{"id":2338589,"date":"2024-09-09T08:43:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T12:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bad-ratings-and-bidenflation-destroyed-big-money-game-shows\/"},"modified":"2024-09-09T08:53:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T12:53:24","slug":"bad-ratings-and-bidenflation-destroyed-big-money-game-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bad-ratings-and-bidenflation-destroyed-big-money-game-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Ratings And Bidenflation Destroyed &#8216;Big Money&#8217; Game Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbad-ratings-and-bidenflation-destroyed-big-money-game-shows%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2338589&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reflects \u2063on the evolution of game shows\u200c in the United States, particularly focusing on the impact of &#8220;Who Wants to \u200cBe a \u200bMillionaire?&#8221;\u200b which \u2064premiered on August 16, 1999, and revitalized the genre \u200dand ABC network. Over 25 years, the landscape has significantly changed, with declining viewership leading to reduced prize budgets for contestants.<\/p>\n<p>The author shares a personal experience of participating in the \u2063syndicated version of &#8220;Millionaire,&#8221; where\u2063 at least\u2064 several contestants won six-figure prizes. In contrast, contemporary\u200d shows such as &#8220;Lucky 13&#8221; have complex rules that can result in much lower winnings, with most\u2062 contestants\u200d walking away with considerably less \u2062than earlier contestants. The prize structure in the current shows is much lower compared to the \u2062past, indicating a stark decrease \u200din available rewards.<\/p>\n<p>The article attributes these changes to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-media-turn-award-shows-into-progressive-pep-rallies\/\" title=\"How media turn award shows into progressive Pep Rallies\">fragmented media landscape<\/a>,\u2064 where an abundance of cable and streaming services has diminished the audience \u200dsize for traditional television programming. For example, &#8220;Lucky 13&#8221; attracted a maximum of 2.8 million viewers, a\u200b fraction of the near 30\u200c million that watched &#8220;Millionaire&#8221; at its peak. The result is smaller advertising revenue, forcing networks \u200bto lower the stakes they can offer contestants.\u2064 The piece concludes by suggesting that we may be witnessing \u2064the end of an era for high-stakes game shows.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beavis-and-butt-head-are-back-with-a-movie-and-havent-matured-at-all\/\" title=\"Beavis And Butt-Head Are Back With A Movie And Haven\u2019t Matured At All\">quarter-century ago<\/a>, a new show revolutionized the television landscape in the United States. &ldquo;Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,&rdquo; which debuted for American audiences on Aug. 16, 1999, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/06\/03\/wants-millionaire-changed-game-shows-forever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revitalized<\/a> both a sagging ABC television network and the game show genre in general.<\/p>\n<p>Just over 25 years later, much has changed. While &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; has returned to the network landscape with a series of celebrity episodes, both network television and game shows in general have diminished. Put simply, fewer eyeballs watching any particular show mean smaller prizes for contestants.<\/p>\n<h2>The Incredible Shrinking Prize Budget<\/h2>\n<p>A dozen years ago, I went on the syndicated version of &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwtbambored.com\/viewtopic.php?f=1&amp;t=42983%23toggle_spoiler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">came away with<\/a> a six-figure prize. While not common during the show&rsquo;s syndicated run, &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; did give away big sums fairly regularly. Even if no &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; contestant won the title prize during the show&rsquo;s last decade in syndication, at least five contestants won a $250,000 prize, and at least eight more won a $100,000 prize, during the season in which I appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Compare those outcomes to some new network shows debuting this summer. &ldquo;Lucky 13,&rdquo; also <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/26\/new-game-show-judges-contestants-on-what-they-know-they-dont-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">airing on ABC<\/a>, features a $1,000,000 prize, yes. But to win said jackpot, a contestant must answer 13 true-false questions correctly AND be willing to wager that he answered all 13 questions correctly, knowing that a single miss will leave him with nothing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If a &ldquo;Lucky 13&rdquo; contestant is not risky (or foolish) enough to make such a gamble, he can walk away with at most $125,000; most leave with far less. Among the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lucky_13_(TV_series)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first eight contestants<\/a>, one walked away with $100,000, one with half that amount, three more with sums ranging from $3,750 to $12,500, and three left with nothing.<\/p>\n<p>In &ldquo;The Quiz with Balls,&rdquo; a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/12\/fox-produces-two-vastly-different-game-shows-for-summer-lineup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new Fox game show<\/a>, a family can win up to $75,000 in the main game and augment that total to $100,000 by finding all five correct responses to the bonus round question. Likewise, the American version of &ldquo;The 1% Club,&rdquo; a Fox production of a British concept, features a maximum prize for a single contestant of $100,000 per show.<\/p>\n<p>To put things in perspective: Two hour-long network game shows offer as their maximum prize what a half-hour syndicated program gave away at least a dozen times in a single season 12 years ago.<\/p>\n<h2>Diffused Media Landscape<\/h2>\n<p>The reasons for the diminishing prize budgets seem obvious when one examines the shows&rsquo; ratings &mdash; or, to be more precise, the lack thereof. A quarter-century ago, &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; received 15 million viewers during its initial week-long run in August 1999 and grew to average nearly double that amount over the entire 1999-2000 season.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, &ldquo;Lucky 13&rdquo; attracted the highest audience of the three new game shows mentioned above, with a high of 2.8 million viewers for its second episode. Neither &ldquo;The Quiz with Balls&rdquo; nor &ldquo;The 1% Club&rdquo; have reached the 2 million mark among episodes that have aired to date, meaning they have a fraction of the reach of the original &ldquo;Millionaire.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With the recent explosion of cable networks and streaming options, media outlets struggle to attract the kind of eyeballs that can command top dollars from advertisers. These days, only pro football games and rare special events (e.g. presidential debates) attract the tens of millions of viewers that &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; could command in 1999. Smaller ratings mean less advertising revenue, leading television executives to stretch their budgets by offering smaller prizes.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>End of an Era<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Occasional big jackpots still happen; celebrities Ike and Alan Barinholtz won the top prize on &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; in an episode that aired the week of the show&rsquo;s 25th anniversary. Of course, for ABC&rsquo;s purposes, it didn&rsquo;t hurt that they, like all celebrity contestants this season, were playing for charity, meaning that the network could likely write off the payouts for tax purposes.<\/p>\n<p>What inflation has not eaten away when it comes to &ldquo;big money&rdquo; game shows &mdash; $1,000,000 today has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/data\/inflation_calculator.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">same buying power<\/a> as $531,251.99 in August 1999, making the show&rsquo;s current title more like &ldquo;Who Wants to Be a Half-Millionaire?&rdquo; &mdash; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seedbed-of-fascism-left-blasts-plan-to-privatise-uk-public-broadcaster-channel-4\/\" title=\"&#039;Seedbed of Fascism&#039; -- Left Blasts Plan to Privatise UK Public Broadcaster Channel 4\">changing media landscape<\/a> has. In many ways, the cancellation of the syndicated &ldquo;Millionaire&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/06\/03\/wants-millionaire-changed-game-shows-forever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five years ago<\/a> marked the appropriate passing of an era of super-sized game shows.<\/p>\n<p>That said, game shows still have a presence on and a role to play in television. It just seems less likely that contestants will win life-changing sums of money in the process. But as someone with experience in the subject, going on a game show is a lot of fun, win or lose &mdash; and it can <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/05\/02\/the-true-story-of-how-i-met-my-sister\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change your life<\/a> in ways you would never imagine. That alone makes the effort worthwhile.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/game-show-judges-assess-players-on-their-unknown-knowledge\/\" title=\"Game Show Judges Assess Players on Their Unknown Knowledge\">policy consulting firm based<\/a> in Washington, and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He appeared in the 1995 &#8220;Jeopardy!&#8221; Teen Tournament and is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-five years ago, a groundbreaking show transformed the television scene in the U.S. \u201cWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?\u201d premiered for American viewers on August 16, 1999, breathing new life into both ABC and the game show format as a whole. Fast forward to today, and the landscape has shifted significantly. Although \u201cMillionaire\u201d has made a comeback with celebrity episodes, both network television and game shows have seen a decline in popularity. Simply put, fewer viewers for any given program result in smaller prizes for contestants.<\/p>\n<p>**The Declining Prize Pool**<\/p>\n<p>Twelve years ago, I participated in the syndicated version of \u201cMillionaire\u201d and won a six-figure prize. While such large payouts were not typical during its syndication run, substantial sums were awarded fairly regularly. Even if no contestant claimed the top prize during my season, at least five participants took home $250,000 each and eight others won $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to these outcomes are some of this summer&#8217;s new network shows. For instance, \u201cLucky 13,\u201d which also airs on ABC offers a $1 million jackpot; however, contestants must answer 13 true-false questions correctly while risking everything they\u2019ve earned if they miss even one question. If they choose not to take that risk or gamble wisely enough to avoid it altogether, their maximum payout is capped at $125,000\u2014most contestants leave with much less.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly in Fox\u2019s new game show &#8220;The Quiz with Balls,&#8221; families can win up to $75K from regular gameplay but can increase that total to $100K by answering all five bonus round questions correctly. The American adaptation of &#8220;The 1% Club,&#8221; another Fox production based on a British concept also limits individual contestant winnings to $100K per episode.<\/p>\n<p>To illustrate: two hour-long network game shows now offer maximum prizes equivalent to what half-hour syndicated programs distributed multiple times within just one season twelve years ago.<\/p>\n<p>**Fragmented Media Landscape**<\/p>\n<p>The reasons behind shrinking prize budgets become clear when examining ratings\u2014or rather their absence. A quarter-century back when &#8220;Millionaire&#8221; debuted it attracted an impressive 15 million viewers during its first week alone and averaged nearly double that throughout its inaugural season (1999-2000). In stark contrast today\u2019s &#8220;Lucky 13&#8221; managed only about 2.8 million viewers at its peak for episode two; neither &#8220;The Quiz with Balls&#8221; nor &#8220;The 1% Club&#8221; have surpassed two million views across their aired episodes thus far\u2014indicating they reach only a fraction of what original \u201cMillionaire\u201d did back then.<\/p>\n<p>With an explosion of cable channels and streaming services diluting audience attention spans media outlets struggle more than ever before attracting viewership numbers capable of securing lucrative advertising deals; nowadays only major events like professional football games or rare occurrences such as presidential debates draw tens of millions\u2014the kind once commanded by \u201cMillionaire.\u201d Lower ratings lead directly into reduced ad revenue compelling TV executives towards tighter budgets resulting ultimately in diminished prizes offered on these shows.<\/p>\n<p>**A Shifted Era**<\/p>\n<p>While occasional large jackpots still occur\u2014celebrities Ike Barinholtz &amp; Alan Barinholtz recently won top honors playing for charity during an anniversary episode\u2014it\u2019s worth noting how inflation impacts perceptions around \u2018big money\u2019 games: today\u2019s million dollars holds roughly equivalent purchasing power as approximately $531k did back when \u201cWho Wants To Be A Millionaire?\u201d first aired making current iterations feel more like asking who wants half-a-million instead? <\/p>\n<p>In many respects canceling syndicated versions five years ago signaled closure over an era defined by oversized rewards within gaming formats yet despite this evolution there remains room still available within television programming dedicated towards quiz-based entertainment albeit likely without life-altering financial gains attached anymore\u2014but participating remains enjoyable regardless! As someone who has experienced firsthand what being partaking entails I assure you it brings joy whether winning or losing\u2014and often leads unexpected changes beyond mere monetary value making every effort worthwhile!<\/p>\n<p>Chris Jacobs is founder\/CEO Juniper Research Group\u2014a policy consulting firm located Washington D.C.\u2014and author book titled *\u201cCase Against Single Payer.\u201d* He competed previously appearing alongside others during *\u201cJeopardy!\u201d* Teen Tournament held back \u201995 &amp; can be found tweeting @chrisjacobsHC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2338590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-04-at-4.55.08%E2%80%AFPM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[40442,11402,14890,40444,40443],"class_list":["post-2338589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-bad-ratings","tag-bidenflation","tag-entertainment","tag-financial-impact","tag-game-shows"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-04-at-4.55.08%E2%80%AFPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2338589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2338590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2338589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2338589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2338589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}