NBCUniversal Formats buys Japan's price-guessing hit Save Money for global remakes
NBCUniversal Formats has acquired the worldwide format distribution rights outside Japan for Save Money, the Japanese game show where contestants try to hold on to a cash pot by guessing prices.
The deal, reported by Variety on 8 October 2026, covers the blueprint for the show. Format distribution rights, meaning the right to sell local remakes to broadcasters and streamers in other countries, will now sit with NBCUniversal Formats. Variety
The game is simple to follow. Contestants start with a large cash prize. They are shown items from other countries and asked what each one costs. For every wrong guess, the gap between their answer and the real price is taken off their total.
Save Money was developed and produced by Chukyo TV. It has aired more than 20 episodes across the Nippon Television Network in Japan, which carries programmes through regional affiliates around the country.
Season 1 averaged two million viewers per episode and ranked No. 1 in its timeslot on Japanese terrestrial TV, meaning free-to-air channels, according to the report. That ratings run gives international buyers a clear record to look at. Variety
The buyer is NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group that sells show formats internationally. Linfield Ng is sales VP at the division.
Save Money is its third Asian format acquisition of the year. NBCUniversal Formats had previously picked up Unboxing the Flavours from DI Turn Co. Ltd and Phileas Productions S.L., and Action Arena, a Japanese game show from TBS.
What makes this stand out for general viewers is how easily the idea travels. No one needs to know the original cast or language. If a local broadcaster takes it up, the prizes, products and hosts can all change while the price-guessing contest stays the same.
