Prizemo is launching a new game show, “Show You the Money,” that allows players to win cash and prizes for correct answers to trivia questions by sending text messages or playing online.
Prizemo is led by CEO Jakob Kuznicki, formerly the vice president of licensing for Jamba/Jamster, and Anthony Rodol, formerly director of new media and mobile for Warner Music Group, who serves as vice president of business development and marketing.
Favorable rulings for “Deal or No Deal” in lawsuits over the mobile participation TV contests led the company to believe the time is right to launch, according to Kuznicki. The company also wants to make sure people know that sending a text in the contest will cost 99 cents even if they are on a bucket text plan.
Dubbed the first participation media show of its kind, “Show You the Money” began yesterday. Winners will be randomly selected and announced (posted on www.prizemo.com) on a weekly basis during the game’s first phase. Each mobile participant receives a free ringtone or other mobile content, which can be redeemed on the Web.
The company also will start airing promotional spots starting on Sept. 5 on VH-1, MTV, MTV2 and BET. Celebrity hosts, including Saigon, Memphis Bleek, Unique, Talia Coles and others, will appear on-air with call-outs to viewers to text correct answers to questions using the short code 99799.
The company started doing business around the first of March after Kuznicki moved from Berlin, Germany, to New York to launch the business. The idea for the company started germinating in a conversation Kuznicki had with Briant Biggs, former CEO of Swagger and first cousin of Jay-Z.
Prizemo is currently in discussions with major U.S. and international broadcast and cable outlets for syndication of “Show You the Money” as a daily, 15-minute show featuring celebrity hosts from the worlds of music, film, fashion and sports, the company said.