1 vs. 100 Text Message
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4 Comments |
I have to admit it - sometimes Energi Gal and I like to stay in on Friday nights. It’s not about saving money or anything like that. I think it’s just that it’s good to wind down from a long work-week.One of the shows that we like to watch is 1 vs. 100. I do okay, but Energi Gal is a dominate force. We’ve seen about 8 episodes and on only one question has she not known the answer - and on that question she guessed it right!
Right before the commercial they have a “Play 1 vs. 100 at Home” game for $100,000. The question is typically extremely easy such as this past week’s “What completes the phrase ‘like finding a ________ in a haystack.’” The options were a) pitchfork b) needle c) ice pick. Answer correctly (as 99% of the people in the group of 100 did) and you get entered in the drawing. It’s free to play via the web, but they advertise the easy way - text messaging from a cell phone. Of course there’s a 99-cent charge per entry and fortunately you can enter up to 10 times.
It makes me wonder how many people miss the fine-print and the disclosure of the 99-cent charge. How much money do you think NBC brings in from this lottery?
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January 29th, 2007 at 6:07 am
And if you really read the fine print (or listen right up til the end of the statement), it says you can enter online for free. Course, then you wonder if you’re really entered since they’re not making any money off of you.
January 30th, 2007 at 7:00 am
My company is involved in many of the television game shows that offer audience participation either by text message or 900 numbers. While I cannot venture how much this game show makes, I can tell you that these shows are popular in North America and extremely popular in Europe and Asia. For a small fee, people would rather play by text when their cell phone sits next to them rather than walk into the next room to get online.
January 30th, 2007 at 11:26 am
I’m sure they would rather play from their phone. For many people it’s a lot faster. They don’t have to wait for boot-up, dial-in, or even page load.
That said, it’s basically the equivalent of entering a lottery where people feels like it’s based on their ability to answer the question right.
I think it’s just an unethical business for NBC to be in.
February 27th, 2007 at 7:55 am
[...] The Game Show Contest - The best example of this is the 1 vs. 100 text message lottery that I’ve mentioned previously. They allow viewers to “play at home” by giving [...]