Editing Match Game (section)

{{short description|American television game show}}
{{about|the American game show|the Frasier episode|Match Game (Frasier episode){{!}}Match Game (''Frasier'' episode)|the sports or game concept|Matching game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Match Game 2016 logo.png
| caption              = Logo from the 2016 ABC revival
| alt_name             = The Match Game (1962–1969)<br />Match Game 73–79 (1973–1979)<br />Match Game PM (1975–1981)
| creator              = [[Frank Wayne]]
| director             = {{ubl|Jim Elson, [[Ira Skutch]], Rodger Wolf, Mike Gargiulo (1962–69)|[[Marc Breslow]] (1973–91)<ref name="eotvgs"/>| Randall Neece (1998–99)|[[Beth McCarthy-Miller]] (2016)|[[Ron de Moraes]] (2017)}}
| presenter            = {{ubl|[[Gene Rayburn]]|[[Ross Shafer]]|[[Michael Burger]]|[[Alec Baldwin]]}}
| announcer            = {{ubl|[[Johnny Olson]]|[[Gene Wood]]|[[Paul Boland]]|[[Steve French (actor)|Steve French]]}}
| theme_music_composer = [[Bert Kaempfert]] (1962–67)<br />[[Score Productions]] (1967–2021)
| country              = United States
| num_episodes         = {{ubl|''The Match Game'': 1,760|''Match Game 7x'': 1,455|''Match Game PM'': 230|''Match Game'' (1979–82): 525|''Match Game'' (1990–91): 242|''Match Game'' (2016–2021): 65}}
| producer             = {{ubl|Jean Kopelman (1962–69)|[[Ira Skutch]] (1973–82)|[[Jonathan Goodson]], [[Chester Feldman]] (1990–91)<ref name="eotvgs">{{cite book|last1=Schwartz|first1=David|last2=Ryan|first2=Steve|last3=Wostbrock|first3=Fred|title=The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows|edition=3|year=1999|publisher=Facts on File, Inc.|isbn=0-8160-3846-5|pages=137–139}}</ref>|Kevin Belinkoff (1998–99)|Scott St. John (2016–21)}}
| runtime              = 22–26 minutes (1962–99)<!--Runtimes do NOT include commercials--><br />42–46 minutes (2016–21)
| company              = {{ubl|[[Mark Goodson]]-[[Bill Todman]]|Productions (1962–82)|Sojourn Productions, Inc.|(1962–69)|Celebrity Productions, Inc.|(1973–81)|The Match Game Company|(1981–82)|Mark Goodson Productions|(1983–99)|[[Orion Television]] (1983–84)|The MG Company (1990–91)|MG Productions, Inc.|(1998–99)|Triple Threat Productions (2016–21)|Entertain the Brutes (2016–21)|El Dorado Pictures (2016–21)|[[Fremantle (company)|Fremantle USA]] (2016–21)}}
| network              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1962|12|31}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1969|9|26}}
| network2             = [[CBS]]
| first_aired2         = {{Start date|1973|6|25}}
| last_aired2          = {{End date|1979|4|20}}
| network3             = [[Broadcast syndication|Syndication]]
| first_aired3         = {{Start date|1975|9|8}}
| last_aired3          = {{End date|1982|9|10}}
| network4             = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired4         = {{Start date|1990|7|16}}
| last_aired4          = {{End date|1991|7|12}}
| network5             = [[Broadcast syndication|Syndication]]
| first_aired5         = {{Start date|1998|9|21}}
| last_aired5          = {{End date|1999|5|21}}
| network6             = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired6         = {{Start date|2016|6|26}}
| last_aired6          = {{End date|2021|7|28}}
| related              = ''[[Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour]]''<br />''[[Blankety Blank]]''<br />''[[Blankety Blanks (Australian game show)|Blankety Blanks]]''
}}

'''''Match Game''''' is an American television [[panel game|panel]] [[game show]] that premiered on [[NBC]] in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelists to fill-in-the-blank questions. Beginning with the CBS run of the 1970s, the questions are often formed as humorous [[double entendre]]s.

''The Match Game'' in its original version ran on NBC's [[daytime television|daytime]] lineup from 1962 until 1969. The show returned with a significantly changed format in 1973 on [[CBS]] (also in daytime) and became a major success, with an expanded panel, larger cash payouts, and emphasis on humor. The CBS series, referred to on-air as ''Match Game 73'' to start{{snd}}with its title updated every new year, ran until 1979 on CBS, at which point it moved to [[broadcast syndication|first-run syndication]] (without the year attached to the title, as ''Match Game'') and ran for three more seasons, ending in 1982. Concurrently with the weekday run, from 1975 to 1981, a once-a-week [[fringe time]] version, ''Match Game PM'', was also offered in syndication for airing just before [[prime time]] hours.

''Match Game'' returned to NBC in 1983 as part of a [[Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour|60-minute hybrid series]] with ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', then saw a daytime run on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1990 and another for syndication in 1998; each of these series lasted one season. It returned to ABC in a weekly prime time edition on June 26, 2016, running as an off-season replacement series, all using the 1970s format as their basis, with varying modifications.

The series was a production of [[Mark Goodson|Mark Goodson/Bill Todman Productions]], along with its successor companies, and has been franchised around the world, sometimes under the name ''[[Blankety Blanks (Australian game show)|Blankety Blanks]]''.

In 2013, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked the 1973–79 CBS version of ''Match Game'' as No. 4 on its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.<ref name=TVGuide>{{cite news|last=Fretts |first=Bruce |date=June 17, 2013 |title=Eyes on the Prize |work=[[TV Guide]] |pages=14–15}}</ref><ref name="TV Guide 60 greatest game shows">{{cite web|title=''TV Guide 60 greatest game shows''|url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/greatest-game-shows-1066568.aspx|date=12 June 2013|access-date=February 12, 2017}}</ref> It was twice nominated for the [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show]], in [[3rd Daytime Emmy Awards|1976]] and [[4th Daytime Emmy Awards|1977]].