While it was created for Dutch television, Deal or No Deal (DOND) truly hit its stride in Britain. An icon of daytime TV and game shows in the UK, DOND was red hot for over a decade. In 2016, its 11-year, 2,985-episode run with Noel Edmonds hosting came to an end with a grand farewell tour.
Not long after, the Channel 4 game show found a new home on ITV, and with one short and now a second long run in the books, it’d be fair to say that DOND is back in a big way. Possibly helping this is the rise of DOND games online, which allows anyone in the UK to log in and play in the theme of the hit show whenever they want.
Keeping DOND Accessible to All
Source: Pixabay
During its final years and in the years since, Deal or No Deal has thrived online. In fact, DOND Slingo is one of the standout branded games of the section. Here, you get your grid of red boxes and spin the reels beneath multiple times. When you get your numbers, they’re removed, while the Joker symbol lets you pick.
Not only do you aim to get bingo lines and a full house, but you also play against the infamous Banker. After you tick away a set number of boxes, the Banker will give you an offer to end your run early. If you go all the way, the multiplier based on how many bingo lines you have gets applied to the remaining value in the last box.
Beyond the slingo hit, DOND has expanded into bingo rooms, slot games, instant win games, and more. On the same Slingo platform, you’ll find Deal or No Deal What’s in Your Box Scratchcard, Deal or No Deal Go All the Way, Deal or No Deal Megaways, and 90-ball, 75-ball, and multiplier Deal or No Deal bingo rooms.
More Engaging than Ever Before
Source: Pexels
Now, anyone, anywhere can play a form of DOND whenever they want. This access lets fans be more engaged even when the show’s not on TV, making them more inclined to tune in and watch the action when it’s live. The viewing figures certainly suggest that the show re-launched with a significant, baked-in audience.
The ten-episode opening stint, arriving seven years after Channel 4 axed the original British run, reached over 2 million viewers. That gave the green light for a 120-episode run that spanned late October in 2024 to 13 February this year. By March of last year, ITVX had recorded some 7 million views of the resurgent game show.
Something that’s important to note is that ITV isn’t running anywhere near as many episodes as Channel 4 once did, which would pump out well over 200 episodes per run. Plus, the scheduling can bounce around. At the start of this year, host Stephen Mullhern had to take to Instagram to let everyone know that there were more episodes.
Luckily, fans of the show have a plethora of options to explore and engage with DOND online. So, it’s possible that the enhanced standing of DOND as an entertainment brand beyond the game show is helping its resurgence on TV.
Article written by Ben Spencer
