Billion Dollar Game: How Three Men Risked It All and Changed the Face of Television by Peter Bazalgette
In the mid-1990s, three men had three unique and revolutionary ideas for television shows entitled Cash Mountain, Survive, and Project X. Time and time again, they were each rejected by major the networks as theor projects were declared unfit for production. Rather than give up on their dreams, Paul Smith, Charlie Parsons, and John de Mol instead pushed ahead and went on to produce shows which quickly became the biggest and most successful programs on Earth: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Survivor, and Big Brother. This is the compelling story of how three men defied overwhelming odds to take the television industry by storm, make personal fortunes, and transform the map of popular culture. Editorial Reviews Review Bazalgette writes as you would expect - with style, erudition and authority. His account is big and brainy, a hugely impressive appreciation of the technological, social and economic factors shaping our times. The businessman in Bazalgette clearly admires de Mol, the entertainer in him leavens the plot with laugh-out-loud anecdotes while the scholar gets down the fruit of his 160 interviews in details. He is authoritative on social change, the democratisation of content and the opportunity created by change on this scale . . . the book is a fine account of an extraordinary time in the history of television, a time when its activities transcended the small screen and became a part of everyone's conversation, young and old, believers and dissenters, powerful; and powerless?Richard Eyre, former ITV chief, BROADCAST MAGAZINE This is a rattling good business story as well as a tale from medialand?GUARDIAN This book is breathtaking?NEW STATESMAN About the Author Peter Bazalgette is a television executive.
Publication Details
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Binding: Paperback
Published by: Little, Brown Book Group: , 2005
Edition:
ISBN: 9780316729154 | 0316729159
320 pages.
Book Condition: Very Good
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