The Price Is Right (U.S. Game Show) - Broadcast History

Broadcast History

The Price Is Right premiered on September 4, 1972 at 10:30 am Eastern Time (9:30 Central) on CBS, one of three game shows to debut that day, preceded with The Joker's Wild at 10 am ET and followed by Gambit at 11 am ET. The show was first called The New Price Is Right to distinguish itself from the earlier Bill Cullen version (1956–1965), but it proved so popular in its own right that, in June 1973, the producers decided to drop the word "New". The program aired at 3:00 pm from 1973 to 1975, but has otherwise been part of the network's morning schedule. In September 1975, CBS experimented with a 60-minute version of the show to celebrate its third anniversary, and the expansion was made permanent two months later on November 3, 1975. On April 23, 1979, the show moved to the 11:00 am time slot, which it has occupied since.

The format of the show has since remained virtually unchanged. New pricing games are generally added each year, while others are removed. In addition, prizes and pricing games have kept pace with inflation, with games originally designed for four-digit prices of prizes (most often cars) to be adjusted to allow for five-digit prices. While the set has been redesigned and upgraded, the show maintained a similar aesthetic element from its premiere in 1972.

In season 36, CBS began offering full episodes of the show available for free viewing on the network's website, and the show began to broadcast in high definition with The Price Is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular primetime specials (the normal daytime version continued to air in 4:3 standard definition). In addition, the last 12 episodes of season 36 were taped in HD, but broadcast in 4:3 standard definition. The show made the full transition to HD broadcasts beginning with season 37.

From September 28 – October 2, 2009, September 20–24, 2010, and October 4–8, 2010, two new episodes aired daily on CBS. In 2009, the additional episodes filled a gap between the cancellation of the daytime drama Guiding Light and the debut of Let's Make a Deal. In 2010, the extra episodes aired between the cancellation of As the World Turns and the debut of The Talk. The intervening week offered a second episode of Let's Make a Deal. The 2009 second episode aired in the time slot vacated by Guiding Light, at 10:00 am or 3:00 pm ET/PT, depending on the affiliate's choice. In 2010, the second episode aired in the former As the World Turns time slot, at 2:00 pm ET/PT.