Innovative Media: Cash Cab on Discovery


So I was just going to set up the Tivo to record something when I ran across this new show on Discovery called “Cash Cab” – the folks who thought this up are brilliant. Shot in New York City, Cash Cab is billed as the only taxi ride that pays you. In short, a trivia/quiz game show format in a cab. They cruise around picking up fares like a normal cab and then the taxi driver becomes a game show host, awarding cash for every right answer – unless you get 3 wrong before you get to your destination, in which case 3 strikes and your out… of the cab too.

Strange that no one I know talked about this one.

This is just the sort of thing I hoped to see happening with the decreasing cost of media creation tools and our further exploration of creative freedom. Now mass media players are taking a grassroots, bottom up approach towards creating informative entertainment (Cash Cab runs on Discovery). The show has a built in audience with all the people looking for them on the streets, all the people who love New York and the reality show fans – just throw in a random bunch of New Yorkers and voila, instant reality tv meets game show mashup success.

It could have just as easily been done online exclusively, but they are running on Discovery! Great job – now whose great idea is next?

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  1. #1 by Mitch Buechner - January 9th, 2007 at 19:34

    Chris, I came across your website while searching for info on Cash Cab.
    I loved your write up on it. But now that it’s a year later, 01/09/07, Cash Cab has been dealt a death blow.
    The Brilliant minds at DC have taken this excellent family program and moved it to a time slot that will surely kill it. It’s previuos time slot was placed at 5pm which is at or near dinner time in most households. This meant that the family was together so they played along together. The best possible time slot to capture the most viewers possible. Pure Brilliance in programming.
    As of 01/02/07 something very strange occurred. These same brilliant minds took this very popular show and without warning moved it’s time slot to 9am in the morning. A time when 98% of the faithful viewers are at work or school. All of us CASH CABys thought for a time that the show had been cancelled. It wasn’t until we all started to migrate to the DC website that we found out that the show had been moved. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THEY DO THAT? IT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SCENSE. The link there is to the DC forums check it out and see what everyone is saying. DC is not even answering any questions either. That so sucks.
    Why am I writting to you? You might be asking yourself. I don’t know. I guess I’m just so pissed off that nobody from DC is responding that I’ll talk to anybody that has a text box available.

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