‘Millionaire’ may cost Disney Millions

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'Millionaire' may cost Disney Millions

A jury is set to continue deliberations this week over a suit from the game show’s creator seeking $395 million in damages. A decision for Celador International could be a setback for media mergers.

To use a phrase from “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” the game show handed ABC a lifeline.

Now the network could be on the hook.


The Walt Disney Co.-owned network had been trailing in the ratings in the summer of 1999 when “Millionaire” premiered, offering a $1-million prize for the contestant who could answer increasingly challenging questions. “Millionaire” was an overnight sensation — and would become ABC’s first top-rated prime-time show in more than a decade. Former Disney Chief Executive Michael D. Eisner proclaimed it “the most important thing to happen to ABC since I don’t know when.”

As big a hit as “Millionaire” was for ABC — the network at one point slapped it on the air five nights a week — the one thing the British import didn’t do was make a profit for its creator, according to a lawsuit and trial now underway in Riverside County that is seeking up to $395 million in damages.

Click here to keep reading this article from LA Times.


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Chip is the owner, editor, and writer of Chip and Company. When he is not writing about Disney News or Planning Tips, you will find him counting down the days to his next Disney Vacation.
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