ITV

Tag: prize money

  • Sony’s ‘Deal Ya No Deal’ to hit airwaves in November; prize money Rs 10 million

    MUMBAI: It’s raining game shows again on Indian television. Star Plus brought back KBC2 in August this year and now Sony Entertainment Television (SET) will be airing a new reality game show – Deal Ya No Deal. The show, which will be anchored by actor R Madhavan, is due to air in November and has a prize money of Rs 10 million (as opposed to KBC2’s Rs 20 million).

    The show is being produced by Miditech in association with Endemol BV.

    Deal Ya No Deal, is a unique reality game show format which tests an individual’s guts, wits, speed and ability in making the right choices and provides an opportunity to win upto Rs 10 million.

    An Endemol format, Deal Ya No Deal is a show about intelligent choices, where the right choice made by the winner can win him prize monies.

    SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta said, “We constantly endeavor to provide innovative and engaging content for our viewers and we are extremely excited to bring the world’s No.1 game show to India taking the channel to greater heights.”

    Commenting on the conceptualisation of the Indian version of this mega game show, SET India executive vice president and business head Tarun Katial said, “We will present an opportunity to our viewers to experience the ultimate adrenaline rush of the thrilling moments that the contestants are going through at each stage of the show and for the participants, it will be a true test of temperament and decisiveness. They will have to really put their body and mind on the line for the ‘Prize money’ which will vary from a measly sum right to a life-changing jackpot.”

    International versions of Deal Ya No Deal have enjoyed high viewership worldwide with a successful track record in 43 countries including Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Israel Mexico, the Middle East, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain Switzerland, Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam.

    Deal Or No Deal, as it is popularly known across countries, was voted ‘Program of the Year 2004’ by Italian Viewers Oscar TV Awards; all four Dutch series of the show have beaten average market share for a television show across all demographics; it was also awarded the Clarin Award for Best Entertainment Show of 2003.

    Deal Ya No Deal – The Format

    In Deal Ya No Deal, the contestant faces 22 cash boxes, containing cheques varying from a measly amount to Rs 10 million. Without knowing the content in each box, he picks one, his to keep no matter what. The box stays sealed, as do the 21 remaining ones that are divided amongst other contestants. Who’s holding the jackpot? Does the winner’s box contain a stingy sum or an absolute fortune? Nobody knows…

    For Deal Ya No Deal host Madhavan, this will mark as a comeback on the small screen. Madhavan has worked in serials like Banegi Apni Baat, Sea Hawks, Tol Mol Ke Bol and Ghar Jamai.

    Viewers interested in participating in the show can do so by answering a question which will appear on the channel soon wherein they can call 190 44 242526 (your choice) or SMS ‘Deal’ to 2525, with the correct answer.

  • ‘Jailbreak’, the UK programme on which Zee’s ‘POW’ is loosely based

    ‘Jailbreak’, the UK programme on which Zee’s ‘POW’ is loosely based

    POW (Prisoner of War), Zee TV’s foray into the brave new world of reality TV, draws its inspiration from the British produced show Jailbreak, which aired in September 2000.

     

    While Zee asserts that POW is a concept developed specially for Indian audiences, a closer look at Jailbreak should give some idea of what the public can expect from POW.

     

    The format in Jailbreak was that there were five men and five women prisoners, making up what was called the Jailbreak Ten. The ten came from diverse backgrounds with their individual personalities and experiences, and had never met before being selected as one of the prisoners. Zee plans to have nine “POWs” who will form the prison team.

     

    If any of the ten were unable to continue, there were four standby contestants, one of whom replaced the unfortunate prisoner.

     

    Jailbreak prison was a specially constructed state-of-the-art prison complex, and run on exactly the same lines as a real prison. Inmates had real prison food, genuine prison activities and regimes, had to endure normal prison exercise programmes and curfew hours, and cope with real prison-level showers and sanitary conditions. However, instead of regulation prison cells, Jailbreak inmates slept in two dormitories, for male and female inmates: unless, of course, they happened to be in solitary for breaking the rules.

     

    Working from the outside trying to help the inmates escape was the escape committee which left five messages daily which the “prisoners” could access. In addition there were visits from family and friends every Saturday.

     

    From a total of over 30 webcams, at least five were always available, showing the latest from inside the prison.

     

    The selection process for Jailbreak was organised over several months. A team of researchers set out to find ten members of the public from different walks of life, each capable of using their own lifeskills and talents to meet the challenge of escaping from a high-security jail. The Jailbreak selection process was deliberately undertaken to incorporate contestants of all ages and social backgrounds.

     

    None of the inmates had any prior knowledge of the layout or design of the prison, nor did they visit it before their incarceration. Of the final round of prospective candidates, the final ten were not told that they were actually on the show until the morning of their “arrest”.

     

    There was a prize fund of ?250,000 for Jailbreak. The first prisoner to escape from the prison confines was entitled to ?100,000. The second to escape successfully could win ?50,000, and so on in decreasing order down to ?1,000 for the tenth and final escapee. Prisoners who escaped together shared the prize money, for example the three inmates who escaped first won ?33,333 each.