Winning Streak (US game show)
Encyclopedia
Winning Streak is an American television game show hosted by Bill Cullen
and announced by Don Pardo
. It aired daily on NBC
from July 1, 1974 to January 3, 1975 and was produced at the NBC Studios in New York
's Rockefeller Plaza.
Two contestants, one a returning champion, raced to spell a word that fit into a given category. The contestants faced a game board of 16 letters with the category into which the word must fit displayed above.
The first contestant chose a letter and a question in which the answer began with that letter was posed to both contestants. The first contestant to buzz in got a chance to answer. A correct answer won the contestant that letter, but an incorrect answer automatically gave the opposing contestant the letter. The contestant who won the chosen letter could either place the letter in any one of the seven positions on a display in front of them or discard it. After making their decision, the contestant in control chose another letter. Play continued in this fashion until a contestant spelled a word that fit into the given category. That contestant won the round and moved on to the bonus board.
The winning contestant selected one of the six money squares which became the starting dollar amount. The player then selected one of the twelve remaining letter squares and had five seconds to give a word that contained that chosen letter. If the given word was acceptable, the contestant won the starting amount and had a chance to either double it by selecting another hidden letter and giving another acceptable word with all uncovered letters, or stop and take his/her earnings to that point. This continued until the contestant elected to quit with his or her winnings, gave an unacceptable word, or failed to come up with a word within the five-second time limit.
The top winner had the option of playing first or deferring to his/her opponent. Both contestants took alternating turns playing the Money Board round described above. They kept playing until one contestant failed, at which point the other contestant became the day's champion and won the combined total of the money won by both contestants from their bonus board rounds.
, swapping time slots with Jeopardy!
. NBC placed Winning Streak at 10:30 AM (9:30 Central) against CBS
' strong Gambit
. However, Winning Streak made no impact against its competition and ended after six months along with Jeopardy!. Wheel of Fortune replaced Winning Streak on NBC's schedule on January 6, 1975. The episode intended for August 9, 1974 aired on GSN
.
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
and announced by Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
. It aired daily on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from July 1, 1974 to January 3, 1975 and was produced at the NBC Studios in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Rockefeller Plaza.
Gameplay
The first contestant chose a letter and a question in which the answer began with that letter was posed to both contestants. The first contestant to buzz in got a chance to answer. A correct answer won the contestant that letter, but an incorrect answer automatically gave the opposing contestant the letter. The contestant who won the chosen letter could either place the letter in any one of the seven positions on a display in front of them or discard it. After making their decision, the contestant in control chose another letter. Play continued in this fashion until a contestant spelled a word that fit into the given category. That contestant won the round and moved on to the bonus board.
Money Board
The winning contestant faced a board of 18 squares, numbered 1–18 around the edges of the board. The first six squares on the top row hid money amounts from $100–$200 while the rest, down both sides and on the bottom, hid letters.The winning contestant selected one of the six money squares which became the starting dollar amount. The player then selected one of the twelve remaining letter squares and had five seconds to give a word that contained that chosen letter. If the given word was acceptable, the contestant won the starting amount and had a chance to either double it by selecting another hidden letter and giving another acceptable word with all uncovered letters, or stop and take his/her earnings to that point. This continued until the contestant elected to quit with his or her winnings, gave an unacceptable word, or failed to come up with a word within the five-second time limit.
Part Two
When the Money Board round ended, another match was played with two new contestants in the manner described above, while the winner of the first game watched the action from a podium on the side of the stage. The gameplay was identical to the first round, as was the bonus game. If either of the winners of either match lost his/her money on the bonus board, the other contestant became the champion. If both winners stopped with money, they faced off against each other in a Final Showdown round.Final Showdown
Changes
Near the end of the run, this round was retitled the "Sudden-Death Showdown" and was played similarly to the original Money Board round. The contestant in control chose a value at random, as in the Money Board round, but the money was added to the pot for each word given instead of the pot doubling as it had before. Play continued until a contestant failed to give a word that contained all the letters on the board, which awarded the game and pot to the opponent.Broadcast history
Winning Streak replaced Stewart and Cullen's Three on a MatchThree on a Match (game show)
Three on a Match was an American television game show created by Bob Stewart that ran on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974 on its daytime schedule...
, swapping time slots with Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
. NBC placed Winning Streak at 10:30 AM (9:30 Central) against CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' strong Gambit
Gambit (game show)
Gambit is a television game show, created by Wayne Cruseturner and produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions, that originally ran on CBS from September 4, 1972 to December 10, 1976. A slightly retooled version, Las Vegas Gambit, aired on NBC from October 27, 1980 to November 27, 1981, originating...
. However, Winning Streak made no impact against its competition and ended after six months along with Jeopardy!. Wheel of Fortune replaced Winning Streak on NBC's schedule on January 6, 1975. The episode intended for August 9, 1974 aired on GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
.