philjerden
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2001
Just saw this article on MSNBC about "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." I wonder if the dramatic decrease in production and showings of this TV show will impact the attraction at both DCA and WDW.
Phil
'Millionaire' to leave regular ABC schedule this fall
LOS ANGELES, April 12 Seeing someone become a millionaire by answering multiple choice questions on TV won't be easy as it used to be. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is losing its regular time slot on ABC.
The game show that took the TV world by storm two years ago only to fade almost as fast as it rose will not have a regular time slot when ABC ushers in its late summer/early fall lineup, a spokesman said on Friday.
Spokesman Kevin Brockman said "Millionaire" will return to its original status as a "special event" program.
"It will come back in August in the form it had when it first premiered (in 1999) -- short bursts of nightly installments where you can watch real people change their lives," Brockman said.
Many viewers who flocked to the show just two years ago may not even realize "Millionaire" is still a regular on the ABC schedule, appearing Thursday nights in the ultra-tough time slot opposite the NBC hits "Will & Grace" and "Just Shoot Me" and CBS hit "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Last week, the show attracted a meager 8.2 million viewers, making it the week's 55th most watched program -- a far cry from the consistent spot at the top of the ratings it once commanded.
Amid the rapid decline, a top ABC programming official created a buzz last fall when he said the show might not return to the struggling network's lineup at all.
Indeed, the show will not be on the regular schedule but will appear from time to time starting at the end of the slow summer season, probably in August, Brockman said.
He said ABC executives feel that what made "Millionaire," an import from Britain, a hit when it first appeared was its real-people quality and the show's ability to change people's lives in short periods by giving them a chance to win up to $1 million by answer questions correctly.
"If you rest the show over the summer, take it out of the public eye, don't allow them access to the show and bring it back for a limited period of time, six episodes, eight episodes, whatever, I think we can relaunch it," he said.
While the Regis Philbin-hosted show may never retain its former stature as ratings killer, ABC, a unit of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE
IS) is in dire need of hits to breathe new life into its schedule.
All of the major networks have suffered to some extent in one of the worst ad market downturns in recent memory, but ABC has been hardest hit because of its rapid fall with the decline of "Millionaire."
***"A Walt Disney World Resort Outing" NEW TRAVEL GUIDE***
Phil
'Millionaire' to leave regular ABC schedule this fall
LOS ANGELES, April 12 Seeing someone become a millionaire by answering multiple choice questions on TV won't be easy as it used to be. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is losing its regular time slot on ABC.
The game show that took the TV world by storm two years ago only to fade almost as fast as it rose will not have a regular time slot when ABC ushers in its late summer/early fall lineup, a spokesman said on Friday.
Spokesman Kevin Brockman said "Millionaire" will return to its original status as a "special event" program.
"It will come back in August in the form it had when it first premiered (in 1999) -- short bursts of nightly installments where you can watch real people change their lives," Brockman said.
Many viewers who flocked to the show just two years ago may not even realize "Millionaire" is still a regular on the ABC schedule, appearing Thursday nights in the ultra-tough time slot opposite the NBC hits "Will & Grace" and "Just Shoot Me" and CBS hit "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Last week, the show attracted a meager 8.2 million viewers, making it the week's 55th most watched program -- a far cry from the consistent spot at the top of the ratings it once commanded.
Amid the rapid decline, a top ABC programming official created a buzz last fall when he said the show might not return to the struggling network's lineup at all.
Indeed, the show will not be on the regular schedule but will appear from time to time starting at the end of the slow summer season, probably in August, Brockman said.
He said ABC executives feel that what made "Millionaire," an import from Britain, a hit when it first appeared was its real-people quality and the show's ability to change people's lives in short periods by giving them a chance to win up to $1 million by answer questions correctly.
"If you rest the show over the summer, take it out of the public eye, don't allow them access to the show and bring it back for a limited period of time, six episodes, eight episodes, whatever, I think we can relaunch it," he said.
While the Regis Philbin-hosted show may never retain its former stature as ratings killer, ABC, a unit of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE
IS) is in dire need of hits to breathe new life into its schedule. All of the major networks have suffered to some extent in one of the worst ad market downturns in recent memory, but ABC has been hardest hit because of its rapid fall with the decline of "Millionaire."
***"A Walt Disney World Resort Outing" NEW TRAVEL GUIDE***
