TWENTIETH, FREMANTLE OFFER ‘TEMPTATION’

Twentieth Television Inc. and FremantleMedia North America today unveiled Temptation, a new half-hour game strip for fall 2007.

Temptation has been cleared on the 10 My Network TV affiliates owned and operated by Fox Television Stations: WWOR New York, KCOP Los Angeles, WPWR Chicago, KDFI Dallas, WDCA Washington, KTXH Houston, WFTC Minneapolis, KUTP Phoenix, WRBW Orlando, Fla., and WUTB Baltimore, representing 24% of the United States.

Based on FremantleMedia North America’s global format phenomenon “Sale of the Century,” Temptation pits three contestants against one another who earn cash by answering a series of questions about pop culture and current events. The winning contestant is the individual with the most money. Throughout the program, opponents are tempted to spend their money on high-end prizes at incredible bargain prices. According to Twentieth, prizes featured on Temptation will be, for the first time in U.S. television history, available to viewers for discounted purchase via phone or at the program’s official Web site.

In its original U.S. format, Sale of the Century aired on NBC between 1983 and 1989, during which it consistently won its daytime time period. In the United Kingdom, the program aired on ITV1 last October, attracting an audience of 9 million viewers, ranking it as the highest rated game show of the year. Sale of the Century first debuted in Australia in 1970 and ranked No. 1 in its time period throughout the 1990s before taking a brief hiatus. In 2005, it returned to Australian airwaves under the Temptation banner, and reclaimed its post at the top of the ratings.  Sale of the Century has also been a hit in Hong Kong, as well as Paraguay, where it was the country’s first game show strip.