Federal jury awards $269.2 million in damages in “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” suit

Please note: some posts may contain affiliate links which means our team could earn money if you purchase products from our site

Federal jury awards $269.2 million in damages in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" suit

After three days of deliberations, a federal jury in Riverside awarded the creator of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” nearly $269.2 million in damages from the once-popular prime-time game show.

The decision strikes at the heart of the “vertical integration” argument that has buttressed the wave of consolidation that has swept Hollywood over the last 20 years, in which media giants contend that it is economically advantageous to control both the production and distribution of TV programming.

Creator Celador International sued The Walt Disney Co. in 2004, claiming that it had been denied its fair share of profits from the show, which aired on the entertainment giant’s ABC network for three years beginning in the summer of 1999 and continues to appear on local TV stations. Celador argued that a series of “sweetheart deals” struck between a clutch of Disney-owned companies kept the show in the red, even as it became ABC’s first No. 1 show in more than a decade.


Celador asked the jury to award damages of up to $395 million in broadcast licensing fees, based on what one expert said would be the fair market value of the show. The U.K.-based company also claimed that it was owed $10 million in revenue from the sale of “Millionaire”-inspired games and other merchandise.

The jury arrived at a figure that was slightly less — $260 million in licensing fees and $9.2 million in money owed from the sale of merchandise. Disney issued a statement, saying it plans to challenge the award.

“We believe this verdict is fundamentally wrong and will aggressively seek to have it reversed,” Disney said in the statement.

Click here to keep reading this article from LA Times.


D2T-1

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Name(Required)
MM slash DD slash YYYY
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!


Written by:

12,833 Posts

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.
View All Posts
Follow Me :