By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLife.com Jan 25, 2008 Last summer it seemed as though Drew Carey couldn’t miss. He had a new hit game show in primetime, “Power of 10,” and had just been named the new host of CBS’s long-running game show “The Price is Right.”
Six months later, however, Carey’s magic seems to have faded a bit. “Power” was just yanked from the CBS schedule after two disastrous outings opposite “American Idol” and the 11 a.m. EST and 10 a.m. PT editions of “Price,” after initially decent viewership when Carey took over, are seeing losses.
Season to date, according to Nielsen data, “Price I” is averaging 4.31 million total viewers, down 9 percent from 4.76 million at this time last year. Among adults 18-49, the show is down 5 percent, from 1.13 million to 1.07 million.
“Price II” is averaging 5.26 million total viewers, down 9 percent from 5.81 million last year under former host Bob Barker. Among 18-49s, it slipped 7 percent, from 1.37 million to 1.28 million.
This comes at a time when daytime ratings in general are plunging, with nine of 11 programs on the Big Three networks down compared with last year in the demo, five of them by double digits.
“Price” seemed to be defying that trend when Carey took over last fall. In his first week, the Cleveland comedian saw a 10 percent year-to-year jump among 18-49s and was even among total viewers.
The falloff since then suggests that those viewers were simply sampling the new host. Other loyal viewers may have simply stopped watching when Barker left.
In “Price’s” core demographic, women over 50, viewership compared to last year has slipped 12 percent and 11 percent for both editions.
Among college-age women 18-24, where Barker enjoyed a cult following for his enthusiastic reception of coeds on the show, the losses are even steeper, off nearly a third compared with last year, though certainly some of that can be attributed to higher use of digital video recorders among that demographic.
“Price” remains one of the top daytime programs, though it has slipped to second place behind CBS’s “Young and the Restless” among total viewers.
"It’s a tough environment right now for all of daytime," a CBS spokesperson says, "but CBS continues to lead the daypart and 'The Price is Right' continues to rank as one of the most watched shows in daytime (No. 2)."
Perhaps more than anything, Carey’s lower numbers serve as a reminder of just how popular Barker was. His farewell episode on the show, which aired in primetime, drew more than 14 million viewers last May.
CBS seems eager to help grow Carey’s daytime audience. The network said this week that it will begin a series of “Price” specials in primetime on Feb. 22, airing Fridays at 8 p.m.
At least Carey will have a reduced workload by then. After averaging just a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 in two Wednesday outings opposite “Idol,” “Power” has been yanked from the CBS schedule in favor of sitcom reruns. The show should return this summer.
As someone who loved Bob Barker on "The Price Is Right," it is a bit hard for me to judge Drew Carey in a fair manner. But to try and be fair to Drew, he's still trying to see what works for himself on "Price" and to try and fill those big shoes left behind by Barker.
One thing I've noted is Drew Carey seems unorganized as the host, the flow is not quite there a lot of times. When Bob hosted, he was always in control of the show and that I think was so much a part of Barker's success as the emcee. If Drew can get control of the show and make things flow smoothly, it will dramatically improve the show.
In a lot of ways I look at the Price Is Right host change much the way The Tonight Show changed from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno. The first season was rough for Jay, but slowly he developed his own style and built an audience on the foundations of what Carson had built over the years. Leno's style is totally different from Carson's, but in time Jay made the Tonight Show his show. If Drew Carey can't do that with The Price Is Right over the next year or two, he and possibly the show will be doomed to fail.
I don't think Drew Carey is a bad game show host, but there's a lot of better people out there who could host The Price Is Right effortlessly. With that said, I still would love to see Bob Barker back on the show. But with Bob in his 80's now, who can blame him for retiring!
Country DJ has hit this right on. I don't believe CBS' intent was to shake things up radically with the format of show; after all, it was working quite well. Since watching the first episode and tuning back every so often, Drew Carey does appear unorganized and dare I say misplaced, and IMHO was maybe a bad selection as host.
If I was in charge over there, I would have, would still seek out John O'Hurley to host. I believe he would be the closest in a Barkeresque delivery and rapport with fans.
I don't know if he auditioned ... but I thought Tom Bergeron would have been ideal for that gig. When he did "squares" he was funny without being dumb, kept the pacing moving, etc. and would have, in my mind, been EXACTLY the right follow-up to Barker. While appealing, I always thought of Drew Carey as "the weakest link" on the Whose Line shows. He was good at connecting the dots...but HIS improv was not the strongest on the show. A few ..... pauses ..... would be good!! It's like a bullet train going from "contestant get up here...play the game...you lose...'we'll be right back". Ironically, I always wished Barker would have been a little funnier ... but his approach worked as it wasn't "cheesy" like other hosts. The worst had to be when CBS ran their "game show marathon" as Prime Time and put Ricki Lake in ... you felt like you were watching a Cheerleader Camp Train Wreck!!!!
Good suggestions made by CountryDJ and Littleric...when someone has performed as the host of a show as smoothly as Barker did for 35 years, any transition is bound to seem jarring. I haven't seen Drew Carey do his thing on Price Is Right, so will reserve judgement. I think CountryDJ is correct in comparing the transition to the Jay Leno/Tonight Show situation. In time, Carey will probably get a grip on the show and put his own stamp on it. But I also agree that pros like O'Hurley or Bergeron would have probably made a smoother transition from Barker. I have to think they were at least considered for this gig; maybe they were unavailable due to other projects, or didn't want to take on the grind of taping 5 shows a night.
methinks if the Tonight Show can survive the departure of Johnny, so too can TPIR survive without Mr. Barker. To borrow an "American Idol-ism", Drew Carey needs to make the show "his own." One good start would be altering how he starts the show. Rather than slipping thru the curtain, maybe try a Leno and come down one of the aisles, high fiving members of the audience. It would be more in line with Carey's personality. He looks somewhat robotic when he walks out now. Create some new games to separate from the Barker days...after all Leno is known for his "Headlines", "Jaywalking" etc. He didn't retain "Tea Time Theatre" or "Carnac" or Johnny's golf swing ....how awkward would THAT have been??
I agree with Paddyboyy and CRS. Drew Carey has to make "The Price Is Right" HIS show and by changing certain elements of the program will help.
However, we must remember TPIR has a HUGE audience of sweet little old ladies who still think Johnny Olson (died 1985) is the announcer. This show cannot change too rapidly or it'll ruin itself by changing. The "Price" audience still expects the same type of show with or without Barker. The set has been re-designed in a way it still looks familiar yet obviously different. Some new games will help, but don't mess with the institutions like "Plinko."
I think if given a chance, Drew Carey will make TPIR his show but the changes have to be an evolution and not a revolution or the loyal audience will turn away.
Whether or not the producers and/or the network can be patient is yet to be known. We know both do not traditionally have a lot of patience!
We must remember TPIR has a HUGE audience of sweet little old ladies who still think Johnny Olson (died 1985) is the announcer.
What? Any sweet LOL who thinks the current limp-wristed poor excuse for an announcer is ANY where near the incomparable Johnny O, must be already five years up the Alzheimer's river!
I'm sure the show even with the sagging ratings is making money for CBS. Game shows are among the cheapest types of production.
As for Carey, watching the show right after Barker left was a jarring experience. Going from a soft spoken old guy like Barker to a 'younger' Carey i'm sure threw some people off of price. Ideally, they make the show as progressive as possible (think new games) but keep the old ones, to keep the core fans happy and freshen it up for a new generation.
In a way I feel for Drew...can you imagine going and taking over any media job after someone has done the same thing for 35 years. I think it will take some time, but he'll grow more comfortable with it. That show is very complex when compared to most hosting gigs. Alex Trebec reads questions, Pat Sajack says if there is a certain letter in the puzzle, but with price each individual game has a formula to it that Drew will have to develop and make his own.
One thing i miss from Bob that I haven't seen Carey do is build up the anticpation in the contestants during an intense moment and watch them squeel.
He'll find his groove....hopefully the network gives him the time
If I was Carey I would have ditched the old microphone that is totally Bob Barker and just gone with a standard wireless, I also would have not used the "help control the pet population" line at the end. I think he has to distance himself and start to make the show his own. He's not Bob Barker and he shouldn't try to be.
...I also would have not used the "help control the pet population" line at the end.
That is the only part of the show Drew said he wanted to take from Barker. I see no problem with the message he's trying to send, and obviously the producers of the show don't as well.
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