Game Show Network

On May 7, 1992, Sony Pictures Entertainment joined forces with the United Video Satellite Group to launch Game Show Channel, which was set to begin in 1993. The announcement of the channel was made by SPE president Mel Harris.[4] Sony Pictures' holdings included those by Merv Griffin Enterprises and Barris Industries, Inc. SPE was in competition with The Family Channel in launching a game show-oriented channel when The Family Channel announced the launch of its own service called Game Channel.

On December 2, 1992, Sony Pictures Entertainment made a deal to acquire the Barry & Enright game show library, and in a separate deal, struck a 10-year licensing agreement for the rights to the Mark Goodson game show library of more than 20,000 episodes including among others, What's My Line?, Family Feud, and To Tell the Truth. Upon the deal, Sony said it would sell an equity stake in the network to Mark Goodson Productions, including the production of new original series by Jonathan Goodson Productions.[5] Both deals were completed on December 7, 1992, eleven days before Mark Goodson's death.[6] On June 6, 1994, Mark Goodson Productions pulled out of the venture.[7]

Game Show Network launched at 7:00 p.m. on December 1, 1994.[8] The first aired game show was What's My Line?.[9] By the launch date the network had secured rights to over 40,000 episodes from the libraries of several game show production companies and corporate parent Sony. The initial lineup was exclusively acquired programming such as Match Game, Family Feud, Newlywed Game, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. The network eventually added original game shows such as Lingo, Whammy!, Inquizition, Extreme Gong, Burt Luddin's Love Buffet and Throut and Neck, with varying degrees of success.[10]

In 2001, a massive change in both leadership and programming at the network took place when Liberty Media acquired a 50% stake. Both president Michael Fleming and vice president Jake Tauber departed and former ABC Family/Fox Family Channel president Rich Cronin was hired to head the network.[11]

On March 15, 2004, Game Show Network began using the abbreviation "GSN" and introduced the tagline "The Network for Games." A key acquisition for the network was the ABC game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The show proved to be a ratings hit for GSN and anchored its prime time programming for several years.[12] GSN began expanding its programming to include reality television games and various competition-based programs. The network introduced non-traditional originals such as World Series of Blackjack, Extreme Dodgeball, and High Stakes Poker.[13][14][15] GSN also aired reruns of The Mole and Spy TV.[16] The network continued to produce traditional game show originals, such as new seasons of Lingo and a reboot of Chain Reaction.[17][18]

David Goldhill succeeded Rich Cronin as GSN president on August 1, 2007.[19] A high definition simulcast feed of the network was launched on September 15, 2010 [20]

During this period GSN made an important acquisition of Steve Harvey's version of Family Feud and rapidly expanded its use on the network. The show became a critical part of the network's schedule and continues to anchor its prime time lineup.[21] Another notable acquisition was Fox show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader.[22] GSN also debuted original game shows such as Catch 21, Baggage, and a new version of British game show The Chase.[23][24][25] GSN scored its greatest ratings success to date with the 2012 debut of American Bible Challenge, which drew an audience of nearly two million viewers.[26] A notable non-traditional original was Skin Wars, a body-painting competition that debuted in August, 2014.[27] The network produced interactive program blocks during this period, including GSN Live and Playmania.[28][29]

In March 2011, DirecTV (which by this point had taken over Liberty Media's then-65% stake in the network) sold a 5% stake in the network back to Sony Pictures Entertainment. Although DirecTV nominally remained the majority owner, it had ceded control of the network to Sony, and had the right to force Sony to increase its stake in GSN to 58%.[30] On November 8, 2012, DirecTV sold an 18% interest in GSN to Sony.[31] GSN partnered with Vubiquity to launch "GSN On Demand" on August 15, 2013. Current On Demand options included GSN originals such as Baggage and The Chase as well as episodes of Steve Harvey's Family Feud.[32]

GSN Logo from June 3, 2015 to September 30, 2018

Beginning in November 2017, the network would refer to itself in promos by its full name.[33] This was an indication that the network was abandoning non-traditional programming such as Skin Wars and Window Warriors in favor of more traditional game shows like Winsanity, Emogenius and Divided.[34]

In April 2017, David Goldhill stepped down after nearly 10 years as GSN president, the longest tenure for any president to date. He was succeeded by Mark Feldman in August 2017.[35] On October 1, 2018, the network officially returned to using its full name and introduced a new logo to coincide with the return to its original branding.[36] The network's original programming continued to shift back towards traditional game show formats, such as America Says, Common Knowledge and a new version of Catch 21.[37] In April 2020, Game Show Network debuted Master Minds, a retooled version of the previous Best Ever Trivia Show, notable for the starring role of Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings.[38]

DirecTV's stake in Game Show Network would move to AT&T when it acquired the service in 2015.[39] On November 18, 2019, it was announced that Sony had acquired AT&T's 42% stake.[40] A list of 2020 Nielsen ratings published by Variety indicated that Game Show Network averaged 432,000 viewers in prime time, up 6% from the 2019 average.[41]

Current original programming on Game Show Network as of December 2020 includes America Says, Common Knowledge, Catch 21, and Get a Clue. The network says that it currently programs more hours of original shows than at any time in its previous history.[42] The most important acquired program on the network as of December 2020 is Steve Harvey's Family Feud.[43] Other current acquisitions include Cash Cab, Match Game, and Deal or No Deal.[44][45][46]

GSN began syndicating some of its original programming to other channels in the early 2010s. On June 24, 2013, the channel entered into an agreement with Bounce TV, giving it the broadcast rights to The Newlywed Game, Catch 21, and The American Bible Challenge.[47][48] The American Bible Challenge aired in reruns on UP in fall 2013 and again in spring 2015. Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza aired on Laff in 2015.[49] Reruns of America Says aired in syndication during the 2019-20 season.[50]

In March 2020, the network launched Game Show Central, a digital streaming channel broadcasting archived original programming. The network is currently available on Samsung and Vizio smart television sets and ViacomCBS-owned AVOD platform Pluto TV (which also carries rival network Buzzr). Game Show Central features both current GSN originals like America Says and older shows such as Cram, Friend or Foe?, Minute To Win It, and Baggage.[51] The Roku Channel picked up the service (with a somewhat different schedule and roster of shows compared to the Pluto TV stream) later in 2020.[52] The service was made available globally via Plex in late July 2020.[53]