At a Glance
- Scott Rogowsky went from a comic and local host to a national TV personality after HQ Trivia launched.
- The app’s first live show grew from 50 viewers to over a million by early 2018, with prize pots reaching $100,000.
- Rogowsky is now launching a new interactive game-show app called Savvy, debuting on February 1 and featuring the first flagship show, TextSavvy.
Why it matters:
Rogowsky’s shift from trivia to word puzzles reflects how AI is reshaping live-game formats and shows a new model for mobile interactivity.
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Scott Rogowsky, who first became known as the host of the hit live-app HQ Trivia, is now back in the spotlight with a new interactive mobile game-show platform called Savvy. After leaving HQ in 2019, Rogowsky spent time hosting a sports program on DAZN before developing Savvy, which aims to bring the live-game-show experience to a broader audience with a focus on word puzzles rather than trivia. The app will launch in beta on February 1, with its flagship show TextSavvy debuting on March 1.
A Sudden Rise to Fame
In 2017, Scott Rogowsky was a comic, auditioning for commercials and hosting a live talk show called Running Late with Scott Rogowsky. “On the phone, I thought nothing of it,” he told News Of Los Angeles. “I went in for the audition and booked it. I probably went on 20-ish auditions in 15 years … and the one thing I got was the thing that changed my life and changed the world.”
That thing was HQ Trivia, an app that launched on August 26th, 2017. The daily live trivia games attracted users who could win or split prize money, with prize pots sometimes exceeding $100,000 thanks to corporate sponsorships. “We officially launched August 26th, 2017. We went from 50 people on that first show to a million people by New Year’s Day 2018,” Rogowsky said.
The app’s popularity exploded overnight. “It was so fast,” he said. “We officially launched August 26th, 2017. We went from 50 people on that first show to a million people by New Year’s Day 2018.” The viral spread was fueled by media coverage and social media. Rogowsky recalled that even on Halloween that year, people sent photos on Twitter and dressed as him. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, are you kidding me?'” he said. “And then I would get recognized. It was so fast and so sudden that I kind of wasn’t really prepared for it. People were stopping on the street for photos all the time. I couldn’t really go out of my apartment without getting stopped, and it got a little weird sometimes … nothing violent or anything, but just, you know, a lot of persistent fans.”
Leaving HQ and Finding New Ventures
Rogowsky left HQ in 2019 and began hosting a sports program on the streaming platform DAZN. The company behind the HQ app has since faced controversy over allegations of a toxic workplace environment and reported financial issues. The app has not hosted an official game since November 17, 2022.
Despite the setbacks, the live-game-show formula that defined HQ Trivia stayed in Rogowsky’s mind. He wanted to return to that format but adapt it to a new era.
Introducing Savvy
Savvy is a live, interactive mobile game-show app currently in beta, with a wide rollout planned for February. Rogowsky said the app is “very familiar to those who played HQ – the idea of seeing me on their phone, hosting a game show, giving away money.” The twist is that it is not trivia. “In the age of AI, trivia is unfortunately killed,” he explained.
The flagship show, TextSavvy, challenges players to solve increasingly difficult word puzzles before time runs out. “It’s essentially a version of Wordle,” Rogowsky said. “We put our own spin on a word puzzle game similar to Wordle and Connections.”
The key twist is that Rogowsky will be playing the game too. “That’s another wrinkle – that the host plays the game,” he said. “So I’m playing the same word puzzle that you are. And if you beat me, then you win.” The game remains live like HQ was, with no AI, live hosts, and real people.
Players who beat the host are eligible to earn in-game rewards and cash prizes. Although Savvy launches with one game, Rogowsky plans to expand it significantly. “Essentially, the goal is to do what HQ never did, which is actually make good on the promise of being the future of television,” he said. “A network of interactive content. Ideally, down the road, years from now, we’ll have shows going almost around the clock with different hosts, different formats, and they’ll all be interactive, with the host playing against you.”
How Savvy Works
Savvy is exiting beta on Sunday, February 1, and will go live every school night at 9 pm ET for both Apple and Android users. The Season One premiere of TextSavvy is set for March 1 at 9 pm ET.
Rogowsky highlighted the demand for interactivity in the mobile world. “People are hacking interactivity on TikTok, on Twitch – those platforms are not built for interactivity other than like chat, but there are some very savvy users who are finding ways to interact with the audience,” he said. “And we are building an interactive platform. That is the foundation – host versus audience, us playing against each other. No other platform offers that at the scale that we do.”
Key Takeaways
- Rogowsky’s journey from a comic to a national game-show host shows how quickly a viral platform can change a career.
- The new Savvy app pivots from trivia to word puzzles, aiming to keep the live-game-show experience alive in an AI-driven world.
- Players will compete against a live host, with the chance to win cash prizes and in-game rewards.
- Savvy’s beta launch on February 1 and its first show on March 1 mark the start of a new era of interactive mobile entertainment.
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