Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television, contestants tackle a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes in a format that twists on many game show genre conventions – only one contestant plays at a time. Similar to radio quizzes, contestants are given the question before deciding whether to answer and have no time limit to answer questions. The cash prize increases as they tackle questions that become increasingly difficult, with the maximum offered in most variants of the format being an aspirational value in the respective local currency, such as £1 million in the British version, €1 million in most European versions, $1 million in the American version and ₹70 million (₹7 crore) in the Indian version. The original British version debuted on 4 September 1998 on the ITV network, hosted by Chris Tarrant, and ran until 11 February 2014. A revived series of seven episodes to commemorate its 20th anniversary aired in May 2018, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, and ITV renewed the show for several more series. Since its debut, international variants of the show have been aired in around 100 countries, making it the best-selling TV format in television history, and is credited by some as paving the way for the boom in the popularity of reality television.
History The format of the show was created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight, who had earlier created a number of the promotional games for Tarrant's morning show on Capital FM radio, such as the bong game. Tentatively known as Cash Mountain, the show took its finalised title from a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, starring Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm. Since the original version launched, several individuals have claimed that they originated the format and that Celador had breached their copyright. While many pursued litigation, they were all unsuccessful, and each claim was later settled out-of-court on an agreement/settlement. In March 2006, original producer Celador announced that it was seeking to sell the worldwide rights to Millionaire, together with the rest of its British programme library, as the first phase of a sell-off of the company's format and production divisions. British television producer Paul Smith first had the idea to franchise the UK programme internationally. He developed a series of standards for international variants that ensured they mirrored the British original closely. For example, all hosts were required to appear on-screen wearing Armani suits, as Tarrant did in the UK; producers were forbidden from hiring local composers to create original music, instead using the same music cues used by the British version, and the lighting system and set design were to adhere faithfully to the way they were presented on the British version. Some of Smith's rules have been slightly relaxed over the years as the franchise's development has progressed. 2waytraffic ultimately acquired Millionaire and all of Celador's other programmes. Two years later, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased 2waytraffic for £137.5 million. Sony Pictures Television currently owns and licences the show's format.
Gameplay
Rules A group of contestants on each episode play a preliminary round called "Fastest Finger First". All are given a question by the host and four answers which must be placed within a particular order; in the first season of the original version (1998) and the first four seasons of the Australian version (1999–2002), contestants have to answer a multiple-choice question. If any contestants are visually impaired, the host reads the question and four choices all at once, then repeats the choices after the music for the round begins. After time's up, the computer and the host will reveal the correct order (or the correct answer in the latter's case). The contestant who answers correctly in the fastest time goes on to play the main game. In the event that no one gets the question right, another question is given; if two or more contestants answer correctly and with the same time, they are given a tie-breaker to determine who will make a start into the game. This round is only used when a new contestant is being chosen to play the main round, and can be played more than once in an episode among those remaining within the group seeking to play the main game. In celebrity editions, the round is not used; celebrities automatically take part in the main game. Once a contestant enters the main game, the host asks increasingly difficult general-knowledge questions, each with four possible answers. Correct responses increase the contestant’s prize fund. Contestants also have a set of lifelines, each usable once, and two safety nets that guarantee a minimum prize if they answer incorrectly after reaching designated cash values. The early questions are generally straightforward, but later questions may prompt the host to ask whether the contestant’s answer is their final answer. Once confirmed, it cannot be changed. Contestants who are unsure can choose to walk away with their winnings. The host asks them to confirm this decision and usually invites them to state the answer they would have chosen, then reveals whether it was correct.
Original format During the British original, between 1998 and 2007, the show's format focused on fifteen questions. The payout structure was as follows (questions at guaranteed levels are highlighted with a bolded text):
Between 2007 and 2014, the number of questions was reduced to twelve; the overall change in format was later incorporated into a number of international markets over a period of four years, including the Arab world, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, and Turkey. The payout structure, as a whole, was subsequently changed as a result, with the second safety net relocated to £50,000 at question 7 (questions at guaranteed levels are highlighted with a bolded text):
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