HSGN'S Take on Why The New Price is Right Flopped in 1994

 "Get set, America it's time to come on down!"  Intoned the voice of announcer Burton Richardson as he opened each episode of The New Price is Right, the version with a run much shorter than the hour long daytime show that just began it's 50th season on September 13.  

So why did this half hour syndicated version of the long running Price is Right turn out to be a flop?  HSGN gets to the bottom of this matter.  

First, when Jonathan Goodson took over the company that produced the show after his father, creator Mark Goodson passed away in 1992, he felt that The Price is Right needed to be overhauled to attract a younger audience.  So he made a number of changes that didn't go well with fans of the Bob Barker show.  

And speaking of Barker, his decision not to host this version led Goodson to hire a new host.  Doug Davidson, best known for his role as Paul Williams on the soap opera The Young and the Restless would be the new host.  Also, with Rod Roddy and his flamboyant jackets also not part of the festivities, it would be Richardson, coming from The Arsenio Hall Show uttering the famous phrase "Come on down!"  None of Barker's Beauties would also be involved with the show.  Instead, younger models Julie Lynn Cialini, Ferrari Farris and Lisa Stahl would assist Davidson. 

Also, there was no Contestants Row.  This also eliminated the play along factor when an item went up for bids and home viewers would shout at the screen.  Instead, it went right to the pricing game.  Some games were also modified.  The Clock Game didn't have the familiar clock that was on the turntable.  The time was displayed in graphic form.  

There was also a new feature that took place after the third game called The Price Was Right.  A vintage commercial was shown and the three contestants placed their bids on what the price was back in the year the spot aired.  Whoever came close to the actual retail price without going over would advance to the showcase.  Worth noting, there were some episodes where contestants spun The Big Wheel due to a shortage of vintage ads.  

The showcase was also changed.  One player would bid, using a larger version of the rangefinder from the familiar Range Game.  If the price came within the range, the contestant won the showcase.  

But the main reason why The New Price is Right flopped was a large number of stations preempted the show as well as Richard Dawson's return to Family Feud to air the O. J. Simpson trial.  Some stations aired the show when many viewers were in bed and other didn't carry it.  After 16 weeks, The New Price is Right was canceled.  

On the brighter side of things, Davidson turned out to be a competent host and would later get an opportunity to replace Barker on the daytime version.  Unfortunately, he was one of many candidates who lost to Drew Carey.  He has not hosted another game show since then.  Richardson did go on to announce other shows, including the current version of Family Feud early in its run.  He also was a candidate to replace Roddy on the daytime show but Rich Fields became the show's third announcer.  He did fill in for Fields in one episode when he had laryngitis.  

In addition, there were more expensive prizes on the show and great shots from an aerial crane camera.  

So that's HSGN'S take on why The New Price is Right had a short run.  You'll find a number of episodes on youtube.com.