Sale of the Century is an international television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. The show found its biggest success in Australia, where it aired weeknights from 1980 to 2001. A new version has aired in Australia since May 2005 and in the United States since 2007 in syndication under the title of Temptation.

The format is a general knowledge quiz, where contestants (usually three) earn money for correct answers, and occasionally have the chance to "buy" heavily-discounted prizes with their score money via "Instant Bargains" (also known as "The Gift Shop"). Long-running champions would compete to win enough money to buy larger prizes, such as trips or cars, at show's end; more successful ones could end up buying all the prizes on offer and/or a large cash jackpot.

After its original run (1969-74) in the USA and during its successful run (1971-83) in the UK, the format was purchased by Australian TV mogul Reg Grundy, whose Grundy Television had produced a similarly formatted program called Temptation (as well as a primetime version called The Great Temptation) between 1971 and 1976. The Grundy version of Sale premiered on Nine Network on July 14, 1980 and became a massive success, spawning versions all across the world (including new versions in the United States and the United Kingdom). At its close in 2001 it was Australia's longest-running game show (a record since surpassed by Wheel of Fortune).

The game format varied in its details over the years and in various nations, however the core format which debuted in the 1980 Australian version, remained unchanged.

Sale of the Century is a television game show format that made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969, weekday mornings 11:00 a.m./10:00 central on NBC daytime. The series aired until July 13, 1973, after which it aired in a weekly syndicated version for one additional year.

The rights to $ale (as it was spelled on-air) would be purchased in 1980 by Australian TV mogul Reg Grundy, who would turn the show into a huge hit in Australia (See the Australian edition), and would eventually succeed in selling NBC his new vision of the format in 1983. The new $ale ran weekday mornings 10:30 a.m./09:30 central from January 3, 1983 to March 24, 1989, with a concurrent version airing weeknights in syndication from January 1985 to September 1986.

A new version of the series entitled Temptation - like the recent Aussie revival - debuted in syndication on September 10, 2007, following a September 7 preview on MyNetworkTV.

In Australia, Tony Barber hosted an early version of Sale of the Century under the title of Temptation during the 1970s, and was also the initial host of Sale, replaced by Glenn Ridge in 1991. Hostesses over the years have included Victoria Nicholls, Delvene Delaney, Alyce Platt, Jo Bailey, Nicky Buckley and Karina Brown. Pete Smith was Sale's announcer. See below for the show's most recent reincarnation as Temptation, which is hosted by Ed Phillips. The current hostess is Livinia Nixon.

Sale of the Century, produced by Anglia Television was shown on ITV weekly from 1971 to 1983. See the main article for details of the game format. The following sets out Uk-specific information.

For the first year, the programme was only shown in the Anglia region, before it was fully networked across ITV regions.

As in the original US edition, there was no "Who am I"; instead, six instant bargains would be offered throughout the show. Any of the three players were allowed to buzz in and purchase the Instant Bargain, rather than only offering the prize to the player in the lead. There were three distinct rounds of questioning, with the values rising appropriately (e.g. £1, £3, £5).

Also, in the earliest days, a mini-sale was offered just before intermission, in which a number of smaller gifts were offered for less than £5 each. In this situation, more than one player could buy a given gift, and a player could buy any or all of the prizes on offer.

The original version was hosted by Nicholas Parsons and announced by John Benson, who delivered the memorable opening And now ... from Norwich...It's the Quiz of the Week!. The series was one of the most consistently high-rating entertainment shows of the 1970s, gaining peak viewing figures of 20million. This original version of the show was restricted in the prize amount through then national agreements, meaning that the featured cars has to be below £1,500. The producers hence preferred to engage with foreign manufacturers to provide better value prize, often including top of the range Lada's.

Peter Marshall (not related to the host of the American Hollywood Squares) hosted a 1989 revival on Sky television, and Keith Chegwin hosted a 1997 remake on Challenge. Sale was also one of seven game shows played on Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, on the episode aired 8 October 2005.

On 22 December 1978 (at the time that Nicholas Parsons was hosting the show), an all-out strike at the BBC meant that 21.2 million viewers watched the programme, the highest ever rating for a game show produced by ITV.

The 1989 version followed the Grundy format; oddly, the 1997 version reverted to the original rules (except for the mini-sale), despite being produced by the then-parent company of Grundy.

No UK editions to date have offered a cash jackpot.

Updated version of the 1969-1974 NBC game show. Three contestants competed to answer trivia questions, with scoring in dollars. The game was interrupted at certain intervals for Instant Bargains, which allowed the player in the lead to buy a prize at a discounted prize (e.g., a $795 stereo color TV for $6), always at the risk of later losing the game; and a new feature, the "Fame Game," where the host read first-person clues leading to the identity of a person, place, thing, etc., with the winner having a chance to earn cash, a bonus prize or add to his score with the choice of one of nine numbers. The player with the highest score could elect to use his score money to buy specially-discounted luxury items (e.g., a $4,500 diamond-studded Swiss watch for $120), or accumulate his score money by winning future games and having access to either a luxury car, an escalating jackpot which began at $50,000 and increased by $1,000 per show until won, or everything on stage. Later in the show's run, the endgame's format changed, where champions chose prizes via a matching game; and again later by solving phrases within 30 seconds to win a cash bonus. Written by Brian Rathjen

An updated version of the 60's/70's show of the same name. In this quiz/game show, contestants had to answer relatively simple questions on general knowledge categories. Correct answers earned the contestants a few dollars. The show's gimmick was that the contestants could then exchange some of their money for expensive prizes which would be offered at extreme discounts. The contestant who finished the show with the most cash could then return to compete in the next show. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

Contestants answer relatively simple questions on general knowledge categories; correct answers earn the contestants money. Contestants can then exchange some of their money for expensive prizes, which are offered at extreme discounts. The contestant who finishes the show with the most cash returns to compete in the next show. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

A New Zealand version of the US TV show of the same name. In this quiz/game show, contestants had to answer relatively simple questions on general knowledge categories. Correct answers earned the contestants a few dollars. The show's gimmick was that the contestants could then exchange some of their money for expensive prizes which would be offered at extreme discounts. The contestant who finished the show with the most cash could then return to compete in the next show. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

An Australian version of the American TV show of the same name. In this quiz/game show, contestants had to answer relatively simple questions on general knowledge categories. Correct answers earned the contestants a few dollars. The show's gimmick was that the contestants could then exchange some of their money for expensive prizes which would be offered at extreme discounts. The contestant who finished the show with the most cash could then return to compete in the next show. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

In this quiz/game show, contestants had to answer relatively simple questions on general knowledge categories. Correct answers earned the contestants a few dollars. The show's gimmick was that the contestants could then exchange some of their money for expensive prizes which would be offered at extreme discounts. The contestant who finished the show with the most cash could then return to compete in the next show. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

"Sale of the Century" was the American game show that, after its network cancellation in the United States, became a phenomenal hit on Australia's Nine Network. 3 contestants, 1 a returning champion, competed to answer general knowledge questions (asked rapid-fire style). Each contestant was given an initial score of $25; correct answers were worth $5, wrong answers deducted $5 from the score. The game was interrupted at certain intervals for Instant Bargains, which allowed the player in the lead to buy a prize at a heavily-discounted take-it-or-leave-it prize (e.g., a $1,175 color TV/stereo console for $14) always at the risk of later losing the game at times, the host offered cash or reduced the asking price as an additional incentive to buy the prize. Toward the end of the front game, the questions were increased to $10 added or subtracted appropriately. After an undefined time limit had expired, the contestant with the highest cash score was the day's champion and earned the right to shop in the "Sale of the Century"; the losers received their cash score and any Instant Bargain prizes. In the "Sale of the Century," the champion could use his cash score winnings to buy specially-discounted luxury items (e.g., a $2800 dining room suite for $85) or bank the cash and return on the next show and accumulate more by winning future games and having access to more expensive prizes including a luxury car and a cash jackpot that began at $25,000 and increased by $1000 per show until claimed; a champion who earned enough cash could elect to take home all the prizes offered in the "Sale of the Century," which together was often worth more than $50,000. Late in the NBC run, the format was altered so that 2 male/female couples competed with late-game questions worth $20 and the winning couple going shopping; the original format was used in the one-season syndicated version. Though a modest hit in the U.S. (in both the 1969 and 1983 versions), the show became a huge hit on Australia's Nine Network; the Australian version was the brainchild of Reg Grundy, who purchased the rights to the show shortly after its network cancellation in 1973. Written by Brian Rathjen