I think you're right!

I'm concerned at the moment that the show has become incredibly samey, almost formulaic in its structure of the banker offering poor offers for the board, the players not realising how poor these offers are, wings talking up their 'brilliance' and the player predictably dealing. I wouldn't even mind that much but we're talking about cautious decisions over amounts which a lot of players would call 'smile money', which emphasises that a lot of players go on the show now 'needing' rather than 'wanting' the money, and given this is a GAMEshow, this is completely the wrong strategy in my view.

Not only that, but statistically 'bad' deals are not being punished with the proveouts as a tidal wave of blues has come to the table. So, the wings continue to think they are playing the game brilliantly and nothing changes in their mindset, and the banker maintains his comfort zone with lowballing offers. Even the interactive nature of the game has been lost to an extent lately, as it's fairly clear the majority would go to the end because the offers have been complete tosh in the main. (No) Deal-Eye has become a farce that's virtually no longer viable, and nothing looks like changing as the contestant casting has been severely skewed towards caution lately (probably as the result of high payouts March-May would be the cynical view).

Whatever, we badly need a proveout to backfire spectacularly or players to be bolder. I have a lot of faith in this show, prove this era is the exception NOT the rule!

I am getting somewhat bored of the show at the minute due to the current run of cautious deals and unavoidable trainwrecks, leading to all these forgettable lackluster games.

And the current offers - They are crappy wappy!

StatsMan has pretty much said it all for me

It's certainly not proving any lure whatsoever for me to get back watching the show. 5 years, 6 months and proud.

Proud because it had become a disease within me. From 2006 to 2007 it took over me, completely. It was actually horrible, because everything was DoND, no matter what. I'm glad I've got rid of that "phase" now.

Remember when DOND got about 4 million viewers at the start? Now it's down to around 300k.
It must be these cautious deals and rubbish offers making several people switch off.

Several? Several million.

Well for what it's worth, it was the creepy, cultish behaviour, the endless messing around and the pantomime that turned me off. It was the like the game was an unwelcome distraction to the player's manic episode.

The ridiculous offers didn't stop me watching, but it is the whole cult thing coming to the fore again with this. Some players can seemingly get offered thousands more than another with the same board, just because they are complete nutters and/or because they transparently say they respect The Banker. It's a little bit silly, not to mention hugely unfair and manufactured. Some players mightn't want to buy into that rubbish, it's not fair to penalise them because of it.

As an addict of the show for the first three or four years, it really is uncomfortable to watch these days.

And of course there's the idea that the show has just run its course (I'm sure some would say it's done a couple of laps of its course).

Do you play snooker, by any chance? If not, I apologise for the analogy not making sense; but now and then you just come up with a few cracking shots that leave me nodding vigorously saying, "YES YES YES YES.". It's remarkable. You have this streak where everything you say - I mean everything - is spot on. Magnificent.

Basically, I agree with everything I've just quoted. Once more, I can't put it any better.

The less said about my attempts to play snooker the better

It's nice to know people agree with what I'm saying. I like the game aspect but the fluff around has made it just an irritating hour which I simply cannot withstand. And then you have things like Countdown, which is still as watchable as it ever was, hasn't become a parody of itself, and it is sad to see that failing and being shunted around the C4 schedules because it doesn't deserve it. It should be DOND being taken down a notch IMO.

300,000 views for DoND right now?! Really? wasn't it over a million this time last year?!

But i can understand why thanks to all the sameness and faffing about the show has been plagued by since the show stretched out to an hour-long time-slot

Actually, viewing figures rocketed to around 1 million around Easter this year, during the aftermath of Tommy's game where contestant after contestant showed sensible bravery and was rewarded because of it. Again, that's the kind of contestants we need; those who are willing to play the game but aren't usually complete Wakeyists.

To be honest I reckon the increase in viewers had more to do with Tipping Point finishing around that time (at least I think it did). It does seem to be getting its backside kicked by that show whenever they clash. I honestly don't see the appeal of it but then I guess there were plenty who said that about DOND when it was big.

Brave players wouldn't hurt though. Sadly they seem to be intent on solely picking players who really need the money, or 'characters' who just prat around for an hour. It's just such a 'daytime' rut. They don't seem to realise that an intense brave game can have just as much 'character', just replacing the desperate padding with genuine tension, like the old days!

*WHHIIP--BANG*

"Stewartw, One."

This is a post that I put on the other DoND forum in January

I havn't done the figures on how much has been paid out to date since the 2000th Show but I do have the figures up to then – more about that later...
Does anyone else get the impression that the Bankers tatics have changed since Nongs win and that he has become more frugal? Maybe, someone does have the figures and can prove me right or wrong.
I have a feeling that he is under orders to get the costs down on this show and because the figures no longer add up its shelf life has come to an end and I would not be supprised if the last show was in-fact recorded in May.

Have a look at the facts:
The UK is in recession and everyone is spending less, including advertisers who have realised that it doesn't work like it did a few years ago. There is no point in advertising to people who havn't got the extra money to spend.

The more TV channels there are the more the audience becomes fragmented. DoND is repeated at least twice in close proximity that I know of. This doesn't necessarily mean that more people watch it. It means that people are watching it at different times.
Advertising revenues are also diluted across the growing number of channels which means more competion for it.
Advertisers are also fully aware of the fact that people record more programmes and are able skip adverts (time-shift) and they want to pay less accordingly.
In particular, where Freeview is concerned, the increasing number of channels will dilute the quality of the programmes.

When I went to the DoND studio as a pilgrim I got the impression that this show was on its way out.
When a project is a success companies re-invest in its future.
In contrast the set is tired and I got the feeling that it is being treated like an old banger that is being run into the ground before it goes to the scrapyard.

If you look at similar shows in similar time slots the finances no longer add up.
Just prior to the 2000th show it was stated that DoND has given away 30 Million Pounds in prize money since it started. That equates to £15,000 average payout per show or £90,000 per week. On top of this there are production costs and I don't know of any other game show that puts up 22 people in a hotel while it is filming.
In comparison with the show that follows it, Come Dine with Me (which attracts on average only 200,000 viewers less), this is an expensive production and as every year the viewing fiqures are falling I'm sorry to say that 'in my opinion' Deal or No Deal will not be on air much longer

I then went on to add this in February 2013:
I've been searching tinternet and I can't find anything to confirm that Noel has renewed his contract which expires in May.

Don't know about you but Noels style suits me and I can't see anyone else doing this show better! I know that some of you old hands do not like the way that the show is filled out to extend it to 1 Hour. But, that's one of the main things that I love about the show.

Some of the stuff I found out though is that it is quoted to cost around £50,000* an episode to make and Noel gets paid approximatey £6,500* per show.

It is still my opinion that if they can't get these cost down the show with either be scrapped or Noel will be replaced by a lower paid, less able presenter and DoND will just drive itself into oblivion. Just like Countdown is

* Figures from 'Wikipedia & The Guardian'

Your comments please!

Technically, it's not. GDP grew in the first quarter of 2013, and has been growing (slowly and erratically, yes, but growing) since 2009. However, perhaps more relevantly to both advertisers and contestants, household real incomes aren't. TV advertising is still remarkably strong all things considered (and you mention one of them, the multichannel/timeshift environment dispersing audiences), but DoND isn't the best place to spend money anymore.



The table and floor were both completely replaced in the summer 2012 filming break in order to facilitate HD transmission for the first time. Was your pilgrimage before or after that?

Besides, the whole aesthetic of the Dream Factory is 'vaguely run-down' anyway! If anything, the renovations over the years have taken away from that!



It's certainly an expensive production, but a lot of those expenses are offset by other revenue sources that are also fairly unique to DoND - the quiz machine games, the dizzying array of fruit machines, licensed casino website games based on the show. Besides, you'd be surprised how much TV productions in general can cost - £50,000 per episode, or even the £100,000 quoted by the Mail in 2009 in one of its scare articles claiming the show was on its way out (it will have outlasted that article by more than 1,000 episodes by the time it finally ends), is a fraction of what many shows cost. Guess what Channel 4's budget for their pointless attempt to chase ratings in the 5pm slot is?

DoND doesn't have to be more profitable than Come Dine (which is good, because it won't be). It merely has to provide more for Channel 4, all things considered, than a putative replacement - which I'm guessing will either be a new game show or The Big Bang Theory repeats, though there are other options. The show is renewed until late 2014, as I understand it; I'd be astonished if it were renewed again, but nine years for a heavily serialised 'one-trick pony' of a daytime game show many thought would fail to get its initial 66-episode order extended? That is a remarkable run. And when you consider that the 5pm slot has DoND's budget and nothing in it has managed even today's DoND ratings? Maybe it does get renewed for a tenth year.

Very interesting point. I wonder how the % of profits from those licenses are divvied up. I seem to recall that there is a guy who travels around the UK making a living from playing DOND machines, or maybe WWTBAM. He has memorised all the questions.
Even if the TV show went away, those games machines and lottery tickets are going to be around for years.

Another point is the phone in competition, or lack thereof. Is there any evidence that the cessation affected the offer amounts?

I am surprised Noel has stayed as long as he has. I remember when the show started, a few people saying they thought Noel would quit Deal really quickly, and that Des Lynam would stay on Countdown for years....

I do wonder if he has considered leaving the show, though I guess most of that decision comes down to how much he is being paid, and whether or not he is disgrunted at the direction the show has taken. I remember reading at one point that he got £20k per episode? Although I have a feeling that's a Daily Mail citation. Even on £6,500 he gets more than most players seem to; I wonder if he ever feels a bit guilty given how much every player now seems desperate for cash?

There were talks when DOND was big about him potentially going back to the BBC and doing prime-time Saturday night entertainment again. I wonder if the decline in DOND will have had any effect on his credibility? Will he just disappear into the wilderness again after DOND ends, to be dusted off again in a few years time when we've all recovered?

A new host would regenerate some interest at least. It would be intriguing to see how they would mould the show and deal with all the baggage it has accumulated over the years. Who knows, they might even give it a couple of years extra mileage, and, heaven forbid, actually turn out to be better than Edmonds himself!

RE the 5pm slot, I have a feeling Five Minutes to a Fortune was actually beating DOND towards the end of its run - in overnights, at least. If not, it was certainly close, which given how fierce 5pm is, implied to me that it would have outperformed Deal in the 4pm slot. Not that that is saying much; I would still be surprised [in a good way, as I quite enjoyed it!] if that came back. (That show would have done so much better in just about ANY other slot, why C4 put it there is baffling.)

I would also be surprised to see Deal recommissioned past the end of its current contract. C4 daytime has essentially been the same static routine since 2006 and needs some changes made to it. There are things which it would feel heartless without (Countdown, for example, which is still perfectly watchable as a format and just needs cutting back a bit and the removal of Nick Hewer), but I don't think DOND is one of them.


There was still a Crystal Maze machine in an amusement arcade in Great Yarmouth a couple of years ago. DOND machines will be around for a while yet...

Oh Crystal Maze was lush! . I remember watching in the 90's and screaming at the tv while Richard o' Brien camped it up. Now if they commissioned a series of that instead of DOND and had Doris's, Ethel's and Edna's running around, doing mental challenges for their prizes that would be 7th heaven. Perhaps theres an idea. Crystal Maze: Deal or No Deal? I wonder who owns the license to Crystal Maze?

How to save DOND: Get Richard O'Brien to host and replace The Banker with Mumsey. I would watch!

Crystal Maze might be the best thing ever broadcast. I used to look forward to it all week!

Thanks for your replies....
What prompted me to post this was the fact that I got the impression from this topic and a couple of other posts on here that some people, like me, were a bit fed up with the type of contestants that are being chosen.
my thoughts exactly...

It just goes to show what a pro Noel is. Most people earning what he does would get embarrassed telling someone (who has gone there to change their life) that £250 is not a bad hours work!

KP Thanks for your detailed reply... I actually went on my pilgrimage in November 2012 so it was after the HD 'improvements'. I have in the past worked for both the BBC & Granada so do have something to compare with and was quite surprised by the whole set-up.

It is, like you say a credit to the show (and it's team) that it is still going.