{{Short description|Television series}} {{Italic title}} {{multiple issues| {{Original research|date=October 2007}} {{lead too short|date=February 2014}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2014}} {{Cleanup reorganize|date=March 2021}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} '''''TV Powww''''' (often stylized as '''''TV POWWW''''') was a franchised television game show format, in which home viewers controlled a video game via telephone in hopes of winning prizes.
==History== The ''TV Powww'' format, produced and distributed by Florida syndicator Marvin Kempner, debuted in 1978 on Los Angeles station KABC-TV as part of ''A.M. Los Angeles'', and by the start of the next decade was seen on 79 local television stations (including national superstation WGN as part of ''Bozo's Circus'') in the United States, as well as several foreign broadcasters. While most stations had dropped ''TV Powww'' by the mid-1980s, stations in Australia and Italy were still using it as late as 1990.<ref name="times">{{Cite news | last = Erickson | first = Charles | title = When the Future of TV Was a Youngster Yelling 'Pow!' | newspaper = New York Times | location = | pages = 27, sect. 2 | language = | publisher = | date = June 9, 2002 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/09/arts/television-radio-when-the-future-of-tv-was-a-youngster-yelling-pow.html?scp=2&sq=TV%20Powww&st=cse | accessdate = 2009-11-05}}</ref>
Stations were originally supplied with games for the Fairchild Channel F console, but following Fairchild's withdrawal from the home video game market, Intellivision games were used. Kempner later unsuccessfully attempted to interest both Nintendo and Sega in a ''TV Powww'' revival.<ref name="lives">{{cite web|url=http://www.intellivisionlives.com/media/newsletters/news020327.html |title=Intellivision Lives |website=Newsletter |date=March 2002|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219094534/http://www.intellivisionlives.com/media/newsletters/news020327.html |archive-date=2018-12-19 }}</ref>
While the underlying technology was standardized across participating stations, the format of ''TV Powww''{{'}}s presentation varied from market to market. Many presented ''TV Powww'' as a series of segments that ran during the commercial breaks of television programming (a la ''Dialing for Dollars''), while some (such as KTTV in Los Angeles) presented ''TV Powww'' as a standalone program.
==Gameplay== In the video game being featured, the at-home player would give directions over the phone while watching the game on their home screen. When the viewer determined that the weapon was aiming at the target, they said "Pow!", after which that weapon would activate.
Accounts vary as to what kind of controller technology was involved. Some sources state that the gaming consoles sent to the stations were modified for voice activation.,<ref name="lives" /> while a 2008 WPIX station retrospective reported that stations without the special voice-activation-equipped consoles would have an employee in the control room manually hit the fire button when the caller said "Pow!" (or "Pix" (pronounced ''picks'') in WPIX's case).<ref>{{Cite web | last = Tsiokos | first = Costa | title = Population Statistic: "TV PIXXX: Remote Gaming, 80's Style" | date = June 15, 2008 | url = http://www.populationstatistic.com/archives/2008/06/15/tv-pixxx-remote-gaming-80s-style/ | access-date = 2009-11-05}}</ref>
One of the pitfalls of the gameplay was that, due to broadcasting technicalities, there was significant lag in the transmission of a television signal. The player would experience this lag when playing at home, which likely made playing the game somewhat more difficult. (For similar reasons, such a game would be impossible in digital television without the use of a second video chat feed for the player, due to the time it takes to process and compress the video stream; most stations also mandate a seven-second delay to prevent obscenities from reaching the air.)
==Featured games== {{inc-video|date=October 2021}}
===Channel F===
There is video evidence for the following Fairchild Channel F games being played on ''TV Powww'': * ''Baseball''<ref name="fairchildVideo">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdl-TbT3DGU |title=Barney's Army: TV Powww from Around the USA|website=YouTube |date=26 January 2019 }}</ref> * ''Bowling''<ref name="fairchildVideo"/> * ''Quadra-Doodle'' (used as a background)<ref name="fairchildVideo"/> * ''Shooting Gallery''<ref name="fairchildVideo"/>
Kempner marketing documentation also supports the following games being used: * ''Dodge' It''<ref name="fairchildMarketing">{{Cite news | last = | first = | title = Broadcasting | newspaper = | location = | pages = 41 | language = | publisher = | date = Feb 26, 1979 | url = https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-02-26.pdf }}</ref> * ''Maze''<ref name="fairchildMarketing"/> * ''Tic-Tac-Toe''<ref name="fairchildMarketing"/>
===Intellivision===
There is video evidence for the following Intellivision games being played on ''TV Powww'': * ''Football''<ref name="intellivisionFootball">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWLCKFMGEdo |title=Barney's Army: Football Powww|website=YouTube |date=2 October 2010 }}</ref> * ''Slots''<ref name="intellivisionSlots">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIqgKmY4DDo |title=KTXL Jackpot Movie/Commercial Breaks|website=YouTube |date=23 May 2008 }}</ref> * ''Soccer''<ref name="intellivisionSoccer">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGXf5V_UH7c |title=TV Powww com Sérgio Mallandro|website=YouTube |date=16 August 2014 }}</ref> * Single player ''Space Battle''<ref name="intellivisionKspace1">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weZGElhgEY0 |title=Ralph Harris - TV POWWW LOS ANGELES|website=YouTube |date=22 September 2016 }}</ref> * Two player ''Space Battle''<ref name="intellivisionKspace2">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4tsMQl9fPo |title=WUHF TV-Powww 1981 promo|website=YouTube |date=29 September 2012 }}</ref>
Kempner marketing documentation and Marvin Kempner's autobiography suggest the following games were available or under development: * ''Astrosmash''<ref name="lives"/><ref name="intellivisionMarketing1">{{Cite news | last = | first = | title = Broadcasting | newspaper = | location = | pages = 106–107 | language = | publisher = | date = March 7, 1983 | url = https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1983/BC-1983-03-07.pdf }}</ref><ref name="autobiography">{{Cite news | last = Kempner | first = Marvin | title = Can't Wait Til Monday Morning: Syndication in Broadcasting | newspaper = | location = | pages = 216 | language = | publisher = | date = July 1, 1998 | url = }}</ref> * ''Baseball''<ref name="intellivisionMarketing2">{{cite web|url=https://atariage.com/forums/topic/300126-las-vegas-slots-and-tv-powww/ |title=Kempner TV POWWW Marketing Document|date=31 December 2019 }}</ref> * ''Basketball''<ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/><ref name="intellivisionMarketing2"/> * ''Boxing''<ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/><ref name="autobiography"/> * ''Frog Bog''<ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/> * ''Horse Racing''<ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/> * ''Skiing''<ref name="lives"/><ref name="autobiography"/> * ''Space Hawk''<ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/> * ''Word Fun'' - Word Rockets<ref name="lives"/><ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/><ref name="autobiography"/><ref name="intellivisionMarketing2"/> * Unspecified Intellivoice games<ref name="intellivisionMarketing1"/>
The Intellivision title ''Sharp Shot''<ref name="sharpShot">{{cite web|url=https://history.blueskyrangers.com/mattelelectronics/games/sharpshot.html |title=Blue Sky Rangers - Sharp Shot Production History}}</ref> reportedly comprised four ''TV Powww'' games, implying that the simplified versions of the following titles found on this cartridge were also available to ''TV Powww'' customers:
* ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' * ''Sea Battle''
==''TV Powww'' variants== {|class="wikitable sortable" style=white-space:nowrap;" |- ! class = "unsortable" | City/Market ! Local name ! Host ! Show Featured on ! Network ! Air dates |- | Boston, MA | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WXNE-TV | Unknown |- | Baltimore, MD | ''TV Powww!'' | Stu Kerr | Unknown | WMAR | Unknown |- | Battle Creek, MI | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | ''Star Blazers'' | WUHQ | Unknown |- | Calgary, Alberta | ''Switchback'' | Unknown | Unknown | CBRT | 1985 |- | Chicago, IL<br/>(Nationwide Cable) | ''Ray's TV Powww!'', ''Bozo's TV Powww!'' | Ray Rayner, Frazier Thomas | ''Ray Rayner and His Friends'', ''Bozo's Circus'' | WGN<br/>Superstation WGN | 1979-1980 |- |rowspan="2" | Cleveland, OH |rowspan="2" | ''TV Powww!'' | Bob Zappe | ''Zap!'' | WKYC-TV | 1978–1979 |- | Candy Cramer | ''Video Arcade'' | WCLQ | 1982–1984 |- | Columbus, GA | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WYEA | Unknown |- | Dallas, TX | ''TV Powww!'' | B.J. Cleveland | Unknown | KXTX | Unknown |- | Dayton, OH | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown<br/>Unknown | ''Clubhouse 22'' (children's version)<br/>''Evening'' (adult version) | WKEF | Unknown<br/>Unknown |- | Flint, MI | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WEYI | Unknown |- | Green Bay, WI | ''Clubhouse Powww!'' | Gerald "Uncle Jerry" Drake<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/greenbaypressgazette/obituary.aspx?pid=165396686 |title=Obituary for Gerald Drake |website=Legacy.com |date=June 2013}}</ref><br/>"Barney" | Weekday afternoons | WLUK-TV | c. 1979–1981 |- | Greensboro, NC | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | ''Captain Triad'' | WGGT | Unknown |- | Hartford, CT | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WTXX | Unknown |- | High Point, NC | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WGHP | Unknown |- | Hobart, Tasmania | ''TV Powww'' | "Jim Shoes" | ''Saturday Fun Show'' | TVT6 | 1980s |- | Honolulu, HI | ''TV Powww!'' | Fred "Professor Fun" Ball (children's version)<br/>Ron Wiley (adult version) | Unknown | KIKU | Unknown |- | Houston, TX | ''TV Kid POWWW'' | Unknown | Unknown | KHTV | Unknown |- | Jacksonville, FL | ''TV Powww!'' | Gary Rogers | Unknown | WAWS, WXAO/WNFT | 1981–1983, 1983–1984 |- | Kingsport, TN<br/>Knoxville, TN | ''TV Powww!'' | Frances Eden | Unknown | WKPT<br/>WTVK-TV | 1981 |- | rowspan="3" | Los Angeles, CA | rowspan="3" | ''TV Powww!'' | Regis Philbin | A.M. Los Angeles | KABC | 1978–? |- | John Rovick | ''TV Powww'' | KTTV | 1979 |- | Unknown | ''TV Powww'' | KCOP | Unknown |- | New York, NY | ''TV Pixxx'' | Ralph Lowenstein | N/A | WPIX | 197?–1982 |- | Newport News, VA | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | ''TV Powww!'' | WAVY-TV | Unknown |- | Oakland, CA (SF Bay Area) | ''TV Powww!'' | Pat McCormick | ''Spider-Man'' and ''Tom and Jerry'' | KTVU | 1970s–1980s |- | Regional & Remote Western Australia | ''TV Powww'' | Chris Mills | N/A | GWN7 | 1980s |- | Philippines | ''TV Powww'' | Various | N/A | BBC-2 | 1970s–1980s |- | Phoenix, AZ | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | KPNX | Unknown |- | Raleigh, NC | ''TV Powww!'' | "Barney" | ''Barney's Army'' | WPTF-TV | 1979–1982 |- | Rochester, NY | ''TV Powww!'' | "Ranger Bob" | Ranger Bob’s Buckeroo Club | WUHF | 1981 |- | Rockhampton, Queensland | ''TV Powww'' | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Early 1980s |- | Sacramento, CA | ''TV Powww!'' | Mitch Agruss | ''Cap'n Mitch'' | KTXL | 1980 |- | San Diego, CA | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | KCST | Unknown |- | São Paulo, Brazil | ''TV Powww!'' | Luis Ricardo<br/>Mara Maravilha<br/>Paulo Barboza<br/>Gugu Liberato<br/>Sérgio Mallandro<br/>Tânia Alves<br/>Christina Rocha | ''Show Maravilha'' | SBT | 1984–1989 |- | Salt Lake City, UT | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Daily Movie | KSL-TV |Unknown |- | Spokane, WA | ''Q6 Powww!'' | Cal Fankhouser | Unknown | KHQ-TV | Unknown |- | United Kingdom | ''TV Powww'' | Peter Powell<br/>Mark Curry | ''Get Set for Summer'' | BBC1 | 1982 |- | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales | ''TV Powww'' | Unknown | Unknown | RVN2 | Unknown |- | Waterbury, CT | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WTXX | Unknown |- | Wodonga, Victoria | ''TV Powww'' | Unknown | Unknown | AMV4 | Unknown |- | Youngstown, OH | ''TV Powww!'' | Unknown | Unknown | WYTV | Unknown |}
===''TV Pixxx''=== One notable version of ''TV Powww'' was used by New York based television station WPIX, called '''''TV-Pixxx''''' (a play on the station's call letters). Hosted by station staff announcer Ralph Lowenstein, it was aired during the traditional weekday afternoon slot of children's TV as an interlude. Participants would be called at home to play a videogame that appeared on their screen.<ref name="times" />
Participants interacted with the game by saying the word "Pix" to perform game-related actions. Prizes included T-shirts and $10 U.S. savings bonds. They could double their prize or win a bonus prize (such as advance tickets to see upcoming films) by guessing a "Magic Word" (originally common everyday words, later in the last two years one of the 50 U.S. states). For a chance at playing, children could send a postcard with their name, address, and phone number to ''TV Pixxx''.
WPIX's program lasted until 1982; for many New York viewers, ''TV Pixxx'' was their first glimpse of the Intellivision home game system.<ref name="lives" />
In the ''Beastie Boys Book'', Adam Horovitz claimed to be a regular viewer of the program, but was never picked to play the game, nor saw anyone actually win.
===''Switchback''=== '''''Switchback''''' aired on CBC Television station CBRT in Calgary, Alberta in 1985, also including Intellivision games.
===''Zap''=== In Cleveland, Ohio, '''''Zap''''' (named after host Bob Zappe) aired in the mornings from 1978 to 1979 on NBC station WKYC which had a feature similar to ''TV Powww''.
===International versions=== ====Australia==== In the early 1980s, Golden West Network (GWN) had a version called ''TV Powww'' (or possibly ''TV Pow''), hosted by Chris Mills. There was a spaceship game, a boxing game and a soccer/football game.
A basic version of ''Space Invaders'' was broadcast daily after school hours in Rockhampton, north-east coast of Australia during the early 1980s. Children would yell "Pow!" over the telephone, with the host pressing the fire button in the studio. Reaction time varied with the mood of the host. The game was often chaotic, with contestant rapid firing, and sync abandoned when the host was unable to keep up.
====Brazil==== The game premiered on SBT in August 1984 and its first host was Paulo Barboza.<ref name="saiba"/> Shortly thereafter, other hosts like Tânia Alves, Mara Maravilha, Luís Ricardo, Sérgio Mallandro, Gugu Liberato and Christina Rocha presented the game. ''TV Powww!'' became a segment of the ''Bozo'' show in 1986 and continued until 1989.
The block also included foreign content, often cartoons the network had the rights to air, as fillers. On August 24, 1984, an episode of ''El Chavo del Ocho'' aired during the program, marking the arrival of the series on Brazilian television.<ref name="saiba">{{cite news |title=Nem Bozo, nem Mallandro: saiba quem apresentou a estreia de "Chaves" no SBT |url=https://tvefamosos.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2017/08/24/nem-bozo-nem-mallandro-saiba-quem-apresentou-a-estreia-de-chaves-no-sbt.htm |work=TV e Famosos |language=pt-br}}</ref>
====United Kingdom==== The game had a 12 episode run as part of the BBC Saturday morning children's show ''Get Set For Summer''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/page.sm?ref=sushows |title=Saturday Mornings ~ from Swap Shop, through Live & Kicking, to TMi and everything inbetween |access-date=2014-10-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026080648/http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/page.sm?ref=sushows |archive-date=2014-10-26 }}</ref> between April 1982<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1982-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023193345/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1982-04-17 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2023 | title= BBC Radio Times 1982-04-17 }}</ref> and July 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1982-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821071638/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1982-07-31 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 21, 2022 | title=BBC Radio Times 1982-07-31 }}</ref>
====Colombia====
In 1982 there was a variation of Tv Powww called Telectronico hosted by Reynaldo More (RTI TV on Inravisión Cadena 2). Children could participate by sending coupons from newspaper and waiting for the right phone call. Show took place Monday to Friday at 5:30 p.m.
== See also ==
* {{annotated link|The Golden Shot}} with a play-at-home element * {{annotated link|Twitch Plays Pokemon}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tv Powww}} Category:Children's game shows Category:1978 American television series debuts Category:1990 American television series endings Category:1970s American game shows Category:1980s American game shows Category:1990s American game shows Category:Intellivision Category:Franchised television formats Category:American television shows based on video games Category:Local game shows in the United States Category:Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão original programming Category:Seven Network original programming