America's Funniest Home Videos

Did You Know?

• A 2016 New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that 'if you could pick a safe show that appeals to almost everyone, this might be it'.
• Parker Brothers released a board game based on the show in 1990.
• The show began broadcasting in high definition with its 21st-season premiere on October 3, 2010.

Premise

America's Funniest Home Videos is based on the Tokyo Broadcasting System variety program Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV (also known as Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan), which ran from 1986 to 1992 and featured a segment inviting viewers to send in video clips from their home movies. ABC holds a 50% ownership share in the program and pays a royalty fee to TBS Holdings, Inc. for use of the format. Contestants may submit videos by uploading them on the show's official website, through its iOS or Android apps, on its official Facebook fan page, or by mailing them to a Hollywood, California post-office box.

Most clips are short, typically 5 to 30 seconds, and are organized around topics introduced in the host's monologues. Common content includes people and animals getting into humorous accidents, clever marriage proposals, displays of unusual talents, and practical jokes. Since 1989, a group of screeners has graded submitted tapes on a 1–10 scale based on humor; the highest-graded videos go to producers and then to Di Bona and another producer for final approval.

Videos showing staged accidents, serious injury, abuse of animals or children, or that otherwise violate ABC standards are generally not accepted.

History

Series creator Vin Di Bona had previously developed a similar concept for ABC in Animal Crack-Ups (1987–1990), a celebrity game show based on the Japanese series Wakuwaku Dōbutsu Land. Di Bona formed his eponymous production company after serving as a line producer on the first season of MacGyver. He partnered with former CBS News executive Joe Bellon, whose distribution company Bellon Enterprises had been struggling to sell international rights to programming concepts based on shows originally aired by Tokyo Broadcasting System.

Together they developed a pitch for an American version of Wakuwaku, using licensed animal footage, and sold it to ABC. In spring 1989, while attending the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Di Bona's then-wife Gina noticed a booth showcasing a segment from the TBS variety program Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV, in which hosts presented funny viewer-submitted caught-on-tape moments. At her insistence, Di Bona contacted TBS about licensing the rights to that concept.

Seasonal contests

After every half of the season, winners from preceding episodes compete for an additional $100,000 in the semifinals. Previously, three $100,000 shows per season occurred after runs of 5, 6, or 7 episodes. Beginning with the 24th season, the format changed to two $100,000 shows, each after a 9-or-10-episode run; this format was also used in season 9 and seasons 12–14. Two $100,000 contests air each season, with the final $100,000 episode originally serving as the season finale until the 15th season, when it began airing as the episode before the finale.

Only one $100,000 contest aired in the first and eleventh seasons. This format was used until 2002. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 season did not feature traditional confetti, streamers, or a live audience (a virtual audience was shown instead; a small live audience seated at tables and not voting, with finalists on stage, returned in Season 33), and the winner was chosen by remote video chat. From 1989 to 1997 (the Saget era), ABC stations around the country joined via satellite to cast votes along with the Los Angeles studio audience; the final $100,000 show of season two was decided by telephone vote.

From 1997 onward, three voting formats have been used: the Los Angeles studio audience votes; viewers log onto the show's website to vote; or the show declares the winner by going to Disney Parks and asking park-goers, including characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Beginning in Season 15, the $100,000 winners from each season compete in a grand prize contest to determine the title of "America's Funniest Home Video"; starting in Season 17, this became known as the "Grand Prize Spectacular" (called the "Grand Prize Celebration" for Season 20).

Syndication

The show’s reruns first hit broadcast syndication on September 11, 1995. MTM Enterprises handled the initial off-network package, which covered seasons 1 through 3, season 5, the first 14 episodes of season 4, and the first 11 episodes of season 6. Local channels, TBS (from October 2, 1995 to 1997), and USA Network (from 1998 to 2001) carried this set. After 20th Television bought MTM Enterprises in 1997, it took over syndication rights, kept the original package going, and released a second one that included the rest of season 4 plus seasons 6 through 8.

Most local stations aired that new package until September 2001. Hallmark Channel ran both packages from August 5, 2001 to 2002. ABC Family, now Freeform, broadcast seasons 6 through 8 from January 2005 to September 2007. Buena Vista Television took over distribution after 2001, offering two refreshed packages: one with seasons 1 through 5 and another with seasons 6 through 8.

PAX TV, now Ion Television, aired the first five seasons from October 6, 2003 to April 11, 2005, and Nick at Nite did so briefly from April 30 to October 12, 2007. The Saget-era episodes stayed in local syndication for a while and returned to Hallmark Channel on January 4, 2010, but shifting timeslots meant they never got past the end of season 5; the run ended on February 25, 2010. Internationally, all eight Saget seasons aired on DTV in Russia, TVB Pearl in Hong Kong, and Omni 2 in Canada, while the five-season package appeared on Sun TV, Omni British Columbia, and TVTropolis.

The John and Daisy seasons (9 and 10) ran on ABC Family from January 2002 to 2004 and on WGN America from 2006 to 2014; WGN also aired the guest specials from 1999 to 2001. Neither the John/Daisy seasons nor those specials were sold into off-network syndication, and the Kasem season made for foreign markets never aired abroad.