c4countdown

For anyone who hasn't heard, Countdown is adopting a new format that will take effect on screen at the beginning of April which runs like this (thanks to Andy Platt for sending to me).

15-Round Format II:
R1 = Letters for C1
R2 = Letters for C2
R3 = Numbers for C1
Ad Break
R4 = Letters for C2
R5 = Letters for C1
R6 = Numbers for C2
Dictionary Corner Guest Talk
R7 = Letters for C1
R8 = Letters for C2
R9 = Numbers for C1
Ad Break
R10 = Letters for C2
R11 = Letters for C1
Origins of Words
R12 = Letters for C2
R13 = Letters for C1
R14 = Numbers for C2
R15 = Conundrum

The reason for this (apparently) is that Channel 4 requested that the ad breaks be placed at different points in the show in order to allow an extra minute of commericals.

Anyway, discuss.

...Which brings the Teatime Teasers even further away from teatime. Wonderful.

Johnny Canuck wrote:...Which brings the Teatime Teasers even further away from teatime. Wonderful.

Afternoon Anagrams, more like...

will apterous be changing its format to this as well?

Interesting. How do we think this will affect the average scores? I'm assuming the average score is around 7 for a letters round so being able to get 10 for the new numbers round instead presumably means the average scores will be slightly increased, but surely one less letters round means there is a smaller chance of getting a record breaking high score because the chance of 9s will be lower.
It does mean though that the number picks are slightly fairer - 2 each instead of the champion only getting 1.

Grant Waters wrote:Interesting. How do we think this will affect the average scores? I'm assuming the average score is around 7 for a letters round so being able to get 10 for the new numbers round instead presumably means the average scores will be slightly increased, but surely one less letters round means there is a smaller chance of getting a record breaking high score because the chance of 9s will be lower.
It does mean though that the number picks are slightly fairer - 2 each instead of the champion only getting 1.

Well, the max max will drop from 238 to 230, but because of an almost guaranteed extra 10 points per show, the average maxes might increase slightly................

Grant Waters wrote:Interesting. How do we think this will affect the average scores? I'm assuming the average score is around 7 for a letters round so being able to get 10 for the new numbers round instead presumably means the average scores will be slightly increased, but surely one less letters round means there is a smaller chance of getting a record breaking high score because the chance of 9s will be lower.
It does mean though that the number picks are slightly fairer - 2 each instead of the champion only getting 1.

Yeah, out goes the hope for the finals when you want the challenger's seat as you get two numbers picks. It's game on now!!

I'm guessing that, whenever an Octochamp retires and two newcomers arrive it'll just be random seats instead of a coin toss with the winner deciding if they want to play as Challenger or Champion given it now makes no difference.

Mark Ivey wrote:I'm guessing that, whenever an Octochamp retires and two newcomers arrive it'll just be random seats instead of a coin toss with the winner deciding if they want to play as Challenger or Champion given it now makes no difference.

It makes less of a difference than before, but I think it does still make a difference. There's a slight advantage to picking the last numbers game before the conundrum. If you're 11 or more ahead you go one large, if you're 11 or more behind you do something a bit offbeat.

When the format changed from nine rounds to fifteen there was much recalculation of fifteen round scores into the 'true' nine round format. After a couple of months nine rounds was consigned to history. Sorry, folks - you're history!

Of course the start date for the new format may be suggestive.

Damian actually said from 25th March, which hasn't been filmed yet. We are planning to run COREA with the new format
on 30th March.

Yeah, kind of frustrating that it comes in mid series, so people that have filmed on early in the series might have some kind of disadvantage (or advantage) compared to people later in the series, there might have to be some dodgy recalculation formula

For those of us goodish at letters and hopeless at numbers it is a death knell! (Not that I'm thinking of going on Countdown, so it doesn't really matter.)

I liked it more on tv than I do on apterous. It made me watch the guest's bit even though I had no idea who it was.

Definitely an improvement in my opinion. It restores the equal treatment of the two contestants that was lost when the 9-round format was abolished, and I think the programme has a better rhythm to it now. At first I thought they were going to introduce another ad break, but now the guest talk provides an additional break rather than being tacked on to one of the ad breaks.