Why The Great British Bake Off is also called The Great British Baking Show

The Takeout

The Great British Bake Off is called The Great British Baking Show in the United States because "in America, the Pillsbury brand has owned the rights to the term 'bake-off' for decades, as it pertains to any sort of cooking competition," explains Allison Robicelli. "In 1949, the company hosted its first Pillsbury Bake-Off competition in New York City, broadcast on CBS, to celebrate its 80th anniversary. The winner was awarded a $25,000 prize, roughly the equivalent of $285,000 today. Seventy-two years later, the Pillsbury Bake-Off remains the most famous non-British baking competition in America, with a grand prize of $50,000 and a kitchen makeover. In comparison, winners of the Great British Baking Show get flowers and a cake stand, while Paul Hollywood gets £400,000. All that is to say, Pillsbury will not have its good name sullied by the horrors of British reality programming. So, in the United States, The Great British Bake Off is distributed under the slightly clunkier name The Great British Baking Show."

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