Sale of the Century

Sale of the Century is an international television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969, but is most renowned in Australia, where it aired for 21 years and has returned under a new title, Temptation, in mid-2005.

The format is a general knowledge quiz, where contestants (usually three) earn money for correct answers, and occasionally have the chance to "buy" heavily-discounted prizes with their score money via "Instant Bargains." Long-running champions would compete to win enough money to buy larger prizes, such as trips or cars, at show's end; more successful ones could end up buying all the prizes on offer and/or a large cash jackpot.

After its original run (1969-74) in the USA, the format was purchased by Australian TV mogul Reg Grundy, whose Grundy Television had produced a similarly formatted program called Temptation (as well as a primetime version called The Great Temptation) between 1971 and 1976. The Grundy version of Sale premiered on Nine Network on July 14, 1980 and ran every weeknight until 2001, spawning versions all across the world (including new versions in the United States and the United Kingdom). At its close it was Australia's longest-running game show, a record since surpassed by Wheel of Fortune.

The game format varied in its details over the years and in various nations, however the core format which debuted in the 1980 Australian version, remained unchanged.

Versions throughout the world

In the United States, Sale of the Century made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. The series aired until July 13, 1973, then aired in a weekly syndicated version for one additional year. A new version of the show ran weekday mornings (again on NBC) from January 3, 1983 to March 24, 1989, with a concurrent version airing weeknights in syndication from January 1985 to September 1986.
In Australia, Sale of the Century aired also under the name of Temptation
A United Kingdom version of Sale of the Century produced by Anglia Television was shown on ITV weekly from 1971 to 1983.
In New Zealand, the host of the show was ex-radio DJ Steve Parr (assisted first by Judith "Jude" Dobson (née Kirk) and then later by Julie White after the show switched networks). The show ran on TVNZ and later, TV3, from 1987 to 1993. Grant Walker was the announcer.
A Hong Kong version debuted in 1982 ("Dat Sou But").
The hosts for the German version (Hopp Oder Top) included Andreas Similia, Thomy Aigner and Hermann Toelcke, and has run on Tele 5 from 1990 to 1992 and a few months in 1993 on DSF. A selection of the old shows was repeated from 1996 to 1999 on tm3 five times.
In Greece, the show's title translated as "The Boss Has Gone Crazy".
Paraguay had its own version ("La Venta del Siglo") from the mid-1990s until at least 1998.
As of 2004, India has had a version called Super Sale, hosted by Sajid Khan, for the Star One channel.

External Links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Sale of the Century

Versions throughout the world

See also

External Links