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Deal or No Deal
Format	Game show
Created by	John de Mol
Presented by	Howie Mandel
Starring	Patricia Kara (Model) Tameka Jacobs (Model) The Banker
Narrated by	Joe Cipriano
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndicated MyNetworkTV (2009-2010)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original run	September 8, 2008 – May 28, 2010
Chronology
Related shows	Deal or No Deal (primetime)
External links
Official website

Deal or No Deal is an American game show, which is a daytime version of the American series of the same name that is syndicated by NBC Universal Television Distribution. It premiered on September 8, 2008. Howie Mandel continues as host of the weekday version, which is seen either once or twice a day, depending on the market.^[1] The format is similar to the UK version of the show (and other versions in Spain, Italy, France, and India). In the show's second season taping moved to Connecticut.

Deal or No Deal was also picked up by MyNetworkTV and airs Tuesdays at 9/8c and 9:30/8:30c.^[2] On February 8, 2010, it was announced that Deal or No Deal will be canceled following its second season due to low ratings. ^[3]

Gameplay

Deal or No Deal is played by one contestant at a time, five contestants per week with 22 contestants per week trying to play. Prior to each game, 22 dollar amounts ranging from $.01 to $500,000 are distributed by a third-party among 22 briefcases^[4], the values are unknown by the host or the Banker. The cases are then randomly presented to 22 contestants.^[5].

The game begins by spinning the "Deal Wheel," a wheel with the 22 numbers that correspond to the numbers on the cases. A golden ball is placed in the wheel and as it spins, the ball bounces around inside the wheel to various numbers. When the wheel stops, whichever number the ball lands is the case number selected. The contestant's case is then placed on a podium. The player has the opportunity to either keep the case that they have or swap with one of the 21 remaining cases. To date, the only exception to this rule has been when Evian has been a sponsor on the show and the models would spin a bottle of Evian water to determine the contestants for that particular week. During special themed weeks, the logo sponsoring is shown on the wheel as well.

Through a series of rounds, the contestant is asked to select a number of the other cases still in play; each case is opened and the value revealed before it is taken out of play, and a large electronic board is used to track which dollar amounts still remain in the game. After completing the selection of cases for that round, the Banker, a silhouette figure lit only dimly from behind in a box overlooking the stage, will call down to the host using a phone on the podium. The host will then tell the player of the Banker's "offer": a cash value that depends on of the values of the cases remaining in play, in exchange for leaving the game. The host opens a Plexiglas case on the podium containing a button; if the player accepts the deal, he or she presses the button to end the game, otherwise, he or she closes the case and declares "No Deal," requiring the player to continue into the next round.

Each round progressively removes fewer cases from the game; the first round begins with five cases to be removed, the second round with five more, then four, two, two, and subsequently down to removing one case at a time. (During the six pilot episodes taped, including the Arsenio Hall pilot, three cases were opened in Round 4 instead of two, resulting in only 6 total rounds of play instead of 7.) The Banker's offers typically depend on the interaction between the player and himself. Sometimes, they represent a small percentage of the average value of all the remaining cases. From round to round, that percentage generally increases, sometimes exceeding 100% toward the end of the game. Should the player make it to the final round, with the selected case and one other case left in play, they make take the final offer or win whatever is in the case they kept (there is no swap yet at the end of the game). If the player takes a deal prior to the final round, the host usually encourages the player to play through to the end to see what would have happened. Only one player plays for the entire show.

Case Values

Deal's $10K Giveaway

The syndicated version also has a "Lucky Case Game" called Deal's $10K Giveaway, playing for $10,000 cash. Unlike the prime-time version, the contest lasts all week (with one winner per week), and viewers participate by calling a toll-free number. There are also 5 regular cases rather than 6 gold cases. The contest is designed as an advertisement for the Deal or No Deal Club, a club where shoppers could get special discounts for a monthly fee.

In season two, this was changed to Deal Mania!!!, giving away a $1,000 prize rather than $10,000 cash^[6]. The contest works almost exactly like Deal's $10K Giveaway, except that viewers can enter 5 times by calling the toll-free number or an unlimited number of times at mydealmania.com. Deal Mania!!! also holds weekend sweepstakes.

History

Originally, Mandel planned not to host the syndicated version, as his asking price to host it, in addition to the prime time NBC version, was considered to be outside of the production budget. Arsenio Hall was first considered to be the host, and even taped a pilot for the syndicated version, but was later passed over. According to rumors, Mark Curry and Frank Nicotero were also among the candidates.^[7] NBC also had concerns that the syndicated show would harm the primetime show, as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire had suffered from overexposure.^[7] However, the syndicated version debuted September 8, 2008, with Mandel as host.^[8]

Initially, NBC planned to package this program with the Program Partners-produced Merv Griffin's Crosswords for its first season; but Crosswords went on hiatus and eventually began only airing in reruns in select cities.

As Deal or No Deal will become an exclusively syndicated show for the 2009-10 season, three major changes were made to the show:

• The show moves from The Culver Studios in Culver City, California to the Sonalysts Studios in Waterford, Connecticut as part of a corporate decision where four NBC Universal Television Distribution shows move to the area. The entire set was shipped to Connecticut, but scaled down to fit the studio. Tameka and Patricia return as the models, as does the Banker and the top prize of $500,000.

• The show will also be taped in high-definition, the fourth current game show to be taped in the format, joining Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and The Price Is Right.^[9]

Sponsors

Themed Week Sponsoring

There have been a few times where the week would be sponsored by a company, and the $1,000, $7,500 or $10,000 would be themed like the company that sponsors it. hp, Lucky Listerine, Sears, and Splenda have all sponsored a week. The contestant that opens the case will win items from that company, unless the contestant that was playing the game has that case and takes a deal, in which case nobody wins the bonus prize that day.

The exception is with Splenda; when the Splenda case is opened, the next offer after that would be "sweetened" by $10,000, thus automatically giving the contestant that money plus the offer if all cases $25,000 or higher have been removed from play. If the playing contestant went home with the Splenda case, they would win $20,000; the only way that the contestant would receive neither situation is if the Splenda was the last case in the gallery.

Also Evian sponsored one week, where the contestant holding the company's case received $1,000 and a year's supply of Evian water.

During Visine-A week, the $7,500 spot was covered and whose ever case held the logo won an outdoor package (e.g. season baseball tickets to favorite team) and $7,500.

During Halloween week in 2008 and 2009, the Mars candy company sponsored the show. The contestant's cases were covered with the logo of a Mars candy brand, and the show's two models, Patricia and Tameka handed candy to audience members.

Also, in the $7,500 case was replaced by a "Lucky" Listerine logo. Whoever's case held the logo would win a trip.

When the hp logo appeared in the $10,000 spot, the contestant with that case would receive HP equipment valued at $10,000.

Simlar, when the Sears logo appeared in the $10,000 spot during Winter Wonderland week, the contestant with that case would receive a $10,000 Sears gift card.

Tums Relief Moment of the Week

Every last day of that week, Deal or No Deal has a Tums relief moment of the week, where they show a contestant who played that week who had a few troublesome points ("short heartburn moments of relief"), and they show how much they won saying ("Congratulations _____, what a relief!").

Samsung Help

Sometimes when a player receives an offer and is having a tough time making a decision, Mandel extracts a Samsung phone (Blackjack 2, Glide, etc.) and the contestant can call anybody for assistance.

List of Sponsors

Top Prize Winners

As of December 4, 2009, no one has won the $500,000 grand prize. To date, 21 contestants have sold their case which turned out to be the grand prize. The highest winner, named Chelsea Drake (one of the 22 pregnant mothers seen on Baby on Board Week), is to date the contestant who has come the closest to winning the top prize. Drake took the game down to three of the top four prizes, which were $75,000, $100,000 and $500,000; she then refused $176,000 and finally dealt at $275,000 with the latter two amounts, but gave up a $500,000 win by doing so. The March 4, 2009 telecast also had a contestant who made a $100,000+ deal on a case containing the $500,000 grand prize. Three other contestants so far have swapped out the $500,000 case at the start of the game. Another episode also had a contestant who had taken a $96,000 deal and had the $250,000 and $500,000 prizes in play to the end. She had the $500,000 in her case. Her original case had a penny.

In addition to this large safety net and swapping cases, nine of the other ten $500,000 sales to date have been from a hypothetical final two cases of either $100,000 or $250,000 accompanying the big prize, and a tenth sale has occurred from a $75,000 safety net.

There has also been a second recorded instance of the $500,000 being in active play all the way to the end; Reggie Miller reached the final two cases of $300 and $500,000, winning $202,000 for the $300 case on the podium.

In complete contrast to this, there have been at least two penny winners on the syndicated version, each of which occurred during the show's second season. One of the penny wins occurred during a week of Halloween-themed shows.

References

External links

• Official website for Deal or No Deal
• Official website for the Deal or No Deal club
• Deal or No Deal at the Internet Movie Database
• Deal or No Deal at TV.com