Who Wants to Insure a “Millionaire” Show

By DAVID BAUDER

AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) – The company that insures ABC’s hit game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” is suing to get out of its contract because it claims the questions are too easy and they’re at risk of paying out too much prize money.

ABC says viewers shouldn’t worry about the legal fight – they’re planning no changes to the show.

The London-based insurance underwriters Goshawk Syndicate filed suit in Britain’s High Court of Justice on Jan. 24 against Buena Vista Entertainment, Inc., the show’s producers, to end its contract.

In essence, Goshawk said it needed assurances that “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” would ask harder questions and select dumber contestants.

“Millionaire” has been the television sensation of the year, frequently pulling in 30 million viewers a night and propelling ABC to the top of the ratings. Host Regis Philbin’s question – “Is that your final answer?” – has become a national catchphrase.

Other television networks have quickly tried to imitate “Millionaire,” to mixed success.

Under its contract, Goshawk is required to pay out prize money to contestants who win $500,000 or more on the show. There’s a deductible of $1.5 million before Goshawk is required to pay and a ceiling of $5 million. That means, for example, Goshawk would only be required to pay prizes to five winners of $1 million.

Reached in London on Thursday, a spokeswoman for Goshawk refused to comment.

“Unquestionably, the integrity of the show is above reproach and nobody is claiming otherwise,” ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover said. “This is simply a dispute in which the company providing insurance is trying to get out of coverage on the basis of a conversation it had with a broker.”

Two “Millionaire” contestants-an Internal Revenue Service agent from Connecticut and a Miami attorney correctly answered 15 questions and won $1 million. By contrast, no player on the original British version of the game show has ever won the big prize.

Through 51 shows, there have also been three $500,000 winners. “Millionaire” has given out a total of $9,314,000 in prize money since it has been on the air, according to ABC.

The multiple-choice questions are frequently easy in the early rounds. One contestant was asked which condiment is also known as a Latin dance, correctly choosing salsa over the other options: mustard, mayonnaise and relish.

They get harder as the stakes grow higher. The first million-dollar winner won by correctly identifying the U.S. president to appear on the television show “Laugh-In” (Richard Nixon). The second had to know the distance between the Earth and the sun (93 million miles).

Simply getting on the show can actually be harder than winning big money: it requires potential contestants to successfully navigate a three-tier elimination process where they are judged on speed and accuracy.

In the lawsuit, Goshawk said it needed “significant changes in the level of control” to “reduce the unacceptable level of losses.” Specifically, the syndicate asked for changes in the method of contestant selection and the degree of difficulty of the questions.

Since no changes were made since it first asked for them in late December, Goshawk said that “substantial losses under the insurance are expected.”

Hoover was not sure what the next step in the case would be.

Even if the show s producers were to lose the insurance, it wasn’t likely to affect ABC’s commitment to the series. It now airs three nights a week, and gives ABC bragging rights as the No.1 network – with the substantial advertising revenue that comes with it.

In fact, ABC announced on Thursday that it was airing three more special editions of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” during the February ratings “sweeps.”