Special Edition News

Developing Story - The Future of "Millionaire"

WWTBAM Cut Back To Just Thursdays

In another recent move by ABC which is definetely suggesting a cancellation of the show, WWTBAM has been taken out of the Monday night slot, and will now be on only Thursday nights. The Chair will go in Millionaire's Monday night time slot at 8/7 c, moving from it's current Tuesday night slot at 8/7 c. This change will take place in late February. Folks, enjoy Millionaire Primetime while you still can, because at this rate, it'll surprise me if the show makes it to April.

Regis' Final Answer: No!
Philbin Will Not Host Syndicated Millionaire

The TV types get together in Las Vegas next week, where they'll be shopping around new shows, including the syndicated Millionaire and syndicated Pyramid. But Regis won't be plugging himself as host of Millionaire there. He's turned down the hosting gig - not once, but twice. Philbin originally expressed interest in the job, but may have backed away for a number of reasons - not the least of which is the network's treatment of the prime time show. They'll need to find a host quickly - but daily Millionaire is already cleared in 85% of the country, and will go forward -- even if they don't have a host.

Not Official, but new prime time chief seems interested in continuing show as "Special Series"

From the Associated Press: Lloyd Braun insists that he has not lost faith or confidence in "Millionaire," or its host Regis Philbin. He points out the the show is going into syndication and he's confident that it will be a major presence on ABC in some form or another for years to come, although it might not be in the primetime format that orginally launched and quickly became a sensation. "Millionaire," as well as NBC's "Weakest Link," has received criticism for saturating the schedule with celebrity and theme editions, rather than sticking with the ordinary folks looking to win. "I actually think that probably was one of the reason that it lost some of its success," says Susan Lyne, ABC's recently appointed entertainment president, "is that is got away from what, I think, people loved about 'Millionaire,' which is that anybody, any woman, any guy could come on and win a million dollars and they weren't very slick." Perhaps with Susan's input to the entertainment business at ABC we viewers can actually have our opinions expressed in the fact that ABC has been overdoing the celebrity shows, and that is what's killing "Millionaire." To Susan Lyne: Thank you for actually representing us.

In an announcement that almost stunned the world of television, ABC's Entertainment Co-Chairman Lloyd Braun announced, "We cannot say with certainty that Millionaire will be on our fall schedule." This comes as no surprise because of the constant celebrity shows, in which I am now extremely opposed to. At first, back in the summer when I saw the schedule of 2 nights a week and 1 of them being celebrity edition, my thought was: "My God, how could they do this..." To this day, I still agree with that thought. Apparently, ABC doesn't want to get rid of Millionaire, but the future of the show is uncertain. Maybe if the show cut way back on its Celebrity Shows, than the ratings would do great, just like they used to. My advice to the show: get rid of the Monday night celebrity shows, and have regular contestants on Monday and Thursday. It is a real disappointment to see this happening, and I blame ABC for the ratings, NOT the show, Regis, and Michael Davis.

Regis, Michael Davis, and the Viewers Fight Back

The fate of the award winning Who wants To Be A Millionaire may very well be in your hands. With the announcement from ABC's Co-Executive Entertainment Chairman Lloyd Braun stating "We cannot say with certainty that Millionaire will be on our fall schedule", viewers, Regis, and even Michael Davies, the show's executive producer, are wondering what can be done to save the best gameshow since "The Price is Right." While many suggestions are being tossed around, Regis himself is clearly upset with this announcement. On Thursday's Live with Regis & Kelly, Philbin predicted that Millionaire will go away in primetime, and "then they'll bring it back with a comedian, a red-hot comedian, which is really what they want. They want it to become a comedy show." Michael Davies, the show's executive producer, had similar thoughts. Davies wants a major cutback on celebrity episodes, saying that was a major factor in the ratings decline. He also would like the show to return to a "special series" format starting in the fall. Philbin agreed on Friday's Live, saying, "We've moved too far from the things which made Millionaire a hit. We've done way too many celebrity shows, but that's what the network wanted." Philbin also was pointedly angry about having learned about the show's potential fate in the newspaper, saying, "This has happened time and time again...You put your faith and trust in people and then they lie to you."

WWTBAM Fans Enact "E-mail Ordinance"

Fans of Millionaire are trying to do something to stop this from happening - they are starting an e-mail petition to stop this from happening. Recently, hundreds of viewers have been sending urgent e-mails to ABC.com, telling them clearly not to cancel the show. My advice: send e-mails to ABC.com, and include the following:
1.) Cancel the celebrity shows on Monday and bring back regular contestants (with the exceptions of sweeps months)
2.) Don't cancel WWTBAM - remind them of all the success it brought the network before they overloaded it with celebrity shows
Remember, if everyone writes one or two e-mails, then maybe, we can help save the greatest quiz show in all history.

Detailed Article Telling About What is Going On and How To Contact ABC to Save Millionaire

E-mail ABC

ABC FAQ Page (Formerly Contact Page)

Lloyd Braun, Entertainment Co-Chairman of ABC:
Lloyd Braun
Entertainment Chairman
ABC Television
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

ABC Mailing Address:
ABC, Inc.
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

WWTBAM Mailing Address:
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
c/o ABC, Inc.
30 West 67th Street
New York, NY 10023

The Mistakes Have Been Made
Article Written Late August, 2001

Technically, this article isn't really news about Millionaire - rather an opinion article expressing some of my feelings about the constant re-runs, overdoing the celebrity shows / themed shows, and only having 1 "regular" show in the fall. I think just about every Millionaire Fan has really had enough with the repeats and themed shows. For the past 3 months, we have seen re-runs of practically every special show that ever aired. Starting in June, with the repeat of the 2000 Champion Edition, we have again seen The Champion Edition, Rockstar Edition, Olympic Edition, College Edition, Celebrity II Edition (which has now been repeated 2 times), Couples Edition, and soon the Classic TV Edition. Yes, it may be summer, which is pretty much the hot time for repeats to happen, but I feel, along with many others (including $250,000 winner Marty Scott, read the interview for more), that it is rather hard for the regular Millionaire fans to keep up with what is repeats and what aren't. If WWTBAM is looking for better ratings (which by the way are in the top 3 right now), they should severly cut back on the repeats and the constant celebrity editions and themed shows. I'm beginning to wonder how many more ideas can they come up with for themed shows. If I were ABC right now, I'd have to be seriously thinking about the scheduling for fall - 2 shows a week, on Monday's and Thursday's, with all the Monday show's being Special Editions. First Off, Monday's are never the strongest of nights for Television - perhaps that is why they are doing the Special Editions then. If I were ABC, I would put WWTBAM back to it's original programming of 3 nights a week - Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. 4 Nights a week is really overdoing it - and it was smart to cut it back, but I don't think only 1 night of regular contestants will satisfy the normal WWTBAM fan. Personally, I think that the Sports Superstars will be a terrific way to kick off the new season - it should attract a lot of viewers, in particular sports fans. However, I think after a few weeks of Special Editions it will begin to wear off, and the ratings will show that. We can just hope for the best for this show, and if someone says to you "Millionaire is Doing Bad with the Ratings", tell them - "What Show Saved ABC?"

Olympic Edition II
Mary Lou Retton - $125,000
Mike Eruzione - $125,000
Oscar de la Hoya - $125,000
Bruce Jenner - $64,000
Marion Jones - $32,000
Tai Babilonia - $32,000
Dan Jansen - $32,000
Mia Hamm - $32,000

Contestant Spotlight

This Week's Featured Contestant Is...

$32,000 Winner Marion Jones

On a relatively low-scoring episode of Olympic Millionaire at Orlando Florida, it is only right to go with the Olympic Athlete that won the most on that show. That athlete is Marion Jones, who won $32,000. (In case you are wondering "but Dan Jansen won $32,000, too...," he won his $32,000 thanks to the minimum guarantee of $32,000 given to celebrities playing for charities. He actually missed his $32,000 question, so had he been a "regular" contestant, he'd have left with $1,000.) Although Marion wasn't the "sharpest tool in the shed," she did manage to keep her cool in the hotseat to win $32,000. She missed at $125,000, knocking her back to $32,000. Now remember, even though these Olympic Athletes are allowed to seek help, just like celebrities, up to $32,000, they are certainly closer to "regular" people like me and you than the bunch of celebrities on every Monday.

From the moment Marion Jones stepped into the hotseat, she added some colorful fun and personality to the set. I honestly think that she enjoyed her time in the hotseat, and she did fairly well, too. I would like to congratulate Marion Jones on an entertaining performance in the hotseat, and keep representing America as well as she does at the Olympics.

Past Featured Contestants Archive

Nielsen Gameshow Ratings

Jan. 28-Feb. 3

16. Price 30th, 10.2
27. WWTBAM (M), 8.0
28. Fear Factor (M), 7.9
40. The Chair, 6.8
43. Funniest Videos, 6.4
45. Fear (S, 10), 6.2
51. Fear (S, 8), 5.6
71. Whose Line? (8:30), 4.7
77. Whose Line? (8), 4.0
84. Fear (S, 8:30), 3.6
92. Weakest Link (S), 3.1
118. W. Link (F/PAX/R), 1.2

Be A Contestant - Phone Game

Are you smart enough to win it all? Know all the Answers? Want to win a lot of cash? Here's your chance! Qualify for WWTBAM through either the phone or in person auditions! The Qualifying Phone Number is 1-800-433-8321. You must be 18 or older to call. Callers who correctly answer 5 questions are placed in a computerized random drawing to advance to a Phone Player Pool. The Game Sponsor, in its sole discretion, will select ten finalists from the Phone Player Pool. Those ten finalists, with their guests, will be brought to New York City to tape an episode of the program. Round Two is played with host Regis Philbin before a national television audience.
PHONE LINES ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED.

Be A Contestant - Auditions

The Millionaire team is traveling to several cities in search of new contestants for future telecasts. To participate in an audition, listen for announcements in your local media.

Be In The Audience

Studio audience tickets are now available for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. All audience members must be at least 18 years of age. People will receive tickets for shows approximately 1 to 2 months from the date their request is received. We frequently have tickets available for people who show up day-of-taping at our studio. Those who wish to come standby must arrive at our studio on or before 1:30 p.m. for our 4:00 p.m. shows or 10:00 a.m. for our 12:30 p.m. shows (Please refer to our taping schedule below). You will be put on a standby list. We'll distribute any available tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. We generally tape Monday through Thursdays beginning at 4:00 p.m. We do, however, tape a few 12:30 p.m. shows. Arrival procedures will be explained in greater detail when you receive your tickets. You should know, however, that we operate on a first-come, first-served basis and that ticket distribution is in excess of studio capacity.

REQUEST TICKETS
Residents of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland can request tickets by completing our in area ticket request form. (Scroll down for the Link.) To help facilitate tickets for fans outside of this area, please complete our special out of area request form. (Scroll down for the Link.) You can also get free tickets to "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" by writing to us at:

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"
Columbia University Station
PO Box 250225
New York, NY 10025

Please include your name, address, daytime phone number and number of tickets (the limit is four). If you want to bring a group, please send us a letter with the above information and also put GROUPS on the envelope.

In Area Ticket Request Form

Out of Area Ticket Request Form

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