Wheel of Fortune (New Zealand game show)

History

The New Zealand version of Wheel of Fortune debuted in February 1991 on TV2 at 5:30pm, heavily modeled after Australia's version. Phillip Leishman hosted with co-host Lana Coc-Kroft, and Grant Walker, who also announced New Zealand's Sale of the Century, served as announcer. Simon Barnett became host in March 1996. During its run the show moved between TV ONE and TV2 and occupied various time slots; at its peak it aired in prime time on TV ONE at 7:00pm, a slot previously used by Sale of the Century.

It left that slot in 1995 when TV ONE extended its news to one hour followed by Holmes. After moving to TV2 at 6:00pm, the show was cancelled in May 1996, unable to compete with the 6pm news on TV ONE and TV3. The series returned on 14 April 2008 on TV ONE with new hosts Jason Gunn and Sonia Gray, airing at 5:30pm. After the 2008 season, TVNZ announced the show would return in 2009.

On that same day, TVNZ announced the series was cancelled after one year, citing lower ratings, decreased advertising revenue, and high production costs. Lower ratings may have resulted from the show's reformatting, which increased emphasis on 'Speed Digits' and interrupted the flow. The final episode aired on 2 May 2009.