Shows I Would Put on a Second Game Show Channel

This lineup, for a game show cable channel to compete with Sony’s GSN (formerly Game Show Network), attempts to favor popular tastes. In order to qualify, a game show must:

1. Be relatively popular
2. Not already have been on GSN
3. Have enough episodes extant for at least three months without repeating (shows with less than a year’s worth of episodes available will be reserved for weekend slots)

Here are some game shows which, in my judgment, satisfy all three criteria. Assuming I could get the necessary rights, I would program:

• Reg Grundy shows
  • $ale of the Century (U.S. version with Jim Perry, other national versions with native hosts)
  • Bruce Forsyth’s Hot Streak (weekends)
  • Scattergories (weekends)
  • Scrabble (1980s run on weekdays; 1993 run on weekends)
  • Time Machine (weekends)
• Merrill Heatter shows (weekends only)
  • All-Star Blitz
  • Battlestars (both formats)
  • High Rollers (Wink Martindale)
• The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime
• Hollywood Squares (John Davidson)
• Whew! (weekends)
• CrossWits (David Sparks, weekends)
• Pictionary (both formats, weekends)
• Concentration (Narz, Trebek and foreign versions on weekdays; 1961 prime time series on weekends)
• Youth game shows (weekend mornings)
• Original game shows
• Unsold pilots
• Other English-language game shows from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and possibly South Africa

Unlike Sony GSN, I can easily make room for periodic behind-the-scenes programs, for the benefit of those wishing to become game show contestants. I am trying to exclude not only game shows that have already been on GSN, but also musical game shows (to avoid music clearance issues). Same-day repeats and infomercials may be necessary in the first year or so of operation.

Original Programs

• Behind the Set: Similar to Movie Magic on the Discovery Channel, this program reveals the mechanical and electronic goings-on behind popular game shows, as well as what really happens during commercial breaks.
• Pilot Playhouse: This half-hour program features different unsold game show pilots, several times daily.
• Winner Tell All: Past game show winners tell an interviewer how they prepared to be on their favorite shows, how they got chosen and what strategies helped them win. The program will likely include clips of the game show in question.