The Price Is Right (franchise)

The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by SegaParamount's Fremantle. 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, initially as "The New Price Is Right." This version was originally hosted by Bob Barker. Drew Carey has hosted the program since 2007.
Contestants on the show compete to win cash and prizes by guessing the price of merchandise. The program has been critically successful and remains a stalwart in the television ratings. It also managed to break away from the quiz show format that has been used in other game shows. Since the current version premiered, it has also been adapted in several international formats around the world most notably in the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Vietnam.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked it No. 5 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
== 1956–1965 ==
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 with retail prices ranging from a few dollars (in many cases, "bonus" prizes were given to the winner afterward) to thousands. Though conducted in an auction style, Cullen did not play the role of auctioneer. Instead, contestants would try to bid as close to a product's actual retail price without exceeding that price. Depending on the prize, contestants were either allowed, in proper turn, to make multiple bids, or restricted to only one bid. In the case of the former, each contestant would bid on an item until a buzzer sounded. The contestant could make a final bid, or "freeze." The contestant whose bid was closest to, but not more than, the correct value of the prize won it. There was also a special game set aside for the home viewer that offered several prizes in a package, which usually included a luxury vacation trip and/or a new car. Viewers submitted their bids via postcards, and the winner was 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 on the next episode.
This version began as part of NBC's daytime schedule. A series of technical problems allegedly made the pilot episode look bad enough for NBC to decline to purchase the show, but after an appeal from the producers, citing the fact that all TV shows at the time were given at least 13 weeks to succeed or fail, it aired on the network. It became successful enough to warrant a second version of the series, beginning on prime time in the fall of 1957. Shown weekly, that version became the first TV game show to be broadcast in color. After being a top-10 primetime show for some time, the show's ratings gradually but noticeably declined, and by 1963 NBC had canceled it. The show was then picked up by ABC and ran in prime time on that network for one full season (1963–64); the daytime version ended in 1965.
== 1972–present ==
=== Format ===
Since 1972, the current version of The Price Is Right has used the same structure:
* One Bid, in which four players in Contestants' Row bid on a prize, attempting to give the prize's suggested retail price without exceeding it. The price is revealed and the player with the winning bid goes on stage to play a pricing game. The first four players on Contestants' Row are called from the studio audience at the start of the show, and after each pricing game, a new player is called to fill the vacant slot.
* Pricing games, in which the contestant plays for a range of prizes, frequently money or automobiles, with most games based on the player's knowledge of the retail price of the prizes or other consumer goods like food and household products.
* The Showcase, in which the two top players of the day are shown two showcases, which are collections of prizes. After the first showcase is revealed, the top player is awarded the option of bidding on the first showcase or passing it to the other player. The second showcase is then revealed and bid upon by the player who did not bid upon the first. The player who bids closer to, but does not exceed, the total retail price of their showcase wins it. If the difference between a contestant's bid and the showcase's value is within a certain range, the player wins both showcases; this range has varied over time. If both players overbid, neither wins.
When the new format debuted as The New Price Is Right, shows were 30 minutes in length; three pricing games were played and the two contestants with the highest winnings entered the Showcase. By June 1973, the show was renamed back to The Price Is Right.
The show was expanded into an hour-long format on November 3, 1975, allowing six pricing games to be played per episode. A new feature, the Showcase Showdown, was added to select the two players for the Showcase. It is played after the first three players have completed their pricing games to select one player from the first half of the show, and again after the last three. In the Showdown, each player is given two chances to spin a large wheel that displays all amounts from 5¢ to $1.00 in 5¢ increments. The player may elect to hold after his or her first spin or to take a second spin; if a second spin occurs, the amount of the second spin is added to the first spin, potentially causing the contestant's total to exceed $1.00 and eliminate the contestant. The player whose total is the closest to $1.00 without exceeding $1.00 advances to the Showcase. A score of exactly $1.00, accomplished by either the first spin stopping on the $1.00 value or by the total of two spins equaling $1.00, awards a cash bonus and gives the player a chance to win larger amounts in a bonus spin.
=== History ===
The series debuted on September 4, 1972, in two forms: a daily version on CBS with Bob Barker as host, and a weekly version, eventually dubbed "the nighttime Price Is Right," hosted by Dennis James and airing in first-run syndication. Barker took over the nighttime version in 1977 (which remained a half-hour in length throughout its existence) and hosted both until the nighttime version was discontinued in 1980. The syndicated nighttime version returned five years later, airing five times per week, but ran for only one season, with Tom Kennedy as host.
Barker hosted the program from its debut until June 15, 2007. During the 35 years he was the 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, who received 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 played today.
After a search for Barker's successor, Drew Carey was named the new host, and production resumed in August 2007, with Carey's first episode airing on October 15.
The Price Is Right is believed to be the longest-running game show on television (the Spanish-language variety show Sábado Gigante ended on September 19, 2015). It is also the longest-running five-days-per-week game show in the world. The Price Is Right is one of two game show franchises (along with To Tell the Truth) to be seen nationally in either first-run network or syndication airings in the U.S. in every decade since the 1950s. 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 primetime 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 Ted Slauson, an audience member and long-time fan of the show, had legitimately determined the exact prices of the showcase items after having frequently watched the show, noticing the frequency of certain products and using statistical analysis. Slauson shared this knowledge with Kneiss's wife Linda, who was sitting beside him in the audience, and she signaled the total to her husband on the stage. Kneiss was awarded the prizes, and the show subsequently discontinued certain prizes.
On April Fools' Day in 2014, Craig Ferguson and Carey switched hosting duties, with Carey hosting The Late Late Show and Ferguson hosting The Price Is Right. The episode also featured Shadoe Stevens as announcer. Barker appeared on the April Fools' Day episode in 2015, hosting while the first item up was for bids and the first pricing game; Carey hosted the remainder of the episode.
=== Broadcast history ===
Duration 	Host 	Notes
CBS 	CBS 	CBS
1972–2007 	Bob Barker 	First host
2007–present	Drew Carey 	Second host
Syndication 	Syndication 	Syndication
1972–77 	Dennis James 	Weekly series
1977–80 	Bob Barker 	Weekly series
1985–86 	Tom Kennedy 	Daily series; referred to on-air as "the nighttime Price Is Right"
1994–95 	Doug Davidson	Daily series, The New Price Is Right
Since December 1, 2020, Pluto TV airs 1980s-era episodes from the Bob Barker period on its streaming channel "The Price Is Right: The Barker Era".
==== Specials ====
Primetime episodes have been ordered by CBS on occasion since 1986. The first, The Price Is Right Special, was a six-week summer series that aired on CBS in 1986, hosted by Barker. In 2002, the show celebrated its 30th year with a Las Vegas special.
Later in 2002, the show began its current line of primetime episodes (known as #xxxSP in show codes). Six special episodes titled The Price Is Right Salutes aired in primetime, saluting the branches of the United States armed forces, police, and firefighters of in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular (#007SP-#033SP) was a series of primetime specials airing from 2003 until 2008 featuring chances to win $1,000,000, as well as more expensive prizes than on the daytime counterpart.
The Celebrity Week format in daytime in which a celebrity plays along with contestants was adopted for the next series of primetime episodes, part of the same series as the 2002 Salutes and 2003–08 $1,000,000 Spectaculars (since #034SP). These shows used former participants on the network's three primetime reality game shows (Survivor, The Amazing Race, and Big Brother) who joined contestants as teams. The three-night special aired May 23–25, 2016. Another series of specials, #037SP (with cast members from SEAL Team, mainly David Boreanaz, Max Thieriot, Neil Brown Jr., A.J. Buckley, Toni Trucks, Justin Melnick, and Dita the Dog) and #038SP (featuring Seth Rogen), aired during the 2019–20 television season, and three more episodes have been ordered by CBS to air during the season, #039SP-#041SP. Episodes starting with #037SP are designated as The Price Is Right at Night, with color changes to the show's logo (blue and green instead of red and orange) to represent an evening motif instead of the bright colors of the daytime show.
The civilian-celebrity format beginning with 037SP offers a charitable donation to the celebrity's charity equivalent to the total cash and prizes won, similar to the format used in daytime.
On January 12, 2020, CBS announced that three more specials would air in spring 2020.
===Licensed merchandise===
Endless Games, which 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 announcer Rich Fields, including a DVD edition and a Quick Picks travel-size edition. 
In 2003, THQ and Artech Studios released a video game version of the show for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance, featuring the voice of Randy West and Bob Barker as the host.
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 Fields.
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.
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, mobile devices, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary.
In 2020, THQNordic published a game simply called The Price is Right, made by independent game studio, Snap Finger Click, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Stadia.
In October 2021, THQNordic released The Price Is Right Decades - 50th Anniversary Edition, a video game featuring production elements from various decades of the show, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Stadia to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. This game allows the player to choose multiple sets of the show and allows customizing of the set
==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 music director Stan Blits appeared on the Carlo Boszhard-hosted Cash en Carlo at the start of the 200th episode.
Series"	Logo 	Country 	Title 	Network 	Host 	Duration dates
 	Afghanistan 	دل نا دلDel Na Del 	ATN 	 	2022–present 	
 	Arab World 	لعبة الاسعارThe Price Game 	MYTV Arabia 	Sultan Al-Rashed 	2021–present 	
 	Argentina 	El Precio Justo 	Azul Televisión (1999)El Trece (2000)Telefe (2019–20) 	Fernando BravoLizy Tagliani 	1999–20002019–2020 	
 	Australia 	The Price Is Right 	ATN-7 (1957–59)GTV-9 (1958)Seven Network (1963) 	Bruce BeebyGeoff ManionKeith WalsheHorrie Dargie 	1957–591963 	
 	Australia 	The Price Is Right 	Seven Network (1981–86, 2010-2014)Network Ten (1973–74, 1989, 2017-Present)Nine Network (1993–98, 2003–05)	Garry MeadowsIan TurpieLarry EmdurDavid McCormack 	1973–Present 	
 	Belgium 	De Juiste Prijs 	VTM 	Jan TheysKoen Wauters 	1990–922010 	
 	Belgium 	Le Juste Prix 	RTL-TVI 	Michaël Dufour 	2010 	
 	Brazil 	O Preço Certo 	SBT (1980s)Rede Record (2009-2010)Band (2024-present) 	Silvio Santos (1980s)Juan Alba (2009–2010)Datena (2024-present) 	1980s2009–20102024-present 	
 	Bulgaria 	Това е ценатаThis is the Price 	bTV 	Veselin KalanovskiNiki Stanoev (co-host) 	20132014–present 	
 	Canada 	Misez Juste (French) 	TQS 	Alain Léveillé 	1994–95 	
 	Canada 	Price Is Right: À vous de jouer (French) 	V 	Philipp Bond 	2011–12 	
 	Canada 	The Price is Right Canada (English) 	Global 	Scott McCord 	2020-Present 	
 	Chile 	Diga lo que vale con Soprole 	Canal 13 	Don Francisco 	1981–91 	
 	Chile 	Atinale Al Precio 	Chilevision 	Martín Cárcamo 	2021-Present 	
 	China 	购物街Gòu Wù Jiē 	CCTV-2 	Gao BoChen Beibei 	2007–11 	
 	China 	全是你的Quan Shi Ni De 	Beijing TV 	Li Yong 	2015 	
 	Colombia 	El precio es correcto 	RTI on Cadena Uno or Cadena Dos (1981–91)Caracol TV (2011–14) 	Gloria Valencia de CastañoIván Lalinde 	1981–912011–14 	
 	Croatia 	Dođi, pogodi, osvoji! 	RTL 	Antonija Blaće 	2021–present 	
 	Ecuador 	El precio es cierto 	 	 	 	
 	Egypt 	The Price Is Right Bekam 	Al Nahar 	Edward 	2015 	
 	Estonia 	Kuum Hind 	Kanal 2 	Emil Rutiku 	October 2007 	
 	Finland 	Mitä maksaa? 	MTV (Yle)Nelonen 	Mikko YodersonPetri Liski 	1983–881998–2000 	
 	France 	Le Juste Prix 	TF1 (1987-2001, 2009-2015) M6 (2024-present) 	Max Meynier (1987–1988) Eric Galliano (1988) Patrick Roy (1988–1992) Philippe Risoli (1992–2001) Vincent Lagaf' (2009–2015) Eric Antoine (2024-present) 	1987–20012009–152024-Present 	
 	France 	Le Juste Euro 	France 2 	Patrice Laffont 	2001–02 	
 	Germany 	Der Preis ist heiß 	RTLRTLplus 	Harry WijnvoordWolfram Kons 	1989–199720172022–present 	
 	Greece 	H τιμή τιμή δεν έχειH timí timí den échei 	ANT1 	Elias Mpenetos 	1991 	
 	Hungary 	Tippelj és vidd el! 	RTL 	Bence Istenes 	2023–present 	
 	India 	Tol Mol Ke Bol 	Zee TV 	R. Madhavan 	1999–2000 	
 	India 	Yehi Hai Right Price 	DD Metro 9 Gold 	Rohit Roy 	2001 	
 	Indonesia 	Tebak Harga 	Trans TV 	Muhammad Farhan 	2001-2002 	
 	Indonesia 	The Price is Right Indonesia 	Trans TV (2003–05)Indosiar (2010–11)RCTI (2016–18)GTV (2020) 	Muhammad Farhan (2003–05)Steny Agustaf, Surya Insomnia and Ferry Ardiansyah (2010)Ananda Omesh and Gracia Indri (2016–18)Andhika Pratama and Edric Tjandra (2020) 	2003–20052010–20112016–20182020	
 	Ireland 	The Price is Right 	RTE Two 	Alan Hughes 	2011-2015 	
 	Israel 	פחות או יותרPachot 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 SabaniIva ZanicchiEmanuela FollieroMaria Teresa Ruta 	1983–2001 	
 	Japan 	The Chanceザ・チャンス！Za cha-n-su 	Tokyo Broadcasting System 	Pink Lady (Mitsuyo "Mie" Nemoto & Kieko "Kei" Masuda) Shiro Ito Masayuki Yuhara 	1979–1986 	
 	Japan 	The Chanceザ・チャンス！Za cha-n-su 	Tokyo Broadcasting System 	Rica Matsumoto 	2009–present 	
 	Latvia 	Veiksmes cena 	TV3 	Valters Krauze 	2007 	
 	Lebanon 	The Price Is Right بلا TVA 	LBC 	Tony Baroud 	May 25, 2010 	
 	Malaysia 	 	 	 	 	
 	Mexico 	El Precio Es Blanco 	Imevisión 	Ángel FernándezPatricia Panini 	1980s 	
 	Mexico 	Atinale Al Precio 	Televisa 	Marco Antonio Regil 	1997–20002010–2011 	
 	Moldova 	Ghiceşte Pretul 	Jurnal TV 	Bogdan Dascál 	2016–present 	
 	Mongolia 	Зөв үнийг тааZöv üniig taa 	Edutainment TV 	 	2015–16 	
 	Morocco 	استوديو 5Astudiu 5 	RTM 	Aziz Chahal 	1995–96 	
 	Morocco 	السعر الصحيحAl seer al Saheeh 	2M TV 	 	2002 	
 	Myanmar 	The Price is Right 	MRTV-4 	Phyo Zaw Linn 	2017 	
 	Netherlands 	Prijs je Rijk 	AVRO 	Fred Oster 	1986–88 	
 	Netherlands 	Prijzenslag 	RTL 4 	Hans Kazàn 	1990–1993 	
 	Netherlands 	Cash en Carlo 	Yorin 	Carlo Boszhard 	2002–04 	
 	Netherlands 	The Price is Right 	SBS 6 	Eddy Zoëy 	2012 	
 	New Zealand 	The Price Is Right 	TV3 (1992)TVNZ 2 (2017-Present) 	Dave Jamieson (1992)Jeremy Corbett (2017-Present) 	19922017-Present 	
 	Nigeria 	The Price Is Right 	Africa MagicAIT 	Frank Edoho 	2018-present 	
 	Pakistan 	The Price Is Right 	Geo TV 	Ali Salman 	2010 	
 	Peru 	Diga lo que Vale 	Panamericana Televisión 	Johnny López 	1982–841987 	
 	Philippines 	The Price Is Right 	ABC 	Dawn Zulueta 	2001–03 	
 	Philippines 	The Price Is Right 	ABS-CBN 	Kris Aquino 	2011 	
 	Poland 	Dobra cena 	TVN 	Grzegorz Wons 	1997–98 	
 	Portugal 	O Preço Certo 	RTP1 	Carlos Cruz (1990-1992)Nicolau Breyner (1992-1993)Fernando Mendes (2006-present) 	1990–19932006–present 	
 	Portugal 	O Preço Certo em Euros 	RTP1 	Jorge Gabriel (2002-2003)Fernando Mendes (2003-2006) 	2002–2006 	
 	Romania 	Preţul corect 	ProTV 	Stelian NistorConstantin Cotimanis 	1997–2000 	
 	Romania 	Spune-mi preţul 	Kanal D 	Cosmin Cernat 	2009 	
 	Romania 	Preţul cel bun 	Antena 1 	Liviu VârciuAndrei Ştefănescu 	2021–present 	
 	Russia 	Лотто-МиллионLotto-Million 	Ostankino, ORT 	Stepan Polyansky 	1994–96 	
 	Russia 	Цена удачиTsena udachi 	NTV 	Boris SmolkinAnton Komolov 	2005–2006 	
 	Slovakia 	Cena je správna 	TV JOJ 	Andrea LehotskáMatej "Sajfa" CifraMichal Hudák 	2013–14 	
 	South Korea 	Shopper's Paradise쇼핑객의 천국 	MBC 	Kim Kap-soo 	2015-2022 	
 	Spain 	El Precio Justo 	TVE1 (1988–89; 1990–93, 1999–2002)TVE2 (1989–90)Antena 3 (2006–07)Telecinco (2021)Cuatro (2021) 	Joaquín PratCarlos LozanoGuillermo RomeroJuan y MedioCarlos Sobera 	1988–931999–20022006–072021 	
 	Spain 	El Precio Justo 	Canal 7 	Agustín Bravo 	1996–97 	
 	Thailand 	ทายได้ให้เลยGuess Right, Give Now 	Channel 5 	Nattee Kosolpisit 	2003–04 	
 	Thailand 	The Price Is Right Thailand ราคาพารวยThe Price is Right Thailand's: Rich Price	True 4U 	Ketsepsawat Palagawongse na Ayutthaya 	2015–2020 	
 	Thailand 	The Price Is Right Thailand ราคาพารวยThe Price is Right Thailand's: Rich Price	Channel 8 	Ketsepsawat Palagawongse na Ayutthaya 	2020–2021 	
 	Turkey 	Kaç Para? 	aTV 	Özkan UğurVatan Şaşmaz 	2003–20042011 	
 	United Kingdom	The Price Is Right 	ITV 	Leslie Crowther (ITV prime time)Bob Warman (ITV daytime)Bruce Forsyth (ITV prime time)Joe Pasquale (ITV daytime)Ryi J Hoodberri (ITV prime time)David Jason (ITV prime time)Alan Carr (ITV prime time)	1984–present 	
 	Uruguay 	El Precio Justo 	Canal 4 	Luis Alberto Carballo 	2022–present 	
 	Venezuela 	Lotto Quiz 	Venevisión 	César González 	1997–99 	
 	Venezuela 	El Precio Justo 	RCTV 	Winston Vallenilla 	2002–04 	
 	Vietnam 	Hãy Chọn Giá Đúng 	VTV3 	Lại Văn Sâm (2004, 2014)Lưu Minh Vũ (2005–12, 2014, 2018–19)Trần Hồng Ngọc (2012–16, 2016–18)Dương Hồng Phúc (2018–19)Phan Tuấn Tú and Nguyễn Hoàng Linh (2019–20) 	2004 – 2020