Zynga's 'Draw Something' picked up for CBS game show pilot

CBS ordered an unscripted pilot based on Zynga's blockbuster mobile social game Draw Something.

Originally developed by OMGPOP, which was acquired by Zynga in March for a reported $180 million, Draw Something challenges players to guess what word their opponent is sketching. The proposed Draw Something TV series, which hails from Sony Pictures Television, Ryan Seacrest Productions and Embassy Row, will feature celebrities and everyday contestants playing for cash prizes in front of a live studio audience, a concept closely evoking the popular 1980s game show Win, Lose or Draw.

The Hollywood Reporter states CBS landed the Draw Something pilot after a fierce bidding war with multiple networks. A host for the program has not been announced, and Seacrest is not expected to have an on-air presence.

Draw Something is available for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android. The game shattered the 50 million download milestone in April 2012, less than two months after it first launched. However, last month Forbes reported Draw Something has lost nearly 5 million daily active users since the Zynga deal, plummeting from 15 million users to 10 million. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus maintains that Draw Something still generates more traffic now than it did when Zynga and OMGPOP first entered negotiations, but admitted "It's still too early to say that that acquisition is successful."

For more:
- read this Hollywood Reporter article

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