Pasapalabra

Pasapalabra is a Spanish television game show, adapted from the British format The Alphabet Game.

Not to be confused with Password (game show).

Pasapalabra
Pasapalabra logo since 2020
Genre	Game show[1]
Presented by	Silvia Jato (2000–2002; 2003–2006) Constantino Romero (2002–2003) Jaime Cantizano (2006) Christian Gálvez (2007–2019) Roberto Leal (2020–present)
Country of origin	Spain
Original language(s)	Spanish
Production
Running time	43 minutes
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	Antena 3 (2000–2006, 2020 –present) Telecinco (2007–2019)
Original release	Antena 3 (first run): 24 July 2000 (2000-07-24) – 16 June 2006 Telecinco: 16 July 2007 (2007-07-16) – 1 October 2019 Antena 3 (second run): 13 May 2020 (2020-05-13)–present
External links
Website

Gameplay

In each episode, two contestants team with celebrities to play various games. A team's correct responses in these games score seconds, extending their contestant's time limit in the final game, known as el rosco final or el rosco.

In the rosco, gameplay proceeds through letters of the Spanish alphabet. For each letter, the host reads a definition of a word starting with or containing that letter. A contestant responds with a word, or passes by saying "pasapalabra". Completing the rosco with every response correct wins the show's progressive jackpot.

History

Pasapalabra first aired on Antena 3 in 2000, with Silvia Jato as host. Constantino Romero substituted Jato in 2002. Jaime Cantizano replaced Jato as host in 2006.

In 2006, a Pasapalabra jackpot of 2,190,000 € became the largest prize ever awarded on a game show in Spain, and the third largest prize ever awarded on a game show in Europe.[2]

In 2007, Pasapalabra moved to Telecinco with Christian Gálvez as host.[3] Pasapalabra aired evenings on Telecinco, Monday through Friday.[1]

In 2014, Lilit Manukyan of Armenia became the first Pasapalabra jackpot winner whose native language was not Spanish.[4]

On 2 October 2019, the Supreme Court of Spain ordered Telecinco to cancel the broadcast of Pasapalabra after a legal battle with the format's intellectual property owners ITV Studios.[5][6]

On 19 December 2019, Antena 3 acquired the rights to air the format from ITV Studios.[7] Roberto Leal took on hosting duties.[8]

References

1. "PASAPALABRA". Telecinco (in Spanish). Retrieved December 8, 2014.
2. Gómez, Rosario G. (May 9, 2006). "'Pasapalabra' da un premio de 2,1 millones, el mayor de un concurso" [Pasapalabra gives away a 2.1 million prize, the largest from a game show]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved December 7, 2014.
3. "Christian Gálvez, próximo presentador de 'Pasapalabra' en Telecinco" [Christian Gálvez, the next host of Pasapalabra on Telecinco]. FormulaTV (in Spanish). May 11, 2007. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
4. "Cuando era pequeña soñaba con ser la primera astronauta armenia" [When I was little I dreamed of being the first Armenian astronaut]. El País (in Spanish). 25 November 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
5. Europa Press (2 October 2019). "El Supremo obliga a Telecinco a suspender la emisión de Pasapalabra "inmediatamente"" [The Supreme Court obliges Telecinco to cancel the broadcast of Pasapalabra "immediately"]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2019.
6. Mucientes, Esther. "Con la D, perder Pasapalabra: desgracia" [With the D, losing Pasapalabra: disgrace]. El Mundo. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
7. Vertele (19 December 2019). "Antena 3 se queda con 'Pasapalabra' tras perderlo Telecinco" [Antena 3 gets 'Pasapalabra' after Telecinco loses it]. eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2019.
8. Tom C. Avendaño (14 April 2020). "Roberto Leal presentará el 'Pasapalabra' de Antena 3" [Roberto Leal will present the ‘Pasapalabra’ of Antena 3]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 April 2020.