The Newlywed Game - Broadcast History

Broadcast History

The Newlywed Game debuted on the ABC television network on July 11, 1966. It was the last U.S. commercial network series to premiere in black and white, although it converted to color, as did virtually all other network series that had not already done so, that coming September. On the day it debuted, CBS pre-empted Password to cover a news conference held by Robert McNamara. ABC opted not to air the press conference, and as a result The Newlywed Game was able to get a slight head start in the head-to-head ratings battle with the long-running Password. Over the next few months more and more viewers were tuning into The Newlywed Game and it became a hit, while Password's ratings began to fall and eventually led to the series' cancellation fourteen months later. On December 20, 1974, The Newlywed Game concluded its run as the second-longest running game show on ABC (only Family Feud lasted longer). A special week-long series for Valentine's Day aired on ABC in February 1984 and was the last time the show aired on a broadcast network; the set for the week of specials would later be used for Bob Eubanks's return to The New Newlywed Game in syndication a year later.

Up until the Game Show Network (GSN) series' 2009 premiere, all subsequent editions of The Newlywed Game were seen in syndication. The first production aired from 1977 until 1980. The second, which was referred to as The New Newlywed Game for the first three and a half years of its run, aired from 1985 until 1989. The last and most recent syndicated Newlywed Game aired new episodes from 1996 until 1999, continued in reruns for an additional season, and was sold to stations as part of an hour-long block with a revival of The Dating Game.