A quarter-century ago, a new show revolutionized the television landscape in the United States. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” which debuted for American audiences on Aug. 16, 1999, revitalized both a sagging ABC television network and the game show genre in general.
Just over 25 years later, much has changed. While “Millionaire” has returned to the network landscape with a series of celebrity episodes, both network television and game shows in general have diminished. Put simply, fewer eyeballs watching any particular show mean smaller prizes for contestants.
The Incredible Shrinking Prize Budget
A dozen years ago, I went on the syndicated version of “Millionaire” and came away with a six-figure prize. While not common during the show’s syndicated run, “Millionaire” did give away big sums fairly regularly. Even if no “Millionaire” contestant won the title prize during the show’s last decade in syndication, at least five contestants won a $250,000 prize, and at least eight more won a $100,000 prize, during the season in which I appeared.
Compare those outcomes to some new network shows debuting this summer. “Lucky 13,” also airing on ABC, features a $1,000,000 prize, yes. But to win said jackpot, a contestant must answer 13 true-false questions correctly AND be willing to wager that he answered all 13 questions correctly, knowing that a single miss will leave him with nothing.
If a “Lucky 13” contestant is not risky (or foolish) enough to make such a gamble, he can walk away with at most $125,000; most
