TV tournaments

seagoon · Post by **seagoon** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:39 pm

Just curious. I run a small (28 - 32 team) tournament that's been televised every year since 1978. Anybody out there know of one that's been on the air longer?

bigtrain · Post by **bigtrain** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:57 pm

Yes, the show "It's Academic" holds the world record for longest running game show. It airs in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia. In Washington, D.C. it is hosted by Mac McGarry and has 81 teams who compete in a playoff like system where three teams play at once. The show is in its 46th season.

No Sollositing On Premise · Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:57 pm

It's Academic in the MD/DC/VA area has been around since 1961.

http://www.nbc4.com/itsacademic/index.html

seagoon · Post by **seagoon** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 1:58 pm

Okay, so now I know It's Academic has been on the air since I was a senior in high school myself, how about televised quiz bowl in the Northeast? Or New York State? I know we're the longest-running in Dryden, NY. I'm not looking for a record - just something that would sound impressive in our announcer's opening javascript:emoticon(':roll:')
Rolling Eyes

Dan Greenstein · Post by **Dan Greenstein** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 5:31 pm

I think there was a televised It's Academic in New York City when my dad was in high school there in the mid 1960s. Might be worth looking up.

mrblinux · Post by **mrblinux** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 6:47 pm

I know there was - my mother is from the Bronx, and in her yearbook there is a picture of their school's It's Academic team.

seagoon · Post by **seagoon** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:39 pm

So I guess I have to settle for being the longest-running telefvised quiz bowl in UPSTATE New York. Or does someone else want to take that small consolation away from me?

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 2:38 am

bigtrain wrote:Yes, the show "It's Academic" holds the world record for longest running game show. It airs in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia.

The IA people have a different idea of what "central Virginia" is from those who actually live in Virginia. Here, "central Virginia" means Richmond and surrounding counties; to IA it's someplace an hour or two to the northwest. Richmond-area teams have "Battle of the Brains" (formerly "Challenge 23" and before that "Battle of the Brains" the first time) which I believe is now airing on the CBS affiliate on Saturday mornings after a long run on weekday nights on the PBS station. Teams on the border between the two, like those from Charlottesville, have been known to compete in both events.

msuter · Post by **msuter** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 12:17 pm

It's Academic does have a Central Virginia component, which is taped in DC but airs on channel 29 out of Charlottesville. I'm not sure how long it's been around but Spotswood has been playing in it since 1996-97 and I know it was active before then. Teams are primarily from Albemarle, Augusta and Rockingham counties (or have been since we've been participating). We had to convince them that Rockingham Co. people who work in Augusta and Albemarle counties do shop at Giant Foods, which was the sole sponsor when we started. The main difference is that the DC and the Baltimore versions have 81 teams; we have 9

Battle of the Brains, which is now sponsored by the Va. Lottery, is expanding its participation area as well. Spotswood is playing in BOB this year, and we're a good two hours from Richmond. I understand they are moving into the Va. Beach area as well. I believe their ultimate goal is to have 3-4 different regional BOB shows that will cover the state.

I'm not sure if it is still active or not, but Roanoke has had Klassroom Kwiz since back in the '60's, I believe. For a number of years, they paid to send their winner to ASCN and even sent a TV crew along to film for the 3-5 days the team was competing.

Pop Quiz on WVPT in Harrisonburg just completed their 27th season, I believe. They used to take 32 teams but have switched to a 16-team format in recent years. Teams have come from Rappahannock Co. and Winchester on the north to E.C. Glass and other Lynchburg schools to the south but in the past few years, the schools have pretty much been from Albemarle, Augusta and Rockingham counties.

Don't know of any other televised quiz shows in Va. but there may be some.

solonqb · Post by **solonqb** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 4:11 pm

Academic Challenge also airs in Cleveland. It's a spinoff of the DC version (It was called It's Academic from 1964-1999, and AC from 2003-present). However, there are no playoffs like DC. Instead, the top three regular season scorers are invited to compete in the final match, with $10K, $5K, and $5K prizes from first through third places respectively. Fourth through tenth places get $1,000 each, I think.

http://www.newsnet5.com/sponsor/2677409/detail.html

dtaylor4 · Post by **dtaylor4** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 4:56 pm

Only if Illinois had something like that

eclinchy · Post by **eclinchy** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:48 pm

bigtrain wrote:Yes, the show "It's Academic" holds the world record for longest running game show. It airs in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia. In Washington, D.C. it is hosted by Mac McGarry and has 81 teams who compete in a playoff like system where three teams play at once. The show is in its 46th season.

46th? Wow, forget just game shows... there aren't many TV shows at all that can compete with that, are there?

Trevkeeper · Post by **Trevkeeper** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 11:03 pm

DaGeneral wrote:Only if Illinois had something like that

Haha, that's the exact same thought I had when I first read this thread. Oh well.

The Goffman Prophecies · Mon Mar 07, 2005 1:01 am

msuter wrote:I'm not sure if it is still active or not, but Roanoke has had Klassroom Kwiz since back in the '60's, I believe. For a number of years, they paid to send their winner to ASCN and even sent a TV crew along to film for the 3-5 days the team was competing.

I don't think Klassroom Kwiz is on the air anymore, but <shameless promotion>I captained the Shawsville team that took 3rd place back in 1998</shameless promotion>

The guy who was the host for the longest time left the area, and I don't think it's aired since he left, which was sometime around 2000-2001.

bigtrain · Post by **bigtrain** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 3:33 pm

eclinchy wrote:46th? Wow, forget just game shows... there aren't many TV shows at all that can compete with that, are there?

Yes. Interestingly enough, the record for the longest running TV show ever is I believe "Meet the Press" which is filmed in the exact same studio as Washington's version of "It's Academic." And just to add a little more trivia, the Kennedy-Nixon debates were filmed in that studio as well.

dtaylor4 · Post by **dtaylor4** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:14 am

anyone have any ideas as to how to convince a local tv station to start a quiz bowl show?