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‘Millionaire’ Adds Key Stations

Sep 1, 2003  •  Post A Comment

The weekday syndicated edition of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” added five ABC-owned stations to its 2003-04 lineup, filling the “Port Charles” slot on those stations. The stations that will be airing “Millionaire” at 12:30 p.m. this fall are WABC-TV in New York, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WCVB-TV in Boston and WTVD-TV in Raleigh, N.C. The announcement, which confirmed discussions reported July 7 in TelevisionWeek, was made by Buena Vista Television Executive VP John Bryan.
“We had an extremely successful launch last year, and with the strength of these new stations, we have a great lineup as we head into `Millionaire’s’ second season in syndication,” Mr. Bryan said.
As late as this summer, those markets were still outstanding for the sophomore season of “Millionaire.” The game show was carried mainly on CBS-owned stations in major markets during its first season, but several stations opted not to renew the syndicated program for the fall. When ABC canceled “Port Charles” in June, it opened a slot that some speculated would be filled by “Millionaire” to keep the series at full clearance.
The ABC owned-and-operated stations will carry “Millionaire” for a three-year term and will help keep the show’s clearance at more than 90 percent of the country. Produced by Valleycrest Productions, “Millionaire” has steadily increased its ratings through its freshman season with host Meredith Vieira, who also appears on ABC’s “The View.”