BUZZR to launch on 6/1

A second game show network owned by FremantleMedia and called Buzzr TV will launch on June 1!

It should feature a bunch of classic game shows from the Goodson-Todman/Mark Goodson Productions library like Card Sharks starring Jim Perry, Bob Eubanks, and Bill Rafferty, Family Feud starring Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, and John O'Hurley, Beat the Clock starring Bud Collyer, Jack Narz, Gene Wood, and Monty Hall, I've Got a Secret starring Garry Moore and Steve Allen, Password (the CBS and ABC versions) starring Allen Ludden, Password Plus, Super Password, all episodes of The Price is Right starring Bob Barker, nighttime Price starring Tom Kennedy, Body Language, Child's Play, Now You See It starring Jack Narz, Match Game starring Gene Rayburn, and Hall's most-famous game show Let's Make a Deal. Buzzr TV should also feature both the daytime and nighttime versions of Perry's Sale of the Century and the 1984-90 run of Scrabble.

If Buzzr TV launches and GSN loses the rights to air the Goodson-Todman/Mark Goodson library and Sale, they should get the rights to the Barry & Enright library back, such as The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough, and GSN should also re-acquire Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and The $100,000 Pyramid along with a few other classic game shows in the Sony library.

Gary Owens dies of diabetes at 80

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In announcer Gary Owens died of complications from diabetes at 80. He was also the announcer on America's Funniest Home Videos who replaced Ernie Anderson. Gary had been survived by his son Chris Owens.

Bob Simon, co-anchor of 60 Minutes, dies

I found out that Bob Simon died in a car crash at the age of 73. He worked at CBS News as a co-anchor for 60 Minutes.

May God bless Bob Simon!

Super Bowl XLIX on NBC

Super Bowl XLIX at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ is underway with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks went to Super Bowl XLIX like they went to last year's Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is on NBC now (on WFLA channel 8, the NBC station in my area). Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth have the call. Just before the Super Bowl, John Legend sang his own rendition of America the Beautiful, and Idina Menzel sang the national anthem. Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, and Missy Elliott will perform at the Pepsi halftime show.