Deal cut to syndicate 'Deal or No Deal'

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. game show, "Deal or No Deal," will go into national syndication next fall, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution said Monday.

Howie Mandel, who will continue to moderate NBC's hit prime-time version of the game show, is also set to present the new half-hour edition being sold to local stations for Monday-through-Friday broadcasts.

This syndicated version will include all key elements that made NBC's primetime version a breakout hit -- Mandel, the Banker, models, contestants risking big money and the same award-winning production team.

"My wife could not be more thrilled to have me out of the house and at work Monday through Friday," Mandel said in a statement.

"Deal or No Deal" was NBC's most watched program of the 2006-2007 TV season, averaging 15 million viewers per telecast and continuously building on its lead in for stations across the country, according to Nielsen Media Research.

After its breakout debut in Holland in 2002, "Deal or No Deal" became a worldwide phenomenon and the format has since aired in more than 80 countries.