Game Show Network

Game Show Network (also known as GSN) is an American basic cable channel that is owned by Sony Pictures Television.[1] The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revived game shows. The network has also previously aired reality competition series and televised poker.

Game Show Network
LaunchedDecember 1, 1994 (1994-12-01)
Owned byGame Show Network, LLC (Sony Pictures Television)
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
(HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Broadcast areaUnited States
Canada
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Sister channel(s)
Websitewww.gsntv.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTVChannel 233
Dish NetworkChannel 116
Bell TV (Canada)Channel 639 (SD)
Channel 1732 (HD)
Shaw Direct (Canada)Channel 177
Channel 482
Cable
Available on most North American cable providersCheck local listings for channel slot
IPTV
Verizon FiOSChannel 184 (SD)
Channel 684 (HD)
AT&T U-verseChannel 173 (SD)
Channel 1173 (HD)
RCNChannel slots vary by market
Bell Fibe TV (Canada)Channel 639 (SD)
Channel 1639 (HD)
FrontierFrontier
Telus Optik TV (Canada)Channel 370 (SD)
Streaming media
AT&T TV NOWInternet Protocol television
Frndly TVInternet Protocol television
PhiloInternet Protocol television
Sling TVInternet Protocol television

As of October 2019, Game Show Network claimed that it was available to "nearly 75 million" households in America, primarily through traditional cable and satellite services.[2] The network and its original programming is also available on streaming and internet television services, including Philo, fuboTV, Sling TV, and Pluto TV.[3]

History

On May 7, 1992, Sony Pictures Entertainment joined forces with the United Video Satellite Group to launch Game Show Channel, which was set to begin in 1993. The announcement of the channel was made by SPE president Mel Harris.[4] Sony Pictures' holdings included those by Merv Griffin Enterprises and Barris Industries, Inc. SPE was in competition with The Family Channel in launching a game show-oriented channel when The Family Channel announced the launch of its own service called Game Channel.

On December 2, 1992, Sony Pictures Entertainment made a deal to acquire the Barry & Enright game show library, and in a separate deal, struck a 10-year licensing agreement for the rights to the Mark Goodson game show library of more than 20,000 episodes including among others, What's My Line?, Family Feud, and To Tell the Truth. Upon the deal, Sony said it would sell an equity stake in the network to Mark Goodson Productions, including the production of new original series by Jonathan Goodson Productions.[5] Both deals were completed on December 7, 1992, eleven days before Mark Goodson's death.[6] On June 6, 1994, Mark Goodson Productions pulled out of the venture.[7][8]

Game Show Network launched at 7:00 p.m. on December 1, 1994.[9] The first aired game show was What's My Line?.[10][lower-alpha 1] From 1994 until about 1997, the network aired classic pre-1972 game shows as well as game shows made after 1972, most of which came from the Mark Goodson–Bill Todman library. The network also used to air live interstitials as wraparound programming. In its first few months, GSN's commercials consisted of public service announcements (PSAs), promotions for its programming and commercials related to network parent company Sony. By 1995, when the network began to expand, the network began accepting conventional advertising as it gained new sponsorships. On March 17, 1997, the Game Show Network rebranded with a new presentation package, a new logo (which had the network's name in boxes and a colorful swirling ball), and a new slogan: "All Play, All Day". The network's new promos and new idents were designed by graphics agency Lee Hunt Associates.

In 2001, a massive change in both leadership and programming at the network took place when Liberty Media acquired a 50% stake. Both president Michael Fleming and vice president Jake Tauber departed and former Fox Family Channel president Rich Cronin was hired to head the network.[11] He and incoming vice president Bob Boden began the biggest original programming venture since the network's inception, launching Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck, Friend or Foe?, Russian Roulette, Lingo, WinTuition, and Cram. In the Fall of 2001, the network acquired the rights to air Press Your Luck but, due to pressure from CBS, the Michael Larson episodes were initially excluded. CBS eventually gave Game Show Network the rights to the Larson episodes, airing them in a separate package, as well as in conjunction with an original documentary called Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal.

2004–2018: As "GSN"

On March 15, 2004, Game Show Network began using the abbreviation "GSN" and introduced the tagline "The Network for Games". The move conicided with the network expanding its programming to include reality television games and various competition-based programming. GSN also introduced the original series at 10:00 p.m. weekdays, World Series of Blackjack, National Lampoon's Greek Games, and Kenny vs. Spenny. The network also aired reruns of The Mole and Spy TV.[12][13]

David Goldhill succeeded Rich Cronin as GSN president on August 1, 2007.[14] A high definition simulcast feed of the network was launched on September 15, 2010 [15]

In March 2011, DirecTV (which by this point had taken over Liberty Media's stake in the network, which had increased to 65%) sold a 5% stake in the network back to Sony Pictures Entertainment. Although DirecTV nominally remained the majority owner, it had ceded control of the network to Sony, and had the right to force Sony to increase its stake in GSN to 58%.[16] On November 8, 2012, DirecTV sold an 18% interest in GSN to Sony.[17] GSN partnered with Vubiquity to launch "GSN On Demand" on August 15, 2013. Current On Demand options include recent GSN Originals such as Baggage and The Chase as well as episodes of Steve Harvey's Family Feud.[18]

2018–present
GSN Logo from June 3, 2015 to September 30, 2018

For brief periods from November 4, 2013 to June 2, 2015, GSN would refer to itself by its full name. The network did so again from November 6, 2017, to coincide with the launch of a new "Saturday Night Classics" block, featuring reruns of the game shows Match Game, Press Your Luck, Card Sharks, Let's Make a Deal, and Family Feud with Richard Dawson. The block was short-lived ending in February 2018.

In April 2017, David Goldhill stepped down after nearly ten years as GSN president, the longest tenure for any president to date. He was succeeded by Mark Feldman in August 2017.[19] On October 1, 2018, the network officially returned to using its full name and introduced a new logo to coincide with the return to its original branding.[20] The network's original programming would also shift back towards traditional game show formats.[21]

DirecTV's stake in Game Show Network would move to AT&T when it acquired the service in 2015.[22] On November 18, 2019, it was announced that Sony had acquired AT&T's 42% stake.[23] A list of 2019 Nielsen ratings published by Variety indicated that Game Show Network averaged 406,000 viewers in prime time, down 2% from the 2018 average.[24]

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Game Show Network

Current original programming seen on Game Show Network as of May 2020 include America Says, Common Knowledge, Catch 21, and Get a Clue. The network has also produced various interactive program blocks over the years, such as GSN Live.

Syndication

GSN began syndicating some of its original programming to other channels in the early 2010s. Baggage aired in syndication on numerous local stations during the 2012-13 television season. On June 24, 2013, the channel entered into an agreement with Bounce TV allowing it the broadcast rights to The Newlywed Game, Catch 21, and The American Bible Challenge.[25][26] The American Bible Challenge aired in reruns on UP in fall 2013 and again in spring 2015. Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza recently aired on Laff. Reruns of America Says aired in syndication during the 2019-20 season.[27]

In March 2020, the network launched "Game Show Central", a digital streaming channel broadcasting archived original programming. The network is currently available on Samsung and Vizio smart television sets and ViacomCBS-owned AVOD platform Pluto TV (which also carries rival network Buzzr).[28] There are plans for The Roku Channel to pick up the service later in the year.[29]

Online Gaming

In 2007, Liberty Media acquired the Toronto-based FUN Technologies, operator of the popular online tournament casual gaming website WorldWinner. Following the acquisition, Liberty began to extend the GSN brand into online gaming by re-branding WorldWinner as a GSN service.[30] GSN also launched a social gaming app on Facebook, now known as GSN Casino, featuring skill and casino games along with competitive tournaments. By October 2010, GSN Casino had over 8 million active users. GSN also developed a Wheel of Fortune app for Facebook, released in 2010.[31]

GSN also published GSN Casino mobile apps, featuring various slot machine and bingo games in 2013, GSN Casino was the 10th highest grossing app for iPad on the App Store. In January 2014, GSN acquired Bitrhymes Inc., developers of the social and mobile games Bingo Bash and Slots Bash, for an undisclosed amount. GSN had sued Bitrhymes in November 2013 following its prior offer to acquire the company, arguing that it had attempted to back out of its offer and accept a different one during GSN's exclusive negotiation period.[32][33]

In a reversal of these synergies, it was announced in November 2014 that a game show based on Bingo Bash was in development for Game Show Network's 2015 slate of original programming.[34]

See also
  • Buzzr - a digital multicast network showcasing vintage game shows.
  • Challenge - a British channel devoted to airing game shows and competition-based programs.
  • GameTV - a Canadian channel that airs game shows and general entertainment programming.
  • Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids - a now-defunct channel that aired Nickelodeon-produced game shows.
  • Questions and Answers - a Russian channel devoted to game shows.
  • The Game Channel - a Philippine channel focused on family game shows and reality shows.

Notes
  1. Game Show Network launched at 7 PM ET with a 24-hour marathon featuring one episode of every program in their archives at the time. The first episode that aired on GSN was a representative episode of the oldest series in their archives, a What's My Line? episode from March 8, 1953 featuring Jackie Gleason. Match Game took the regular 7 PM time slot the next day.

References
  1. "Sony". sony.com.
  2. "Game Show Network Greenlights New Word-Play Game "GET A CLUE," Hosted By Actor Rob Belushi".
  3. "How to Watch the Game Show Network Live Without Cable 2020 – Top 4 Options".
  4. "New York Times" THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Sony Venture to Start Game Show Channel nytimes.com May 7, 1992, Retrieved on January 21, 2013
  5. "Variety" Sony makes a deal for gameshow libraries variety.com December 7, 1992, Retrieved on January 21, 2013
  6. "Highbeam Research" Sony Pictures' secret: Goodson's price is right. (Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.'s licensing deal with Mark Goodson Productions) highbeam.com December 7, 1992, Retrieved on January 21, 2013.
  7. "Goodson folds on Game Show Network". Broadcasting: 19. June 6, 1994.
  8. "Los Angeles Times" Company Town Annex articles.latimes.com, Retrieved on January 21, 2013.
  9. "GSN Corporate - GSN Corporate". Archived from the original on March 9, 2010.
  10. "GSN Official". Facebook. August 29, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  11. Umstead, R. Thomas (May 6, 2001). "Game Show Lands Cronin". Multichannel News. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  12. Jicha, Tom (March 14, 2004). "Game Show Network Plays The Name Game". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  13. "Game Show Network Changing Name to GSN". Media Post. AP. March 17, 2004. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  14. Moss, Linda (July 25, 2007). "Goldhill Succeeds Cronin Atop GSN". Multichannel News. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  15. "Game Show Network Press Release". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  16. Goetzl, David (June 30, 2011). "Sony Gains Control of GSN Even With Minority Stake". TVBlog. MediaPost. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  17. "InsideView" Update: DIRECTV sells 18% stake in GSN to Sony Archived April 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine insideview.com, Retrieved on November 28, 2012
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. Goldberg, Lesley (August 3, 2017). "GSN Promotes Mark Feldman to CEO". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  20. @gameshownetwork (October 1, 2018). "It's the first day of our new logo! We're going back to our roots to celebrate our favorite thing: game shows. All day, every day! What do you think?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "Game Show Network Adds, Renews Series". Multichannel News. April 5, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  22. https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/us/atnt2/sec/sec-show.aspx?Type=html&FilingId=12972266&CIK=0000732717&Index=10000
  23. Hayes, Dade; Hayes, Dade (November 18, 2019). "Sony Acquires AT&T's 42% Game Show Network Stake In Deal Worth $500M". Deadline. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  24. Schneider, Michael (December 26, 2019). "Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2019's Winners and Losers". Variety. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  25. C. Daniel Baker "Black Enterprise" Bounce TV Acquires Broadcast Rights To American Bible Challenge & The Newlywed Game blackenterprise.com, Retrieved on July 1, 2013.
  26. "PR Newswire" Bounce TV Acquires Broadcast Network Rights To The American Bible Challenge and Catch 21, prnewswire.com, Retrieved on July 1, 2013.
  27. Porter, Rick (June 12, 2019). "Sony, Game Show Network Take 'America Says' to Syndication". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  28. Davis, Alex (March 28, 2020). "So Game Show Network Stealth Dropped a Digital Network and We're Completely On Board". BuzzerBlog. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  29. Gibbons, Kent (May 1, 2020). "Game Show Central AVOD Net Launches on Pluto TV, Smart Sets". Multichannel News. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  30. Viscarolosaga, Efrain. "WorldWinner's parent plans a whole new game". Mass High Tech. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  31. Morrison, Chris. "GSN Quietly Grows Large on Facebook With Game Shows and Tournaments". Inside Social Games. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  32. "Game Show Network Sues After Gaming Company Cancels Acquisition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  33. "That's a Bingo: GSN Gobbles Up Bash Gaming, Ending Lawsuit". Re/code. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  34. "GSN BUILDS ON 2014 SUCCESS WITH NEW DEVELOPMENT FOR 2015". corp.gsn.com. Game Show Network. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
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