The Price Is Right Tickets

TV Guide put it on the fifth spot in its 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows ever. The Price is Right is now more than just a game show. It has in more ways than one become a part of the American culture.

Its initial appeal was in its unique format. At a time when most other game shows were running quizzes, The Price is Right broke the mold and gave people something different, when it debuted more than six decades ago. And the fact it still remains one of the most popular game shows around and millions of fans have bought The Price is Right tickets to be a part of it, shows that the decision to take it in a different direction was a very good one indeed.

The Early Days and Format

It was in 1956 that The Price is Right debuted on NBC. Bill Cullen used to host the game show back then and four contestants used to take part in a bidding war. They used to bid on all sorts of different merchandise with the price range varying from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. Basically, it used to be a bit of an auction, with the participants asked to guess the price of a specific product closest to its actual price. They were not however allowed to go over the real price. The participant with the guess closest to the actual price was declared the winner.

The Price is Right began as a daytime show and the first season generated enough interest for NBC to give it another season and that too on prime time. It also had the distinction of becoming the first television game show to be broadcasted in color. It took off quite well but the ratings began to fall shortly afterwards and in 1963 NBC dropped it. That was when ABC stepped in but The Price is Right ran for just one unsuccessful season on the network before being shelved in 1965.

The Rebirth

September 4, 1972 saw the rebirth of The Price is Right on CBS, with the host being none other than the legendary Bob Barker. Barker became the face of the show and it was a match made in heaven. Some tweaks were made to the show’s original format and The Price is Right has not looked back since.

One Bid Round

The show begins with the “One Bid” round where four contestants are asked to “Come on down” to win a chance to play the next pricing game. All four participants are asked to bid for a product and the participant with the closest bid wins. Just like the original version of the 1950’s the contestants are not supposed to go above the actual price of the product. In case all four of them go over the retail price, then a buzzer sounds, the lowest bid is announced and all the bids are deleted. The four contestants are then asked to start bidding less than the lowest bid of the previous round.

The contestant who wins the One Bid round then goes to play the pricing game. At the end of every pricing game round, another four participants from the audience are asked to come down and take part in the One Bid round to get an opportunity to play the next pricing round.

The Pricing Games

The contestants to have won the One Bid Round, then join the host of show on the stage to take part in the pricing game. Six pricing games are normally played in every one-hour long episodes, with two of them for a car and another one for cash prizes. The remaining three games are to win various trips or different household goods.