The network has given the go-ahead to a new version of LET'S MAKE A DEAL, the product placement-friendly game show in which contestants bargain for the best possible prizes while trying to avoid getting zonked.
It replaces GUIDING LIGHT, the iconic soap opera exiting the CBS lineup Sept. 18.
Comic/actor Wayne Brady is expected to host the new DEAL, filling the legendary shoes of original host/producer Monty Hall, said people familiar with the details of the decision. FremantleMedia North America is producing the revival, which is expected to launch as an hour-long series as early as Sept. 21.
Network officials weren't commenting Sunday on the DEAL pickup, or what it means for the other big contender for GUIDING LIGHT's time slot -- a new version of THE $100,000 PYRAMID. That show, from producer Michael Davies, also taped a pilot this summer and had been considered a strong candidate for a series order.
One of the big advantages of DEAL, however, is that its format is ideally suited to show off potential sponsors' brands -- a major plus in an age when networks are looking to integrate brand messages into programming. PRICE IS RIGHT has proven that such an ad-friendly format can work on CBS.
Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, said in April that the network wanted to find a show to replace GUIDING LIGHT "which could have the potential to grow, and we could do it at a much lower cost."
As a lifelong daytime soap fan, I am rooting hard against this latest incarnation of LET'S MAKE A DEAL. If the show does well, I predict it will like expedite the cancellation of at least one ABC soap if not two. Why would ABC, or NBC for that matter who will decide DAYS future next year, deal with declining profit margins for their soaps if CBS demonstrates you can bring in as many or more viewers with a less expensive show to produce?
It will be interesting to see if the show occupies GUIDING LIGHT's morning timeslots in several major markets of it CBS will push affiliates to air the show at 3pm ET/2pm PT where GL was intended to air.
In the meantime, keep supporting indie soaps, the wave of the future.
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
