Along with Drew Carey hosting "The Price is Right" came better odds at winning. It was not Carey's charm or his sneaking hints to the contestants that produced these greater chances. In fact, show producer Roger Dobkowitz, mentioned in a blog post, "It was extremely important for the first couple of months of the show to have plenty of winners. Such a situation would maintain a real positive and upbeat feel to the show and help viewers, hopefully, to accept Drew as the new host," per the blog. Producers were anticipating critical viewers who would be comparing Carey to Barker. There was a fear of viewers who would only be loyal to the previous host and now would change the channel. So the game show gave away more prizes, but contestants still had to wait before they could enjoy their winnings.
It seems Dobkowitz scheduling easier games kept the show's success but at what cost? In the blog, he shares, "I was about $700,000 over budget." That's a lot of cars, vacations, and living room sets given away. Where does the production house all those prizes anyway? That number compares to his previous worse of $500,000 over budget during Barker's time as the show's host. To compensate, producers eventually increased the game's difficulty. So there are no chances of an easy win unless, of course, the price is right.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEpaCsrF6YvK57kGpoaXFnaHy4tMCtZKudkaG5unnHmqepnZ6asW7Dx56lZpyimsRur8CrnLJlpKS8rHnOr5yrZZikwLW1zaBkraCVYr2ztcKeZKKrXae2qLTTaA%3D%3D