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*"''You made...a horrible deal.''" - To any contestant who had a case worth a very high amount of money (mostly $1,000,000) and took a much lower offer.
*"''You made...a horrible deal.''" - To any contestant who had a case worth a very high amount of money (mostly $1,000,000) and took a much lower offer.
*"''That's OK!''" or "''It's OK!''" (repeated twice or a few times in a row) -- The response usually given by a contestant after a very large amount (often in the $10K - $100K range; always below the top amount still in play) has been revealed to be in one of the ladies cases, meaning they don't win that amount of money. The phrase is often said various times by the contestant him/herself, family members and by even Howie who tries to keep everyone calm and focusing on the bigger amounts still remaining.
*"''That's OK!''" or "''It's OK!''" (repeated twice or a few times in a row) -- The response usually given by a contestant after a very large amount (often in the $10K - $100K range; always below the top amount still in play) has been revealed to be in one of the ladies cases, meaning they don't win that amount of money. The phrase is often said various times by the contestant him/herself, family members and by even Howie who tries to keep everyone calm and focusing on the bigger amounts still remaining.
*"''And we're going to find out what's in that case/what the banker's offer is/ (model's name) open the case...(pause, turns to TV cameras)...when we come back/next time on "Deal or No Deal"''" - Spoken by Howie as a way of teasing the audience into thinking that their suspense will be gratified, but then telling them they'll have to wait until after the commercial break, or usually at the next episode. If the resolution point is carried over to the next episode, Howie generally smiles when he says "next time..."
*"''And we're going to find out what's in that case/what the banker's offer is/ (model's name) open the case...(pause, turns to TV cameras)...when we come back/next time on "Deal or No Deal"''" - Spoken by Howie as a way of teasing the audience into thinking that their suspense will be gratified, but then telling them they'll have to wait until after the commercial break, or usually at the next episode. If the resolution point is carried over to the next episode, Howie generally smiles when he says "next time..." Most frequently the game is carried over after the contestant has said No Deal to an offer. There have been only three instances of a case opening being delayed until the next show.


Other terminology used in the game:
Other terminology used in the game:

Revision as of 02:23, 26 April 2007

For other national versions, see the main Deal or No Deal article.
Information on specific episodes may be found at the TVIV wiki article on Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal logo.
Deal or No Deal logo.
Deal or No Deal logo
Created byJohn de Mol
StarringHowie Mandel
Models
Chet Steadman (banker)
Narrated byJoe Cipriano
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes101 (as of April 23, 2007)
Production
Executive producerScott St. John
Running time44 min.
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 19, 2005 –
present

The United States version of the game show Deal or No Deal, hosted by Canadian actor-comedian Howie Mandel, premiered on December 19, 2005 on NBC. After an initial weeklong event and another in February 2006, the show aired multi-weekly from March to June of 2006, typically on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In September 2006, the show returned with another weeklong event, and currently regularly airs on Sunday and Monday nights; episodes have also aired at various times on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays this season.

Gameplay

Before the game, a third party randomly places the possible winnings in the cases, which are distributed to 26 identically-dressed models who reveal the contents during the game. No one involved in the show's production, including the host, models, or even the executive producers, knows which amounts are in the cases. Unlike many international versions of the show, the briefcases in the U.S. gallery are not distributed to audience members.

After picking one of the cases, the contestant then selects 6 of the remaining 25 cases, revealed one at a time. Each figure appears in only one case, so any values revealed in this way are not in the contestant's case. This is followed by a "phone call" by "The Banker", a mysterious figure shown only in silhouette. He purportedly sits in a skybox (situated between the two audience sections) and makes an offer, via telephone, to Mandel (his voice is never heard, except by Mandel himself) to buy the contestant's case based primarily on the mean of the cash amounts still in play, but also on the stage of the game (early offers tend to be far lower than the mean, perhaps to goad the contestant into continuing play) as well as the player's psychology (Mandel will also occasionally relay supposed insults from the Banker to the player; players often insult the Banker back). Mandel then asks the title question: "Deal or No Deal?"

If the contestant accepts the "Deal" (by pushing a stylized red button enclosed in a glass case), the game ends, and the value of the case that he or she chose at the beginning of the game is then revealed along with the whereabouts of the remaining prizes. Should the contestant refuse the offer (by stating "No deal" and/or closing the glass case), they must choose five of the remaining cases to eliminate from consideration. The Banker makes another offer, and play continues as before. The Banker's offer may be higher or lower than the previous offer (if a top prize is eliminated, generally the offer decreases; conversely, if only lower amounts are eliminated the offer increases significantly).

Subsequent rounds have the contestant withdrawing four, three, then two cases from play. Should the contestant continue to decline the Banker's offer after this point, they then eliminate one case each time (with an intervening offer from the Banker) until two cases are left. If the player rejects the final offer, the player wins whatever is in his or her chosen case. Occasionally, the player is given the opportunity to switch cases with the one remaining case before seeing their prize.

Each contestant has several supporters (usually three), who sit in a special section just off stage during his or her game. As the field of cases dwindles, one or more of the supporters are asked to consult with the contestant and help him/her make a decision. These exchanges have become emotional, particularly when very high and very small amounts remained and the Banker offers a large cash buyout; on at least one occasion, the contestant's daughters called, pleading (successfully) with her to take The Banker's deal. The contestant's supporters are typically revealed on the second Bank offer (one time, they were revealed on the third offer).

However, these exchanges (in addition to the contestant's tactics, such as dancing, crying, or getting the audience to hoot and holler) appear to be scripted and the contestant may be heavily coached by producers on what to do and say throughout the game (except for picking cases and deciding on whether or not to take the Banker's offer), according to online game show fans (such as saying that a family member of theirs can't make it to the studio because of some form of excuse, when all of a sudden, the family member would come out from the vault onto the stage).

Often, the Banker may attach a prize to the cash in his offer. Most of the time, the prize is something the contestant wishes for (sometimes an unusual prize for gag purposes related to something the contestant likes); as on most gameshows, contestants fill out a screening sheet prior to their acceptance for broadcast, whose main purpose is to weed out unsuitable contestants, but also details their interests. If the offer is accepted, the contestant keeps the money and the prize, but if not, the prize will not be carried over to future offers.

Lucky Case game

File:Luckycasegame.jpg
Lucky Case Game

During its first week on the air, there was a $10,000 home viewer giveaway, wherein home viewers were invited to send a text message stating what they thought was the "Lucky Case." Entries to the contest were also accepted via the NBC website. A correct answer placed that viewer in that night's drawing for the $10,000 prize.

The Lucky Case game was altered for the 2nd week-long special, and the format carried over to the regular series. Instead of using the preexisting cases from the contestant's game, it uses a separate set of six gold-plated cases, as held by the show's models. Also, statistics are displayed before some commercial breaks showing the distribution of votes for each case. Depending on the time of year, there are two or three different winners of the Lucky Case game each night -- there are games for the Eastern/Central and Pacific time zone feeds throughout the season. There is a separate Mountain time zone game during the part of the season when the United States is on standard time. Each time zone has its own separate winning case number.

The viewer's prize is usually $10,000; however, occasional special episodes offer an increased prize of up to $100,000 (or $20,000 in the first season). On March 12, 2007, the announced prize progressively increased from $10,000 to $50,000 during the show; however, the actual cash prize was $50,000.

On Global, they do not show the Lucky Case Game segment, as the Canadian viewers are not eligible to participate. When repeats are shown on CNBC, the Lucky Case Game is not shown on the air.

On Double Deal days, the Lucky Case game doubles, just like the case amounts, up to $20,000.

Case values

$1
$5
$10
$25
$50
$75
$100
$150
$200
$300
$400
$500
$750
$1,000
$2,500
$5,000
$10,000
$25,000
$50,000
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$750,000
$1,000,000


For the second week of shows, from February 27, 2006, to March 3, 2006, the top values (i.e., those above $100,000) increased from night to night as shown below; also, as something of a joke, the lowest value was increased on March 3, 2006, to $.03. As a result of the increased potential payouts, the offers from the Banker increased while those higher values remained in play. Amounts did not increase for carryover contestants; the new values took effect for the first new contestant in each game. Higher amounts were also in play for the June 5 season finale, and those are also listed below.

Date 6th-highest 5th-highest 4th-highest 3rd-highest 2nd-highest Highest
Monday, February 27, 2006 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000
Thursday, March 2, 2006 $250,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,500,000
Friday, March 3, 2006 $250,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000
Monday, June 5, 2006 (the season finale) $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,500,000 $5,000,000

The following amounts were used during the September 18th premiere week:

Date 6th-highest 5th-highest 4th-highest 3rd-highest 2nd-highest Highest
Monday, September 18, 2006 (Game 1) $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
Monday, September 18, 2006 (Game 2) $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000
Monday, September 18, 2006 (Game 3) $250,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 (Game 4) $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 $4,000,000
Thursday, September 21, 2006 (Game 5) $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,500,000 $5,000,000
Friday, September 22, 2006 (Game 6) $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000 $6,000,000

Additionally, there was a game on November 17, 2006 and March 19,2007 (who got 2 cases) that had two contestants playing, rather than just one. Thus, for this game, all the money amounts on the game board were doubled, thus ranging from $ .02 to $2 million. The same was done on February 5, 2007 and February 7, 2007, except with one player each.

Records and statistics

Extremes

  • Highest potential bank offer (Specials): $1,600,000 (September 18, 2006, after accepting $675,000; top case was $3,000,000, contestant's case contained top prize)
  • Highest bank offer (Specials): $880,000 (September 22, 2006) (Declined) (Last two cases of $750,000 and $1,000,000; maximum case on episode: $6,000,000)
  • Lowest bank offer: $2 (February 28, 2006) (Declined) (Highest case still in play was $5)
  • Highest bank offer accepted (Specials): $701,000 (September 19, 2006) (Top prize $4,000,000; $1,000,000 in contestant's case)
  • Highest first bank offer: $80,000 (February 18, 2007) (Declined)
  • Highest second bank offer: $153,000 (February 18, 2007) (Declined)
  • Largest increase in a single bank offer: $525,000 ($701,000 after refusing $176,000)
  • Largest decrease in a single bank offer: $162,500 ($7,500 after refusing $170,000)
  • Most money won (No Deal): $100,000 (November 13, 2006)
  • Most money won (Deal): $464,000 (April 24, 2006)
  • Most money won (No Deal) (Specials): $750,000 (September 22, 2006)
  • Most money won (Deal) (Specials): $701,000 (September 19, 2006)
  • Least money won (Deal): $8 (March 24, 2006)
  • Least money won (No Deal): $5 (February 28, 2006)
  • Total winnings: $16,371,438 over 132 games (not counting the pony).
  • Total value of the cases sold: $12,135,311.05 over 132 games, 115 of which ended in deals.
  • Average winnings: approximately $124,026.05 over 132 games (not including the pony).
  • Average value of contestant's case: approximately $39,903.78 over 132 games.
  • Best deal by the percentages: 17,200,000 times case amount ($172,000 for $0.01, October 20, 2006)
  • Best deal by dollars: $401,600 more than the case amount ($402,000 for $400, March 5, 2007)
  • Best deal by dollars (Specials): $406,925 more than the case amount ($407,000 for $75, March 1, 2006)
  • Worst deal by the percentages: 8.1% of the case amount ($81,000 for $1,000,000, March 12, 2007)
  • Worst deal by dollars: $919,000 less than the case amount ($81,000 for $1,000,000, March 12, 2007)
  • Worst deal by dollars (Specials): $2,325,000 less than the case amount ($675,000 for $3,000,000, September 18, 2006)
  • Lowest percentage gain or loss on a deal: 2% over the case amount ($204,000 for $200,000, April 2, 2007)

Interesting Offers

  • Offers that were never revealed to the audience or the viewers: 1 (September 29, 2006, when Mike refused to even hear an offer if it was under $10,000)
  • Offers with the same amount twice in a row: 4
    • $17,000 (Second offer had a Hummer H3) (March 31, 2006)
    • $9,000 (no prizes attached to either one) (May 1, 2006)
    • $85,000 (no prizes attached to either one, accepted the second time around) (January 17, 2007)
    • $77,000 (Second offer had a fishing boat) (January 31, 2007)
  • Offers with a prize attached: 14
    • March 31, 2006: A Hummer H3 and $17,000 (Rejected)
    • April 5, 2006: A pony for the contestant's daughter and $44,000 (Accepted, value of pony indeterminate)
    • April 26, 2006: LaKissa Bright was offered a $15,000 hair transplant for her husband and $134,000 (Rejected)
    • May 1, 2006: A Dallas Cowboys fan was offered a Cowboys Dream Package which included tickets, food and travel accommodations worth a total of $40,000 (Rejected)
    • May 15, 2006: A Harley-Davidson motorcycle (valued at $18,000) and $99,000 (Rejected)
    • October 12, 2006: A Massey-Ferguson tractor (valued at $33,620) and $155,000 (Rejected)
    • October 16, 2006: A New York Jets fan was offered a Jets Dream Package including tickets, food and travel accommodations worth $28,800, plus $70,000 for a total value of $98,800 (Rejected, though she later received a version of the Jets Dream Package from Jets running back Curtis Martin, which was shown in a clip aired November 23, 2006)
    • November 20, 2006: Later in the same game, Zanny Henseler was offered a 2007 lime green Cadillac Escalade with 7 LCD video screens, 2,000 Watt stereo system, and spinners, worth $83,755 (Accepted)
    • November 27, 2006 and March 18, 2007 (Rerun): Brooks Leach was offered a lifetime supply of Sprecher root beer worth $26,657.28, although he preferred the alcoholic kind of beer. (Rejected)
    • January 31, 2007: Will Edmond Jr. was offered $77,000 and a 2006 Ranger V-288 bass boat with an all expense paid trip to Lake Okeechobee, Florida and fishing with sportsman Roland Martin. Total offered: $115,250. (Rejected)
    • February 14, 2007: Kate Miller was offered a credit card worth $36,000. (Rejected, so Howie cut it in half)
    • March 5, 2007: Anteia Greer was offered a car door with power windows and locks worth $2,350 plus a cash offer of $101,000. Total offered: $103,350 (Rejected)
    • March 19, 2007: Twins Annie and Aubrey were offered a deal of a lifetime supply of Doublemint gum worth $4,250 plus a cash offer of $27,000. Total offered: $31,250 (Rejected)
    • April 2, 2007: Jamar White was offered a V.I.P. audition for the NBC show "Last Comic Standing" by comedian Bill Bellamy (amount not given) and a cash offer of $35,000. (Rejected)
  • Offers with a joke prize attached: 6
    • November 13, 2006: Police officer Peter "Shine Box" Shine was offered 2 dozen doughnuts and $136,000 (Rejected)
    • November 17, 2006: Zanny Henseler was offered 658,500 aluminum cans worth $20,000 (Rejected)
    • November 23, 2006: $17,000 and the pleasure of seeing Mandel throwing a pie in the Banker's face. (Rejected, though Mandel pied the Banker anyway at the end of the game)
    • January 7, 2007: $10,000 and a vat of grease worth $300, obviously as a joke, since the contestant was a fan of the musical Grease (and the show aired before the initial episode of Grease: You're The One That I Want). (Rejected)
    • March 11, 2007: Uzma Lone was offered a sleeping bag and pillow for her mother worth $10 plus a cash offer of $53,000. Total offered: $53,010 (Rejected)
    • March 26, 2007: Contestant Stan Stava, a bachelor, was offered a date with model number 3 Lisa Gleave's sister only come to find out that it was a man in drag and the cash offer was $87,000. (Rejected)
  • Prizes with no offers attached: 5
    • May 5, 2006: Anca Toderic received a puppy from her boyfriend, even though he had previously refused to buy her one.
    • June 5, 2006: Casey Bell, a big fan of Celine Dion, won a trip to see Celine in concert in Las Vegas, awarded by Celine herself.
    • November 20, 2006: Joe Kaiser was given 10 $100 bills ($1,000) to give out immediately to random, non-related to contestant, audience members, to feel how it is to be a "big shot".
    • January 17, 2007: The contestant's wife received a dozen roses.
    • February 26, 2007: A contestant and his family were invited by Joe Torre to be guests at a New York Yankees game.


Case Information

  • Cases most commonly selected by the contestant (s): Case #8 (12 times); Case #23 (11 times); Case #3 (9 times), Cases #7 & #11 (8 times each); Cases #5, #12, #13 and #17 (7 times each).
  • Cases rarely selected by the contestant: Case #1 - once; Case #10 - twice; Case #19 - three times; Case #22 - four times.
  • Amounts most commonly in a contestant's case: $5, $50 and $400,000 (9 times each)
  • Amounts least commonly in a contestant's case: $100, $300 (once each); $200, $5,000, and $25,000 (twice each).
  • Huge amounts ($100,000 or higher) most commonly in a contestant's case: $400,000 (9 times) and $200,000 (7 times).
  • Case most commonly holding the lowest prize (1 cent): Case #4 (11 times).
  • Cases most commonly holding the top prize: Cases #6 and #25 (10 times); Case #21 (9 times); Case #10 (8 times).
  • Case #4 was the last case to have the top prize placed in it, on November 17, 2006, after all 84 games played to that day. Case #18 (which had the original top prize of $1,000,000 for the first time on April 9, 2007, while the other two top prizes it contained were $6,000,000 on September 22, 2006 and $2,000,000 on February 5, 2007) has had it the least.
  • Cases that have stayed in the gallery the longest on average: Cases #18 and #22
  • Cases that are eliminated from the gallery the quickest on average: Cases #5, #16 and #19

Notable Firsts

  • First case ever chosen by a contestant: Case #14
  • First person to select a case with a huge amount ($100,000 or more): Horston Bowen on March 20, 2006, who picked case number 3 with $400,000. (He did not win the case, however, he sold it for $221,000.)
  • First person to select the million dollar case: LaKissa Bright on April 26, 2006. (She did not win the case, #17, however, because she sold it for $215,000.)
  • First person to select the penny case: Eric Paulson on March 10, 2006. (He sold the case for $19,000.)

To date:

  • Only 6 contestants selected the top prize case, and 5 have picked it when $1 million was the top prize (the other being Matthew Solina, who picked case 23 holding $3 million). However, none of them have won the prize. On March 12, 2007, during a special 2 hour episode, two different contestants picked the $1,000,000 case.
  • 3 contestants selected the penny case, two of which have won over $100,000.
    • In addition, on February 7, 2007, Emika Porter, who played a Double Deal game (where all the money amounts were doubled), selected the case with $.02 (#22). She sold it for $15,000.
  • 2 contestants have gotten engaged on the show, and both of them won over $100,000. One of them won more than $300,000.
  • 7 contestants have picked the $1 million case for their first selection (twice in case #13, twice in case #6, once in case #3, once in case #2, and once in case #1). One of them won $118,000, and one won $105,000, but the biggest win among the other five was $50,000.
  • The earliest a bank offer has gone more than $100,000 (in regular gameplay only) was the second offer which was offered to contestant Tony Kolton on February 18, 2007 and was worth $153,000.
  • The earliest a contestant accepted a deal was at the 3rd offer. On March 12, 2007, Dave Atherton sold his case for $81,000 on the third offer -- the playout that followed revealed that he had the $1,000,000 in his case, with projected offers as high as $561,000.
  • First time in Deal or No Deal history where two contestants had the $1 million in their respective cases in one episode: March 12, 2007
  • Number of times the $1 million was in play when contestant dealt: 18
  • Number of times the penny was in play when contestant dealt: 14
  • Number of times an elevated top prize was in play when contestant dealt: 3
  • Number of times an elevated penny was in play when contestant dealt: 2
  • Number of times a seven-figure amount other than the top prize was in play when a contestant dealt: 2
  • Number of times the contestant has refused a deal when one of the last two is the top prize: none yet
  • Number of times the contestant has refused a deal when one of the last two is seven-figure: 1
  • Number of times the contestant has refused a deal when one of the last two is the penny: 1
  • Number of times the contestant has refused a deal when one of the last two is an elevated penny: none yet
  • Most frequent amounts remaining when contestant dealt: $750,000 and $1,000,000

Scheduling and ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Deal or No Deal on NBC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned are in the Eastern and Pacific time zones.

Season one (2005-2006)

TV Season Timeslot Rank Viewers
(in millions)
2005-2006 Monday 8:00PM #13Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). 15.8Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).
Wednesday 8:00PM #21Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). 14.4Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).
Friday 8:00PM #32Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). 11.6Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Early ratings for the show were extremely encouraging. According to Zap2it, "all five shows [during the week beginning December 19, 2005 and ending December 25, 2005] finished in the top 15 among total viewers, peaking with 14.1 million people watching the Wednesday, December 21 installment. For the week, "Deal or No Deal" averaged about 12.7 million viewers and a solid 4.3 rating in the adults 18-49."[1]

The show appeared again on NBC each night February 27 through March 3 at 8:00PM ET/PT with the top prize (and some of the higher-valued cases other than the top prize) escalating until the prize reached $3 million (and the lowest-valued case going up to $.03). As of March 6, the show settled into regular time slots at 8:00PM Mondays and Fridays, with the top prize returning to its original $1 million. Wednesday episodes were added at 8:00PM due to the show's consistent ratings success. In something of a ratings coup, the April 3 episode of the show, a two-hour special, outrated the NCAA basketball tournament final in head-to-head competition. During both of the two-hour specials, the second hour scored even higher ratings than the first.

Since it became a regular series, Deal or No Deal consistently placed within the 20 most popular programs on television, at times attaining the top 10. The June 5, 2006 2-hour season finale, which featured Celine Dion via satellite, marked a series-high rating for the program, bringing in over 18 million viewers and a strong 5.5 share in the 18-49 demographic. The episode was easily the highest-rated show on any network for the week of June 5 through June 11, outdistancing the number-two show, a repeat episode of CSI, by almost six million viewers. The finale experienced similar success in Canada, with 1.5 million viewers tuning in.[2][3] (However, it should be noted that CSI and virtually all other fall TV series had completed their seasons two weeks earlier and were either in reruns or pre-empted by this point.)

Season two (2006-2007)

The show returned with new episodes in September 2006, airing on Mondays and Fridays at 8:00 and Thursdays at 9:00 — the latter time slot being perhaps the most competitive in U.S. television, as Deal or No Deal faced a pair of big hit series in CBS's CSI and ABC Grey's Anatomy.

Deal 's Thursday time slot had initially been intended for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip when NBC announced its fall schedule. However, the need to protect the new series against stiff ratings competition caused repercussions throughout the network's primetime grid, including a move on May 25[4] of Deal from its announced Friday time slot to Thursdays. The drama Crossing Jordan, which had been planned for a mid-season run, was to be brought into the Friday lineup in what would have been Deal 's second weekly time slot. However, after Deal or No Deal completed airing special episodes in that time slot to success, NBC moved Crossing Jordan back to midseason and used Deal on Fridays as well to help launch a sister series, 1 vs. 100.

The show premiered with a 2-hour edition on September 18, 2006, and one-hour episodes that each aired on September 19, 21 and 22. The show used a $20 million prize pot over the first week to kick off the second season of the game, coupled with the at-home Lucky Case Game for $1 million. During the season premiere week in 2006, the main game had maximum amounts start at $1 million, and increased $1 million for each game, up to $6 million.[5]

According to final Nielsen ratings for the week of September 18-24, 2006, the second-season premiere episode of Deal or No Deal on Monday, September 18 was the 11th most-watched network prime time show in total audience and NBC's most-watched program in total audience. The Friday episode of the show also did well in the ratings and won its time slot against the other networks. The Tuesday and Thursday episodes suffered from tough competition: Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy and CSI.[6]

The success of Deal or No Deal was a factor in NBC's decision to program another Endemol game, 1 vs. 100, which premiered on October 13 and assumed Deal's Friday night time slot on October 27. Meanwhile, NBC announced the Thursday episodes would end with the November 8 episode, to be replaced by sitcoms Scrubs and 30 Rock. Through all these changes, the Monday night edition of Deal continued to win its timeslot by a large margin. On Monday, October 30, 2006, for instance, Deal won its time slot with a 10.3 household rating and 16 percent share, easily outdistancing second-place Prison Break at 5.6/8. Interestingly, during the November sweeps period, the ratings for Deal or No Deal on Thursday grew slightly despite heavy competition in the timeslot. NBC moved the second weekly episode of Deal or No Deal to Wednesday at 9 PM as of January 2007, and also added a few episodes at 7:00 PM Sundays in hopes of giving a boost to its new post-football lineup. NBC announced on February 16, 2007 that the second airing would move from Wednesdays to Sundays at 9 PM (Eastern/Pacific) starting March 4.

Cable

NBC's sister business network, CNBC, aired episodes of the premiere week of Deal or No Deal starting on December 26, 2005, scoring above-average ratings for the network. The show has been blacked out in Canada on that station due to programming rights issues in that country, and Canadian viewers were shown CNBC World programming instead. The show began to rerun again on CNBC during the week of February 6 until June 9th. CNBC also programmed the second week-long series of the show but the sequence started two shows behind the airings on NBC (i.e., while the March 1 edition of the show on NBC aired with the top prize augmented to $2 million, the first airing on CNBC started with the first show at its baseline $1 million).

For the show's second season, following a marathon of the second season premiere week, CNBC announced that Deal or No Deal re-airings would be back on Saturday nights starting October 14, 2006, at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., and 3 a.m. ET. In addition, Deal reruns aired on CNBC every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., and 1 a.m. ET. Currently, the reruns air Tuesday and Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET and 11:00 p.m. ET. The reruns are not necessarily repeats of the most-recent episodes -- many of these episodes are selected at random, and may have been previously seen several months after its initial broadcast.

TVtropolis also airs the series, starting with the February 2006 premiere week of episodes.

Models

Main article: List of Deal or No Deal models (US)

While most of the models hold the same numbered case each week, a few of the models hold a different case number each game. All 26 models wear identical dresses and shoes, though the style is changed for each episode, although in rare occasions they wear identical wigs that were standard in this show's international counterparts (such as on the March 5, 2007 episode, where all remaining models (except Hayley) wore pink afro wigs).

Odds and probabilities

When a contestant is presented with the original 26 cases, he or she has a 3.85% (1 in 26) chance of selecting a case containing any of the available dollar amounts. (Compare this to the standard American roulette wheel, where selecting any of the available 38 numbers offers casino players just 2.63% (1 in 38) of selecting a winning number.)

If the contestant were allowed to open this case immediately, theoretically it would contain $750 or less half the time (13 of 26 cases) and $1,000 or more half the time (13 of 26 cases); the median ("middle") case value is $875. However, because of the very large top prizes, the mean ("average") value of that case is $131,477.54. If every contestant refused every deal (eventually being able to open their initial choice), the gameshow would expect to pay out approximately $131,131 per contestant on average. However, most of the gameshow's payouts would be concentrated in a few big winners -- and most contestants would leave with very disappointing earnings.

  • Once the contestant has revealed six cases, he or she has a 5% (1 in 20) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts. The mean and median expected contents of the initial case change accordingly.
  • After the contestant has revealed five more cases, he or she has a 6.67% (1 in 15) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • After the contestant has revealed four more cases, he or she has a 9.1% (1 in 11) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • After the contestant has revealed three more cases, he or she has a 12.5% (1 in 8) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • After the contestant has revealed two more cases, he or she has a 16.7% (1 in 6) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • The contestant's odds of his or her selected case containing a specific value will continue to increase (20% – 1 in 5; 25% – 1 in 4; 33% – 1 in 3) until just two cases (the first selected case and the last case held by a model) remain. At this point, the odds of winning either amount is 50% (1 in 2), regardless of whether the player switches the cases or not. A common misconception is that switching cases increases a contestant's chance of winning. However, the Monty Hall problem does not apply in this case, because the contestant, with no knowledge of the contents of the cases, can potentially eliminate a top prize at any time. The only way to increase odds of winning past 50% by swapping would be for someone with knowledge of the cases' contents to choose cases after the contestant's initial choice, leaving behind one winning amount and one lesser amount.[7]

Special versions derived from the US version

  • A syndicated version is currently being planned, which may debut in the Fall of 2007.[8] It is known, however, that Howie Mandel will not host the syndicated version, as the asking price to host it, in addition to the primetime NBC version, is out of the producers' league. Also, the syndicators announced that Arsenio Hall, who hosted the pilot, will not be hosting the syndicated version. The producers have yet to find a host, though it is rumored that comedian Mark Curry and Street Smarts host Frank Nicotero are among the candidates.[9] However, the future of the syndicated version may be in doubt, as the NBC network is concerned the show would burn out prematurely, just like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.[10] A 2008 debut, however, is a possibility.[11]
  • NBC and Endemol have produced a Spanish-language version of Deal or No Deal, which debuted October 8, 2006, on their Telemundo Spanish language channel. Titled Vas o No Vas (Go or No Go), it is hosted by Héctor Sandarti, who hosted the Mexican version of the same name for Televisa. The top prize is $250,000.[12] The show is televised on Sunday nights at 9:30 PM ET/PT. The episodes that aired on November 5, and December 17, 2006, saw contestants win $180,500 and a Ford F-150 for a total of over $200,000, an all-time record for an American-based Spanish-language game show.
  • After the conclusion of Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007, Global in Canada debuted Deal or No Deal Canada, a special Canadian version of Deal or No Deal. This version of the show, taped January 23-25, 2007 in Toronto, features Howie Mandel (a Toronto native) as host. The series ran for five hour-long episodes.[13] Applications for auditioning were very similar to the NBC version, except that no videos are required.[14]
  • Also in Canada, TVA has produced a French-Canadian version of Deal or No Deal called Le Banquier, named after the mysterious figure that contestants must make deals with to obtain as much money as possible. The show, which is practically the same as the US version, have 26 cases with a $500,000 top prize. The only difference is that the models on the top row (cases 21 to 26) are men.
  • All US and Canadian editions are produced by Endemol USA, with the US and Canadian English versions both using Scott St. John as Executive Producer and R. Brian DiPirro as Director.

Trivia

  • The original pilot was produced for ABC in early 2004 with British TV personality Patrick Kielty as host and a $2.5 million top prize. It was announced that the show would premiere in March 2004, but ABC decided against airing the series.
  • During the first week, once a contestant accepts the deal, the game was played through to determine potential future bank offers, still phoned in as usual. Starting on the second week, the potential offers are displayed immediately, without any significant interaction from the Banker, making the post-deal play-through much quicker. Also, the potential offers are generally not displayed if they would be significantly less than the offer that was accepted, and the rest of the play-through is not shown once it is assumed that the player made a good deal. Whether or not it actually occurs and is edited is unknown. Bad deals (or what may turn out to be one), however, are usually played out in their entirety. (In other international versions, games are played in their entirety for the losing contestants in the question round to learn their amounts for the purpose of trying for the lucky guess prize. There is no such rule in the current US version, as it has no question round, but these rules are in effect for the Spanish-language US version (see below).)
  • During play in the second week-long special, a contestant accidentally knocked the phone onto the floor, breaking off the battery cover. Mandel joked about it and went to commercial break; when the show resumed, the phone was fixed with a rather unnecessary amount of black tape (On the March 31, 2006 episode, a contestant broke the box that covers the deal button, bringing the black tape back to the show. A subsequent deal was a humorous $148,990, with $10 subtracted from the regular deal to account for the broken box.) The phone was also knocked off onto the floor as well by contestant Kate Miller during the February 14, 2007 episode.
  • A commercial for the second week-long special illustrated a first-person simulation of what it's like to be a contestant on Deal or No Deal. Scenes included the scoreboard, the models, the family members in the audience, and Howie Mandel. However, the commercial contained some continuity errors. For instance, the scoreboard showed that a number of cases had been opened already, but all 26 models were still on stage. Also, the bank offer shown was too large for the amounts of money left in play.
  • For the first 13 episodes, Peter Abbay played the role of the mysterious banker. Presumably, he still does, but he is no longer in the end credits.
  • The show's announcer is Joe Cipriano. He also is the regular voice-over at many television networks, and including other Endemol productions. (In many game shows, announcers are by production company, not networks, as historically networks were not permitted to have control over game shows.)
  • Originally, Mandel opted not to host Deal or No Deal, and turned down the job more than once, but his wife Terry talked him into hosting the show.
  • A "Deal or No Deal" electronic game was released in June. This game was revealed on the April 24 episode, where the contestant and each member of the audience received a copy. A DVD game is also available. [1]
  • On April 4, 2006, the syndicated TV newsmagazine Inside Edition did a behind-the-scenes report on Deal 's models. The report, done by the show's reporter Jim Moret, showed how the models were all becoming glamourous at the same time, using hair and make-up, and putting on the emerald green dresses they had trouble squeezing into. Another syndicated newsmagazine, Entertainment Tonight, profiled Deal's models on May 4, 2006, and during the month of May, each of the models co-hosted Extra 's "Deal of the Day" segment with Extra co-host Mark McGrath.
  • Bonnie-Jill Laflin appeared as a model during the show's first week, but did not return for the February tapings; instead, she opted to join other entertainers visiting troops in Iraq. Laflin has not been on the show since.
  • Mandel appeared at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium, presenting the award for Outstanding Directing in a Musical, Comedy, or Variety Program. Six of the models were brought onstage to symbolize the nominees, with one model's case containing a monitor showing the winner (Louis J. Horvitz for his directing work on the 2006 Academy Awards; Horvitz also was the Emmys' director that night). Earlier that night, during Conan O'Brien's montage song of "Gee, We're Screwed" (to make fun of NBC's bad ratings luck in recent seasons), he made reference to Deal or No Deal by singing that NBC is now "depending on Howie Mandel" to humorously describe how "desperate" NBC has become to get ratings.
  • In the second season's premiere episode, the models walked out on stage before each new game was played. Usually, the models would have already been in place if a new game started during an episode.
  • In the second season the Banker now has a couple of models who have made appearances. In the $3,000,000 episode, two "Banker Babes" offered $400,000 in cash; on the October 5th episode, the Banker model showed up with "the elusive case 27" or "the Banker's case"; when she opened case 27, the offer was revealed via red LED lights, with the same effects as a regular round; on the November 13th episode, the Banker Babe came out with a case full of donuts for a cop contestant (to add to the offer of $136,000).
  • On the 2006 Thanksgiving two-hour special, the second game had the $25 amount on the board replaced by a turkey. In the third game, the $10 amount was replaced with pumpkin pie.
    • In that same episode, the third game also had a special green bonus case, held by Keltie Martin, in which the contestant would win if the $1 million was kept in play after the first two rounds. Alas, in the first round, the $1 million was picked off, in Keltie's most substituted case, Brooke Long's, case #15. The amount inside the case was never revealed.
    • Also in that episode, the Lucky Case Game had a person dressed up as a turkey holding case number 6, while the other models looked at it weirdly.
  • A special two-hour Christmas themed episode was seen following the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game on December 25, 2006 (except on the West coast, where it aired at 8 PM PST). Audience members won prizes: in the first game, two audience members won a prize if the gift boxes included a card that said "Deal", and everyone in the audience won a prize from the Banker — a penny (because the penny was among the 5 cases still remaining in the game). In the second game, all audience members won a small prize if the contestant said "No Deal", though they also kept the last prize when the contestant accepted the deal. Some of the models also announced what they wanted for Christmas. Lindsay Clubine wanted a trip to a white sandy beach, Lauren Shiohama wanted a house, and Keltie Martin wanted a little dog to carry around with her. In the Eastern and Central Time Zones (at least), the winner of the Lucky Case Game, normally announced during the show's closing credits, was announced at the end of 1 vs. 100, which followed Deal or No Deal that night. Some of the singers in this episode were the 'Mob Members' for that episode of 1 vs. 100.
  • A special episode aired at 7 PM ET/PT January 7 prior to the premiere of Grease: You're The One That I Want, with the models wearing 1950's attire, complete with poodle skirts and saddle shoes. During the show the original star of the Grease movie, Olivia Newton-John called in.
    • This episode also featured a "Double or Nothing" option, based on the Australian version. However, unlike the Aussie version (where the contestant would risk any portion of his or her winnings), the contestant would have to wager everything if s/he decided to play. The contestant "Kathy" chose not to play, but the case she chose, had she decided to play, would have doubled her winnings. It is currently unknown if this will be a permanent feature; it was also present on the January 21 episode with the contestant taking the $1,000 won in the game. If she had chosen one of the two cases, however, she would've lost her winnings.
  • The pop group Hanson appeared on the January 24, 2007 episode to surprise contestant Jackie Monroe, who is a huge fan of the group.
    • Coming from Evansville, Indiana, Monroe was the first news anchor to be a DoND contestant -- she anchors the weekday prime-time newscasts on FOX affiliate WTVW.
  • The highest Deal or No Deal first offer ever was $50,000, happening on February 7, 2007. This offer may have been such an enormous sum only due to the fact that, on this particular episode, all the dollar values were doubled. But on a regular episode on February 18, 2007, contestant Tony Kolton's first offer of $80,000 became the highest first offer ever in the regular game of Deal or No Deal. His second offer was also the highest ever, it being $153,000.
  • Bobby, Howie Mandel's cartoon character from his 1990s FOX animated series, Bobby's World, appeared on the February 12, 2007 episode, to ask contestant Donato DeMarinis[2] the magic question: "Deal or No Deal?"[3]
    • Also in that same game, DeMarinis was surprised with a live telecast from Times Square where his family and former contestants Gary Riotto, Michele Falco, and Matty Sollena offered Donato advice during a patriotic episode.
  • The March 4, 2007 episode featured guest appearances from WWE wrestlers John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Edge and Randy Orton. The contestant on this episode was a man who holds signs ringside at WWE events, as a way to incite a response from the wrestlers. Cena and Lashley appeared to root for the contestant, while Edge and Orton were in the audience, rallying against the contestant (even as much as going on stage to tear up the signs that the contestant made for the show). It should be noted that model Leyla Milani was a finalist of WWE's 2005 Diva Search as the contestant told Howie that Leyla had that small tie with the WWE.
  • On the March 5, 2007 episode, afroed contestant Anteia Greer fainted upon hearing a deal offer of $189,000 and then fainted again upon hearing a deal offer of $264,000. This is the first time that a contestant has fainted on Deal or No Deal. During the third round of the episode, all of the remaining models wore pink afro wigs except for Hayley Marie Norman (of whom Anteia is a fan of), who already has a natural one. When the banker called to announce the deal that Anteia accepted ($402,000), he too was wearing an afro wig. Coincidentally, Hayley's case 25 had the largest money value still on the board ($750,000). This is the first time the English-American version's models wore wigs (other versions, such as Australia, Israel, and the Netherlands have the models wearing wigs on a regular basis).
  • On the March 12, 2007 episode, which was a 2 hour episode, 2 of the 3 players of the night selected the case with the $1,000,000. Both players sold out early, with the second player who had the million, bodybuilder and bagpipe maker Dave Atherton, taking an $81,000 deal on the third offer -- the earliest in US Deal or No Deal history. Because of Dave's early exit, the playout was not conducted until after the commercial break.
  • On the March 19, 2007 episode, another 2 hour episode, the first game of the show featured models who were all men, all Los Angeles and San Diego firefighters. This is the first time in any version of Deal or No Deal that all 26 models were men. During this game, the regular models sat in the audience to watch.
    • The players in this game were twins playing for double the stakes -- this was the second time twins were specially featured on the show.
    • In that same game, in addition to the values being doubled, two lucky cases were selected for a single game, instead of the usual one case.
    • In the second game that followed, Howie visited Westside Pavilion, a mall near Santa Monica, California, to randomly select a contestant. He selected Shell, an employee of "Hot Dog on a Stick", who abandoned her post (along with her twin sister, who also worked there) to play the game. At the end, she took a final deal for $62,000, with two choices remaining ($50,000, and $75,000 which was in her case.)

Quotes

In addition to the titular question:

  • "Ladies, please." - Cue for the models to enter the stage.
  • "Hi ladies. (or men, on occasion)" -- [in unison] "Hi Howie!" - a short exchange between Howie and the models when they come out. It is usually followed by a humorous remark by Howie. This exchange is similar to the exchange from Charlie's Angels where Charlie greets the Angels by saying "Good Morning, Angels!" and the Angels responding in unison with "Good Morning, Charlie!"
  • "How do we find out what's in your case? We'll start by opening those. Whatever's in there is not in your case." - Howie starts each game with this spiel.
  • "[Model's first name] , open the case." - Cue for the chosen model to open the case, with an accompanying hand gesture.
  • "(X) out of the top (number larger than X) amounts remain/are remaining", or "The top (X) amounts remain/are remaining", often ending with the phrase "including (highest remaining prize amount)" - Often used throughout a game to relay the player's chances of taking home a certain minimum of money (in a normal game, $100,000, but this value can vary during special episodes)
  • "...And the bank offer would've been..." - Used after a deal has been accepted to show what any future offers would be.
  • "You made... a great deal!" - To any contestant who took an offer for more than their case amount, even if it wasn't necessarily the best offer in the game.
  • "You made... not such a great deal." - To any contestant who took an offer for less than their case amount.
  • "You made...a horrible deal." - To any contestant who had a case worth a very high amount of money (mostly $1,000,000) and took a much lower offer.
  • "That's OK!" or "It's OK!" (repeated twice or a few times in a row) -- The response usually given by a contestant after a very large amount (often in the $10K - $100K range; always below the top amount still in play) has been revealed to be in one of the ladies cases, meaning they don't win that amount of money. The phrase is often said various times by the contestant him/herself, family members and by even Howie who tries to keep everyone calm and focusing on the bigger amounts still remaining.
  • "And we're going to find out what's in that case/what the banker's offer is/ (model's name) open the case...(pause, turns to TV cameras)...when we come back/next time on "Deal or No Deal"" - Spoken by Howie as a way of teasing the audience into thinking that their suspense will be gratified, but then telling them they'll have to wait until after the commercial break, or usually at the next episode. If the resolution point is carried over to the next episode, Howie generally smiles when he says "next time..." Most frequently the game is carried over after the contestant has said No Deal to an offer. There have been only three instances of a case opening being delayed until the next show.

Other terminology used in the game:

  • Safety net - Used when two relatively close, high dollar cases are isolated; breaking it usually results in a dangerous board.
  • Landmine - Used when the gap between the highest and second highest value is very large; if the largest value is exposed, the player is said to have "hit a landmine".
  • Razor's edge - Somewhat related to a landmine; if a player chooses to play on with only one amount worth winning left in play, they are on the "razor's edge".
  • Player's board - Usually used either when the player has several high value cases at a relatively late point in the game, or the player has more high value cases than they are required to open in the next round.
  • Banker's board - The opposite of "player's board", in which there are more low cases than high late in the game.

Imitations

  • 96.5 FM WPOW-FM in Miami, Florida has their own version, Deal Or Not?; contestants call in with two choices out of three cases to pick (at first, just one pick out of two). This version uses no banker.
  • Beginning October 16, 2006, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, a syndicated morning radio program, offers a "Cash Call" contestant a chance to gamble $1000 for a chance to win $1 million, in a game similar to Deal Or No Deal. In this game, the caller picks one out of 26 envelopes, with the contestant winning whatever's inside. This version also uses no banker.
  • On WSIN 1590 AM Radio, the station at Southern Connecticut State University, a student hosts SCSU's The Deal, otherwise known as "SCSU's Deal or No Deal", in which game play is similar to that of the UK version, where there are 22 envelopes and 22 different amounts ranging from $.01 to $25. With Season 2 beginning in January 2007, the top prize is expected to increase to $50. This version does have a banker.
  • During the summer of 2006, 99.5 WZPL in Indianapolis, Indiana featured a game titled "Gas or No Gas", in which contestants played for varying gallons of gas with the maximum amount as high as 100 gallons.

Meal or No Meal

  • 103.7 FM WRTS-FM in Erie, Pennsylvania also has their own version, Meal or No Meal, where contestants call and select one of 10 cases that contain gift cards for local restaurants. If someone picked and didn't like their choice, they could pick again for something else, or possibly get nothing.
  • During halftime at Western Kentucky University basketball games, their own version of Meal or No Meal is played by a selected fan in the crowd. Sponsored by Wendy's, the player must pick between four different colored briefcases having: 1, 5, 15, or 52 combo meals in them. After the briefcase is selected, they ask to check to see one of the cases, and then an offer is made. Then, like the real game, they decide if they will take it or not. Then, they find out how many combos they won.
  • In the failed NBC reality series Celebrity Cooking Showdown, host Alan Thicke opened the first episode calling the show "Meal or No Meal" because it immediately followed 'Deal or No Deal' on the same night.
  • The addictinggames.com website also includes a Meal or No Meal game, played similar to Deal or No Deal.
  • The British television show Big Brother 7 featured a task named "Meal or No Meal," relating to winning food and having no relevance to Deal or No Deal at all. It should be noticed that Big Brother (UK) and Deal or No Deal are both produced by Endemol.

Parodies

  • On Saturday, October 28, 2006, Lester Holt, host of the weekend edition of NBC's Today Show, dressed as Howie Mandel for Halloween. In addition, Holt introduced a bevy of women descending a staircase dressed as the Deal or No Deal models with the traditional introduction ("Ladies, please...").
  • A January 2007 episode of Royal Canadian Air Farce featured a parody of Deal or No Deal hosted by Liberal leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff (played by Alan Park), who ended up messing up the rules of the show, making the contestant (played by Craig Lauzan) open his case when there was still other cases left in play, causing the contestant to win only $500.
  • An April 14, 2007 episode of MADtv had another parody of Deal or No Deal. This time, two high amounts and two low amounts are left, the player was having a hard time deciding, and his wife kept telling him to take the deal.
  • On Mind of Mencia, on a segment called IRAQ TV, the show is parodied in which is shown featuring an evil and more sinister version of Howie Mandel offering a deal to the Iraqi constestant to take it or he will kill his family, in which he refused and his family is shot dead and several gunshots and screamings are heard in the background.

References

  1. ^ "NBC Seals More 'Deal'". Zap2It. December 29, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  2. ^ "Medialifemagazine.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  3. ^ "Canada.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  4. ^ "Nbcumv.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  5. ^ "Broadcastingcable.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  6. ^ "Royalgenes.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  7. ^ "MontyHallProblem.com". Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  8. ^ "Buzzerblog.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  9. ^ "Broadcasting & Cable". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
  10. ^ "Broadcasting & Cable". Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  11. ^ "Broadcast Newsroom". Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  12. ^ "Nydailynews.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  13. ^ "Canada.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  14. ^ "Canada.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.



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