TVSquad

For those of you who were afraid NBC was going to burn out Deal or No Deal by airing it all summer long, you can relax.  According to this article in Broadcasting & Cable, NBC and producer Endemol are very aware of the burnout factor that helped sink Who Wants to be a Millionaire on ABC. Because of this, NBC will air the show two to three times a week until June 5, then give the show the summer off.

The June 5 season finale will feature a huge jackpot pool; I'm not sure what that means, because, like I've said before, having bigger prizes doesn't really provide that much of an incentive for someone to push forward and keep picking. Maybe the bank offers will be bigger.

Interesting article; they even get a quote from Regis Philbin, host of the burned-out Millionaire, expressing concern that the show might get over-played. It also mentions that the network and Endemol are interested in doing Spanish-language and syndicated versions of the show. NBC says it will only air the show once or twice a week come September, but I get the feeling that if they get another Joey-sized scripted disaster on their hands, that restraint may go out the window. Let's hope they can be "masters of their own domain," so to speak.

[via BuzzerBlog... thanks, Alex!]