The popularity of the quiz show

The quiz is the oldest TV format of them all; the earliest TV shows were quizzes adapted from the radio.

There are probably four rules to a good quizshow:

• The game’s got to work; there’s got to be something intrinsic about it that sustains itself, day in, day out. 
• It has to have an element of proper jeopardy: lots of the best ones hinge around a single decision – to play on or not, to take the money or not take the money?
• The hosts are key.
• There’s got to be something familiar yet slightly different about them.