NBC's daytime schedule. An alleged series of technical problems made the pilot episode look bad enough for NBC to decline buying the show, but after an appeal from the producers, citing the fact that at that time all TV shows were given up to an initial 13 weeks to succeed or fail, it aired anyway. NBC was still all but convinced it would bomb. It would become successful enough, however, to warrant a second version of the series to begin on prime time in the fall of 1957. Shown weekly, that version also had the distinction of being the first TV game show to be broadcast in color.^[4] After being a Top-10 prime time show for some time its ratings would gradually but noticeably decline, and by 1963, NBC would cancel it, only to have it picked up by ABC. ABC's primetime version ran for one full season (1963–64), and the daytime version ended in 1965.

1972–present

Format

In this version, four contestants place a single bid on an initial prize, in dollars only, as prices are rounded to the nearest dollar. The contestant who bids closest to the prize's actual retail price without going over wins it and then plays one of several pricing games for cash and/or an additional, higher-value prize or group of prizes. Two contestants are selected to compete against each other in the Showcase at the end of the episode for the chance to win a collection of prizes.

When the show debuted, episodes were 30 minutes in length; three pricing games were played, and the two contestants with the highest total winnings played for the Showcases. The current hour-long format debuted on November 3, 1975, with six pricing games per episode. A new feature, the Showcase Showdown, was introduced at this time and has remained in use ever since. The three contestants who make their way on stage in each half of the show spin a large wheel, which is labeled with money amounts from five cents to $1.00 in five-cent increments. The contestants spin the wheel once and then optionally a second time, and the contestant with the total score closest to $1.00 without going over is brought back to compete for the Showcases at the end of the show. Any contestant who scores exactly $1.00, either on the first spin or as a total from two spins, wins an extra $1,000 and gets a bonus spin. On the bonus spin, the contestant can win additional money if the wheel lands on one of two specially-colored green sections or the $1.00 space.

History

Bob Barker hosted from September 4, 1972, to June 15, 2007. During his 35 years as host, Barker won numerous awards and honors including Daytime Emmys and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Directors of the show included Marc Breslow, Paul Alter, and Bart Eskander, with Eskander receiving a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Direction of a Game Show. Producer Roger Dobkowitz won a Daytime Emmy for his work on the show, which included the development of many of the show's games that are still being played today.

After a season-long search for a successor, Drew Carey took the helm of the show, with production resuming in August 2007, and his first episode airing on October 15. It is believed to be the longest-running game show on television (the Spanish-language variety show Sábado Gigante ended on September 19, 2015).^[5][6] It is also the longest running game show airing episodes five days-per-week 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 U.S. 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. On occasion since 1986, special episodes have aired during prime time hours, most notably to fill in gaps between the Survivor series, and during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.

On September 22, 2008, Terry Kneiss made game show history by bidding the exact amount of his $23,743 showcase. Taping of the show immediately stopped, with Carey and show staffers concerned that cheating was taking place. It was later learned that—by constantly watching the show, noticing the frequency of certain products showing up on the show, and using statistical analysis—Kneiss and his wife Linda, who was in the studio audience, had legitimately determined the exact prices of the items in the showcase. Kneiss was awarded the prizes, and the show subsequently discontinued featuring certain products.^[7]

On April Fools' Day in 2014, Craig Ferguson and Carey switched hosting duties, with Carey hosting the The Late Late Show and Ferguson taking over the hosting duties on The Price Is Right. The episode also featured Shadoe Stevens as announcer. Barker appeared on the April Fools' Day episode in 2015, hosting the first item up for bids and the first pricing game, with Carey hosting the remainder of the episode.^[8][9]

Broadcast history

Specials

A number of special series have aired, beginning with The Price Is Right Special, a primetime summer series which aired on CBS in 1986, hosted by Barker. In 2002, a number of special episodes titled The Price Is Right Salutes aired in primetime, saluting the branches of the United States armed forces, and the police and firefighters of America in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular was a series of primetime specials airing from 2003 until 2008 featuring chances at winning $1,000,000, as well as more expensive prizes than on the daytime counterpart.

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 Rich Fields, who was the show's announcer at the time of the release of the video games in question.

In September 2010, Ludia released the official Facebook version of The Price Is Right game. The game had two million monthly active users only two months after the launch.^[10]

In October 2011, Ludia (now owned by RTL Group) released The Price Is Right Decades, a video game featuring production elements from various decades of the show, for the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 to celebrate their 40 years on the CBS network.

International versions

The 1972 revised format appeared on Australian television the following year and debuted in the U.K. in 1984. The format has also been adapted elsewhere around the world. Hosts and models from the versions in other countries have made appearances on the U.S. version, usually sitting in the audience and acknowledged by the host during the broadcast. Barker and then-music-director Stan Blits appeared on the Carlo Boszhard-hosted Cash en Carlo at the start of the 200th episode.

     Currently airing        Ended  

Country	Title	Network	Host	Duration dates	Notes
Argentina	El Precio Justo	Canal 9	Fernando Bravo	1990s	Used a similar set to U.S. version and a similar logo to French version
Australia	The Price Is Right	ATN-7 (1957–59) GTV-9 (1958) Seven Network (1963) Network Ten (1973–74)	Bruce Beeby (1957) Geoff Manion (1958) Keith Walshe (1959) Horrie Dargie (1963) Garry Meadows (1973–74)	1957–74	Original series
	The Price Is Right	Seven Network (1981–86, 2012) Network Ten (1989) Nine Network (1993–98, 2003–05)	Ian Turpie (1981–86, 1989) Larry Emdur (1993–98, 2003–05, 2012)	September 7, 1981 – November 24, 2005; May 7, 2012 – December 19, 2012	Both versions feature similar elements to U.S. version: the "Double Bullseye" playoff and a pricing game similar to the current U.S.'s "Easy as 1 2 3" are used for the Showcase
Belgium	De Juiste Prijs Le Juste Prix	VTM RTL TVI	Jan Theys Koen Wauters Michaël Dufour Sacha Cortez	2010	Both versions feature similar elements to French version
Brazil	O Preço Certo	SBT Rede Record	Silvio Santos Juan Alba	1980s; October 2009 – June 2010	Juan Alba's version used a similar set to the UK Joe Pasquale's show (and the French show) and the same theme tune as the UK, while Silvio Santos' version used similar elements to U.S. show
Bulgaria	Това е цената Tova e Cenata This is the price	bTV (Bulgaria)	Veselin Kalanovski Niki Stanoev(co-host)	October 20 – November 10, 2013 January 4, 2014–	Aired every Sunday (21:00–22:00 EET); stopped after episode four and it was announced that it was its pilot season; restarted January 2014 and aired every Saturday form 18:00 to 19:00 EET
Canada	Misez Juste (1994–95) Price Is Right: À vous de jouer (2011–12)	TQS (1994–95) V (2011–12)	Alain Léveillé (1994–95) Philippe Bond (2011–12)	1994–95; September 2011–12	The original French-Canadian version had a significantly cheaper budget (car rentals in place of cars, trips to Halifax and Cuba) and a set more akin to Let's Make a Deal; aired twice a week, unlike the two other versions airing at the time (The U.S. version airs on English-language Canadian stations)
Chile	Diga lo que vale	Canal 13	Don Francisco	1981–87
China	购物街 Gòu Wù Jiē	CCTV-2	Gao Bo Chen Beibei	2007–11	Name translates to "Shopping Street"; borrows many elements from the U.S. version
	全是你的 Quan Shi Ni De"	Beijing TV	Li Yong	2015	Used some similar formats to the U.S. version and previous one on CCTV-2
Colombia	El precio es correcto	RTI on Cadena Uno or Cadena Dos (1981–8?)[11][12] Caracol TV (2011)	Gloria Valencia de Castaño[12] (1981–8?) Iván Lalinde (2011)	1981–8? 2011	1980s: The second game, Grand Game, was called El Mercadito (The Little Supermarket); the fourth game was a Colombian rendition of Race Game 2011: A new season, presented by Iván Lalinde, started April 11, 2011 on Caracol TV;[13] this version borrowed many elements from the Mexican show
Egypt	The Price Is Right Beckham	Al Nahar	Edward	2015
Estonia	Kuum Hind	Kanal 2	Emil Rutiku	October 2007
Finland	Mitä maksaa?	MTV3 Nelonen	Mikko Yoderson Petri Liski	1983–88 1998–2000
France	Le Juste Prix	TF1	Max Meynier Eric Galliano Patrick Roy Philippe Risoli Vincent Lagaf'	1987–88 1988 1988–92 1992–2001 2009–15	Aired at 12:05 on TF1 and became one of the most famous game shows of the 1990s. Currently, a version with Vincent Lagaf' is aired on TF1 at 19:00.
	Le Juste Euro	France 2	Patrice Laffont	2001-2002	the series only lasted for three weeks and was aired in December 2001 until January 2002. The show was later replaced by Attention à la marche! (Watch your step!) hosted by Jean-Luc Reichmann.
Germany	Der Preis ist heiß	RTL	Harry Wijnvoord	May 2, 1989 – 1997	The first season used a set that had lots of pink and blue, the later series had a set that somewhat resembled the American set; the theme music was also changed to the American theme; the intro later included a light box, like the U.S. version, both series used similar props to U.S. show. It was recently featured on Germany's Gameshow Marathon.
Greece	H тіμή тiμή δεv έχεi/Timidenehei The Price Value Is	ANT1	Elias Mpenetos	1991
India	Yehi Hai Right Price	Zee	Rohit Roy
Indonesia	Tebak Harga (2001–02) The Price is Right (2003–05, 2010)	Trans TV (2001–02; 2003–05) Indosiar (2010)	Farhan (2001–02; 2003–05) Stenny Agustaf & VJ Surya (2010)	December 17, 2001 – August 16, 2002; May 2, 2003 – May 27, 2005; August 11–November 10, 2010	The show was on TransTV and hosted by Muhammad Farhan (commonly known by his last name only)
Israel	פחות או יותר Pachot o' Yoter	Channel 2	Aki Avni	1995–98
Italy	OK, il Prezzo è Giusto!	Italia 1 (1983–87) Canale 5 (1988–96) Rete 4 (1987–88; 1996–2001)	Gigi Sabani (1983–86) Iva Zanicchi (1987–2000) Emanuela Folliero (1999) Maria Teresa Ruta (2000–01)	1983–86; 1987–99; May–June 1999; September 1999 – June 2000; September 2000 – June 2001	The second longest continually-running version of The Price Is Right, airing from 1983 to 2001; one of three versions to be hosted by a woman; largely faithful to the U.S. version, but the last two seasons altered the format slightly to use the Showcase round seen on the U.K. version
Japan	The Chance ザ・チャンス！ Za cha-n-su	Tokyo Broadcasting System	Pink Lady Shiro Ito Masayuki Yuhara	1979–86	JNN affiliates did not yet exist in Yamagata, Toyama, and Ehime prefectures when the program was broadcast. The program began broadcasting in Fukushima Prefecture in late 1983, when JNN affiliate TUF started operations.
Latvia	Veiksmes cena	TV3	Valters Krauze	January 7, 2007
Lebanon	The Price Is Right بلا TVA	LBC (2010–11) MBC 4 (2011–Present)	Tony Baroud	May 25, 2010–present	Uses similar elements to French Version, like sound effects
Mexico	El Precio Es Blanco	Imevisión	Ángel Fernández	1980s	Sponsored by the Departament store chain Blanco, later Gigante, and now Soriana.
	Atinale Al Precio	Televisa	Marco Antonio Regil (1997–99, 2010)	1997–99 2010	The 2010 version uses similar elements to the British version; in 2007, Regil auditioned to replace Barker for the United States version.[14]
Morocco	السعر الصحيح Al seer al Saheeh	2M		2002
Netherlands	Prijs je Rijk Prijzenslag Cash en Carlo The Price is Right	AVRO RTL 4 Yorin SBS 6	Fred Oster Hans Kazan Carlo Boszhard Eddy Zoëy	1986-1988 1989–95 2002–04 2012	Prijs je Rijk used the U.S. theme and similar set; Prijzenslag was based on Germany's Der Preis ist Heiss and Bob Warman's in the UK; Cash En Carlo was a version of many European versions to borrow the format of Bruce's in the UK (although it doesn't borrow the UK version's props and music cues, but uses another remix of the U.S. Price is Right theme as "Come on down" music)
New Zealand	The Price Is Right	TV3	Dave Jamieson	1992	Filmed at TVNZ's Avalon Studios in Wellington, even though the show screened on the opposition network TV3; sponsored by the Farmers department store chain and Farmers actually changed their slogan around this time to Farmers, "Where The Price Is Right". In recent years, the Australian version had been screened on New Zealand's Prime Television.
Pakistan	The Price Is Right	Geo TV	Ali Salman	2010	Uses similar elements to Bruce's Price Is Right and current U.S. logo in tones of blue
Peru	Diga lo que Vale	Panamericana Televisión	Johnny López	1982–84; 1987	Featured a similar set to American version and a remix of the U.S. Opening as main theme.
Philippines	The Price Is Right	ABC	Dawn Zulueta	2001–2003	The only other version of the show known to have used the Australian version of the Showcase; the first version of show ran on ABC-5 as part of the network's response to the popularity of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on IBC 13
		ABS-CBN	Kris Aquino	February 14, 2011 – August 13, 2011	A second Philippine version of the show was produced by ABS-CBN and hosted by Kris Aquino
Poland	Dobra cena	TVN	Grzegorz Wons	1997–98	One of the many European versions that used Bruce's Price Is Right music
Portugal	O Preço Certo O Preço Certo em Euros (January 2002 – March 2006)	RTP1	Carlos Cruz and Nicolau Breyner Jorge Gabriel and then Fernando Mendes	Late 1980s – early 1990s (first edition); January 2002 – March 2006; September 2006–present	The title was changed to O Preco Certo em Euros when the escudo was dropped and the Euro was introduced, with Jorge Gabriel and then Fernando Mendes as host, and Miguel Vital as announcer; this version used Bruce's Price Is Right props and music (but used a synthesized version of the U.S. theme for its closing music); when the show still used the escudo, it used a set similar to the U.S. show (and the German show) and the same music cues as the US; in Autumn 2006 the show re-launched once again and took its inspiration from the new UK version by using a similar set and music. The show also removed "em Euros" from the name making its new title O Preço Certo since the Euro has been in use for seven years
Romania	Preţul Correct	ProTV	Stelian Nistor / Constantin Cotimanis	December 1997–March 2000
	Spune-mi Preţul	Kanal D	Cosmin Cernat	2009
Russia	Цена удачи Tsena udachi	NTV	Boris Smolkin, replaced by Anton Komolov	September 11, 2005 – June 25, 2006
Singapore	The Price is Right	Mediacorp Channel 5
Slovakia	Cena je správna	TV JOJ	Matej Sajfa Michal Hudák	2013–2014
Spain	El Precio Justo	TVE1 (1988–93,1999–2002) Antena 3 (2006–07)	Joaquín Prat (1988–93) Carlos Lozano (1999–2001) Guillermo Romero (2001–02) Juan y Medio (2006–07)	1988–93 1999–2002 2006–07	The 1988–93 used a similar set to UK Leslie Crowther's show and featured a Showcase played similarly to the U.S. version but featured only one Showcase on which both contestants bid; the 1999–2002 (Based in Bruce's Price Is Right) and 2006–07 (Based in UK Joe Pasquale's show) formats were somewhat resembled to American version and used an hybrid of the UK and U.S. showcase. After the top winner selected a range at random, both contestants bid on the Showcase, hoping that their bid were the fell within the selected range and the closest without going over of the actual price.
Thailand	ทายได้ให้เลย (2003–04) The Price is Right Thailand ราคาพารวย/The Price is Right Thailand's Rich Price (2015–present)	Royal Thai Army Radio and Television Channel 5 (2003–04) True 4U (2015–present)	Bundit Kosolpisit (2003–04) Ketsetsawat Palakawong Na Ayutthaya (2015–present)	2003–04 2015–present	The first version features similar elements to Mexican show
Turkey	Kaç Para?	aTV	Özkan Uğur Vatan Şaşmaz	September 8, 2003 – January 23, 2004; 2011	The 2011 version borrowed many elements from the French version like logo and intro and game styles and features a Single-player showcase similarly played as the UK version, hoping that their bid is within the range, high or low
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
Venezuela	El Precio Justo	RCTV Televen	Winston Vallenilla	2002 2011–present
Vietnam	Hãy chọn giá đúng	VTV3	Lại Văn Sâm (2004) Lưu Minh Vũ (2004–12) Trần Ngọc (2012–present)	2004–Present	Uses a similar set to U.S. version; was hosted by one of the channel's most popular personalities, Lại Văn Sâm (also emcee of the Vietnamese version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, called Ai là triệu phú), and later was hosted by Lưu Minh Vũ from then till May 2012; Trần Ngọc took over as host in June 2012

See also

List of television show franchises

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-related interview videos at the Archive of American Television