game show

Dictionary: game show

A television show in which contestants compete for prizes by playing games of knowledge or chance.

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Radio or television program with a contest format in which the participants selected are celebrities or members of the listening or viewing audience, or a combination of both, who compete against each other or against the house, according to a prescribed set of rules, for some kind of reward. See also giveaway.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: game show

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Radio or television show designed to test the knowledge, luck, or skill of contestants or experts. Among the shows popular on U.S. radio were Dr. I.Q. (1939 – 49), Information, Please (1938 – 48), and The Quiz Kids (1940 – 53). The genre was adopted by television and cash awards were increased, so that radio's $64 Question became television's $64,000 Question. In the mid-1950s, to increase their shows' popularity, some producers began feeding answers to contestants who had been chosen to win. An accusation of unfair practices on Twenty-one (1958) led to a government investigation and the quick demise of the big-money shows. The game show later regained popularity when it was revived in formats with lower stakes and easier questions, as on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. At the turn of the 21st century, game shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire boasted large cash prizes and gained popularity in prime time, and reality shows like Survivor adopted aspects of the game show genre.

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WordNet: game show

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a television or radio program in which contestants compete for awards
Synonym: giveaway

Wikipedia: Game show

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"Quiz show" redirects here. For other uses, see Quiz show (disambiguation).

This article is about the television genre. For the Turkish computer games magazine, see Gameshow (magazine).

A game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems usually for money and/or prizes. On some shows contestants compete against other players or another team while other shows involve contestants playing alone for a good outcome or a high score. Game shows often reward players with prizes such as cash, trips and goods and services provided by the show's prize suppliers. Many television game shows descended from similar programs on radio. The very first television game show, Spelling Bee, was broadcast in 1938.

External links

Game Shows at the Open Directory Project

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		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
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		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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