New Zealand creates home-grown version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
2waytraffic International today announces that TV New Zealand, New Zealand’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster and the nation’s public broadcaster, has commissioned a home-grown version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? to play weekly in primetime.
The series will be produced by independent production company, Great Southern Film and Television, who are the New Zealand format rights licensee. Great Southern will produce the series on the Nine Network set in Melbourne, where it will be recorded in front of a Kiwi audience and fronted by a New Zealand host, with production scheduled to commence in late August. The series will feature the three standard Lifelines, Ask The Audience, Phone A Friend and 50-50, and the original 15-step money tree leading to the top prize of a million New Zealand dollars.
This will be the first time that a Kiwi version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has been produced. Historically the territory has taken Nine Network’s Australian version, as well as episodes from earlier UK series.
Ed Louwerse, Managing Director of 2waytraffic International, said:
“The fact that we are continuing to launch home-grown versions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? into new territories in the same year that we celebrate its tenth anniversary demonstrates that it is as relevant and fresh today as it was ten years ago. No other format can equal it in terms of its enduring popularity and rock solid performance”.
Phil Smith, Managing Director of Great Southern Film and Television, added:
“We are delighted to be creating the home-grown version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and bringing the show’s trademark drama, tension and excitement to New Zealanders in a series made exclusively for and featuring them. There is already a real buzz about it as auditions begin.”
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is the multi-award winning format from 2waytraffic which blazed a trail in the global sale of formatted programmes. The show was launched on ITV1 in the UK where it quickly became a ratings phenomenon. Since then the format has been licensed or optioned to every major territory in the world and its trademarked phrases are now universally recognised in 106 countries across the globe.
Notes to Editors:
The Australian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, produced by Nine Network, is licensed to and broadcast by New Zealand’s Prime Television. Prime also licenses and transmits episodes from the UK version.
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