7:23 AM PDT · May 11, 2026
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Sarah Perez
NYT’s Wordle to become a TV game show
The New York Times is betting that the Wordle craze isn’t over yet. On Monday, the Times announced that it would be turning the hit mobile word game into a televised game show on NBC.
“Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie will host the affair, while The Times and “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon will both serve as production partners. Guthrie and Fallon announced the news on the 8:00 AM broadcast of the “Today” show on Monday, where they shared that the game show had been in development for the past two-and-a-half years.
The show, which will begin airing on NBC next year, is being described as “fast-paced” and a “great family game.” That sounds a bit different from the mobile game, which often requires long periods of thought where users work through the possible choices.
This will be the first time that The Times has collaborated with a TV broadcaster for an entertainment-based program, representing yet another shift in the media company’s pivot to build a sustainable digital subscription business as print revenue continues to decline.
Wordle began its life as a popular online word puzzle game after being released in October 2021 by Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn. In January of the following year, The NYT acquired the title for its growing games business, almost immediately bringing “tens of millions” of new users to the New York Times. As of last year, NYT Games says that users played more than 11 billion puzzles across all its games over the course of the year, up from 8 billion in 2023.
NBC will start shooting episodes of the game show this summer and is currently looking for contestants.
Topics
Apps, games, Gaming, Media & Entertainment, mobile games, NYT, Wordle
StrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone.
REGISTER NOW
Newsletters
See More
Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news
TechCrunch Daily News
Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.
TechCrunch Mobility
TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.
Startups Weekly
Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.
StrictlyVC
Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day.
No newsletters selected.
Subscribe
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.
Related
AI
There aren’t enough rockets for space data centers. Cowboy Space raised $275 million to build them.
Tim Fernholz
3 hours ago
Apps
Discord launches Nitro Rewards, giving subscribers access to the base tier of Xbox Game Pass for no extra cost
Amanda Silberling
3 hours ago
Apps
Venmo’s biggest makeover in years comes at a very interesting time
Lauren Forristal
4 hours ago
Latest in Media & Entertainment
In Brief
NYT’s Wordle to become a TV game show
Sarah Perez
2 hours ago
Featured
The hottest place for startups to strike a deal? The F1 paddock
Dominic-Madori Davis
1 day ago
Media & Entertainment
Prime Video follows Netflix and Disney by adding a TikTok-like ‘Clips’ feed in its app
