MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Jun 17, 2013 18:56:48 GMT -5
After Michelle Lowenstein's million dollar win, the show made some notable changes in the subsequent seasons that were likely for budgetary reasons.
What are some other ways you think the show can save money without seeming dirt-cheap (besides very hard Bonus Round puzzles, a la the NYC weeks of Season 30)?
Note: This is not a Season 31 speculation thread. Any post of that nature will have this thread locked.
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tenpoundhammer
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Post by tenpoundhammer on Jun 17, 2013 20:10:13 GMT -5
Wheel! Of! Bankrupts!
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GameShow75
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Post by GameShow75 on Jun 17, 2013 22:02:42 GMT -5
Get rid of the video wall behind the contestants & stop having all of those stupid themes like NBA Week!
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trisspinner
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Post by trisspinner on Jun 17, 2013 23:36:23 GMT -5
The easiest way, I would think, to save money is to stop using the prize puzzle. That would save them a ton of money.
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WarioSajak
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Post by WarioSajak on Jun 17, 2013 23:50:25 GMT -5
What are some other ways you think the show can save money without seeming dirt-cheap? Bit late for that.  * Change the ½ Car license plates to ½ Trip tickets * Change the Mystery prize from $10,000 cash to a $10,000-ish trip * Change the Bonus Round cars to trips and remove the $5,000 bonus * Tape a half-hour show in 30-35 minutes, without cutting out null cycles; this is easily the simplest one to do, since it involves 1) letting things happen without stepping in to stop tape and 2) little to no editing after each taping |
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Jun 18, 2013 13:52:53 GMT -5
How about...
- Increasing the price of vowels
- Getting rid of the Prize Puzzle, making slight upgrades elswhere (such as Wheel values) to compensate having too many 4-digit winners
- Making the Prize wedge a Surprise so they don't have to keep finding prizes and wasting time for plugs unless it's won since it's not going to be won every episode
- Use ampersands more often, omit the BY from Song/Arist and Title/Author, and omit the AS from Star & Role
- Less fluffing up the puzzles with a better tolerance towards short, straightforward puzzles
- Drop a Toss-Up
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WooWho
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Post by WooWho on Jun 18, 2013 14:17:51 GMT -5
Jim Thornton himself once mentioned the show makes $90 million a year, so clearly they have money to burn, but for the sake of answering the original post...
--Quit changing the set every week
--Drop the bonus wheel and return to the basic "pick 5" structure in the bonus round (gasp!)
--Make each tossup a flat $2,000 and drop the first one
...there are more, I'm sure, but again, like Jim said, they're making $90M a year, I don't think they'll be hurting for money anytime soon.
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GonzalesWOF
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Post by GonzalesWOF on Jun 18, 2013 17:13:20 GMT -5
These are the best ways to help the show save money without severity: - Bring back $25,000 on the bonus wheel.
- Retire the Prize Puzzle.
- Tossups without money value.
- Remove one 1/2 Car tag, so the person who wins the tag has to get the other one in the following rounds to win a car.
- Move some cardboard and special wedges next to penalties.
- Increase the price of vowels.
I will add some more if I have time.
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Post by Bryce L. on Jun 18, 2013 20:59:13 GMT -5
If you were to increase the price of vowels, how much would you put it to? I personally think $500 is good.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Jun 18, 2013 21:17:57 GMT -5
Yeah, $500 is ideal with the current value arrangement, IMO.
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WarioSajak
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Post by WarioSajak on Jun 18, 2013 22:53:14 GMT -5
...Although inflation over the past 40 years (since they were $250 from the beginning in '73) would put it at just over $1,300. Raising it to $1,250 would return the act of buying vowels back to the way it was in the beginning -- a hint with a sizable cost (one-fourth of the highest regular value of the game) and a steep penalty if you're wrong. Jim Thornton himself once mentioned the show makes $90 million a year, so clearly they have money to burn, [...] again, like Jim said, they're making $90M a year, I don't think they'll be hurting for money anytime soon. I think it's been pretty well-established that while Wheel makes Eleventy Bajillion Damn Dollars a year, they don't actually get to use most of it. |
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ten96lt
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Post by ten96lt on Jun 21, 2013 2:53:18 GMT -5
Not trying to speculate, but the recent million dollar win had a major difference compared to the first one which makes the urge to hedge their bets and cut back on the budget less urgent. The first win happened very quickly after the million dollar wedge was introduced. I'm sure it rattled the higher ups' cages with them now thinking that it would hit more often than they thought which probably caused the cut backs in anticipation of frequent hits.
However, the second one didn't come until 5 years after the first hit. You can't tell me they haven't been building up a fund to cover future payouts or at least thought to purchase an insurance policy like TPIR did during their Million Dollar Spectaculars for these events. I'm sure now that they see it hasn't been happening as often as they thought with how soon the first one hit they won't cut as drastic as before. I think if anything, they'll try to add more plugs or would alter the payout of the million dollars (spread out the annuity or hedging by buying an insurance policy) to make it less painful if it's still being a budget buster.
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StrangerCoug
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Post by StrangerCoug on Jun 21, 2013 17:13:38 GMT -5
Here are mine: - Give the first tossup, the prize puzzles, the video backdrop, and the theme weeks the ax.
- Make vowels $500.
- As has been implied before, keep it to one set at home base. You can go crazy on the road.
- Find something decent besides cars and trips to give away.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Jun 21, 2013 17:53:51 GMT -5
Decrease the house minimum. $500 was fine.
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WarioSajak
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Post by WarioSajak on Jun 21, 2013 18:37:28 GMT -5
Decreasing the house minimum would be a step backwards, as Jeopardy! has a $1,000 minimum. If anything, oust the first Toss-Up -- it's useless, redundant, and uses time that could be used elsewhere...like maybe leaving in a null cycle or two. Then again, it's abundantly clear that the "countdown clock" to signify when the Final Spin chimes will play doesn't actually come into use until Round 4 begins, since they're obviously not going to end the game during Round 3 (refreshing a change as that would be to open that possibility). The clock also seems to be like a non-winning Jackpot round in that null cycles don't count towards it. Give [...] the video backdrop [...] the ax. I don't think either video wall should be removed, but instead replace the vacation footage with the show's logo. They do that for publicity shots and rehearsal games, so why not on the show itself? Find something decent besides cars and trips to give away. In other words, almost anything. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2013 23:03:05 GMT -5
Considering Sony owns the show, I'd love to see some stuff from them, like home theater systems, TVs, cameras, watches... Even use electronics for Prize Puzzles.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Jun 21, 2013 23:14:12 GMT -5
By "house minimum", I meant for solving a puzzle, not for finishing the game.
And they should definitely keep the center-stage video wall. It wouldn't hurt to show it in action on-camera once again, either.
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Post by afulkerson0012 on Jun 23, 2013 22:25:54 GMT -5
In my opinion here is what they should do:
1. Increase vowels to at least $400 that way you have to work to earn a vowel
2. Drop first toss-up puzzle
3. Bring back surprise wedge. Drop "tonights featured prize spiel"
4. Get rid of prize puzzle and just use a bonus category instead for $3000. Since most trips are 5000+ you have save over 2000 per episde there. you do the math for the season.
5. Get rid of 1/2 car wedges.
6. Do away with theme weeks and have a everyday set like Jeopardy does!
7. Mystery wedge doesn't always hve to be cash. Use a trip there sometimes or another prize.
8. Do more sponsored sweepstakes in order to pay for shows.
9. quit fluffing puzzles up with extra descriptions.
9. If you didn't want to take away the feature prize, just put it on the wheel if it is won describe it if not, do like wheel did last year with he kia soul have a little promotion clip at credits of what the prize was.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Jun 23, 2013 22:42:26 GMT -5
All prizes on the show, period, (outside of the Gift Tags) are $5,000+.
Another suggestion, if they keep the Prize Puzzle, make it worth less than the "featured prize". Makes no sense when, for example, there's a $5,500 Ireland wedge on the Wheel and the PP is an $8,000 trip to Hawaii. The better-valued prize should have to be earned, not guaranteed.
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Post by damion92laverne on Jun 27, 2013 9:27:40 GMT -5
Bring back Friday Finals
Cheapen the wheel (amounts below $300)
Find other forms of prizes besides trips
Have the Prize Puzzle occur once a week
Add more four-digit amounts ($1000, $1500, $2000)
Make vowels $500
Don't put the top-dollar next to the Bankrupt
Get rid of the contest video wall
Bring back colored backdrops
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