ABC Plays Keepaway

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talkingaway
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by talkingaway »

I assume the "keepaway" comment has to do with the fact that ABC has to produce (or air?) an episode of Millionaire to retain the rights, correct?

I'm not a big fan of celebrity editions of game shows, but that's the way ABC has gone. They seem to think that B-level celebs are required for people to watch their shows - which is fine I guess for Match Game and Pyramid, where those are part and parcel of the format itself. But please - keep them out of regular shows 95% of the time. I don't mind a couple of "Celeb weeks" like syndie Millionaire and J! do, but the entire format being overrun by celebrities? No thanks. That's part of the basis for the famous Will Farrell/Norm MacDonald SNL sketches.

But hey, if this is a test balloon to see if people are interested in a prime time Millionaire - I'm there. I only started re-following Jeopardy! from a long time ago (back when the Think! music didn't have grace notes on the second repetition!) after Millionaire got cancelled this year. I actually feel less frustrated on J!, since the clues are more "things I -SHOULD- know", rather than Millionaire's bimodal distribution of "ridiculously easy stuff" and HTFWIKT questions, with a few good questions in the happy valley in between.
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triviawayne
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by triviawayne »

talkingaway wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:44 pm I assume the "keepaway" comment has to do with the fact that ABC has to produce (or air?) an episode of Millionaire to retain the rights, correct?
yes, this is what we learned from the Sony email hack. I don't remember the exact amount of time in between airdates for Disney to keep ownership in North America away from Sony, but this is the reason we will see it keep coming back (besides its popularity).

I really would've expected Chris Harrison to come back with it though, and did not expect the celebrity editions to return.
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earendel
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by earendel »

mas3cf wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:18 pm
Robert K S wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:01 pm The idea of letting millionaires play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire doesn't sit right with me. Like, if there should be one precondition for being a contestant, it should be not already being a millionaire.
A fun version would be if they used billionaires instead, and they all competed to avoid having 99.9% of their wealth taken away.
Isn't that what Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are suggesting? :mrgreen:
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alietr
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by alietr »

triviawayne wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 6:27 am I really would've expected Chris Harrison to come back with it though, and did not expect the celebrity editions to return.
Chris has scheduling issues with his other commitments. Hence why taping in Las Vegas was in July and August (IIRC).
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by yclept »

talkingaway wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:44 pm I assume the "keepaway" comment has to do with the fact that ABC has to produce (or air?) an episode of Millionaire to retain the rights, correct?

I'm not a big fan of celebrity editions of game shows, but that's the way ABC has gone. They seem to think that B-level celebs are required for people to watch their shows - which is fine I guess for Match Game and Pyramid, where those are part and parcel of the format itself. But please - keep them out of regular shows 95% of the time. I don't mind a couple of "Celeb weeks" like syndie Millionaire and J! do, but the entire format being overrun by celebrities? No thanks. That's part of the basis for the famous Will Farrell/Norm MacDonald SNL sketches.

But hey, if this is a test balloon to see if people are interested in a prime time Millionaire - I'm there. I only started re-following Jeopardy! from a long time ago (back when the Think! music didn't have grace notes on the second repetition!) after Millionaire got cancelled this year. I actually feel less frustrated on J!, since the clues are more "things I -SHOULD- know", rather than Millionaire's bimodal distribution of "ridiculously easy stuff" and HTFWIKT questions, with a few good questions in the happy valley in between.
Is it really where ABC has gone? Match Game and Pyramid need celebrities as part of the format of the show. Games like Press Your Luck and Card Sharks do not, and neither game featured celebrities in their reboots.
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by yclept »

Robert K S wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:01 pm The idea of letting millionaires play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire doesn't sit right with me. Like, if there should be one precondition for being a contestant, it should be not already being a millionaire.
Perhaps “What Charity Wants a Million Dollars?” didn’t resonate with the producers as a potential title ;)
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boson
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by boson »

yclept wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:01 am
Robert K S wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:01 pm The idea of letting millionaires play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire doesn't sit right with me. Like, if there should be one precondition for being a contestant, it should be not already being a millionaire.
Perhaps “What Charity Wants a Million Dollars?” didn’t resonate with the producers as a potential title ;)
Who gets the tax break for donating the charity money? The celebrities? The advertisers? ABC? The production company?
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by Bamaman »

boson wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:49 am
yclept wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:01 am
Robert K S wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:01 pm The idea of letting millionaires play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire doesn't sit right with me. Like, if there should be one precondition for being a contestant, it should be not already being a millionaire.
Perhaps “What Charity Wants a Million Dollars?” didn’t resonate with the producers as a potential title ;)
Who gets the tax break for donating the charity money? The celebrities? The advertisers? ABC? The production company?
Interesting question. I think it would be considered as a business expense for ABC as they are giving away the same amount of money as they would if it were a regular person winning and keeping the money.

I don’t know if the tax ramifications are the same if it is an expense or a donation.
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triviawayne
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by triviawayne »

alietr wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 9:59 am
triviawayne wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 6:27 am I really would've expected Chris Harrison to come back with it though, and did not expect the celebrity editions to return.
Chris has scheduling issues with his other commitments. Hence why taping in Las Vegas was in July and August (IIRC).
well if he would just do what Seacrest does and send his clone...
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triviawayne
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Re: ABC Plays Keepaway

Post by triviawayne »

Bamaman wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:54 am
boson wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:49 am
yclept wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:01 am
Robert K S wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:01 pm The idea of letting millionaires play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire doesn't sit right with me. Like, if there should be one precondition for being a contestant, it should be not already being a millionaire.
Perhaps “What Charity Wants a Million Dollars?” didn’t resonate with the producers as a potential title ;)
Who gets the tax break for donating the charity money? The celebrities? The advertisers? ABC? The production company?
Interesting question. I think it would be considered as a business expense for ABC as they are giving away the same amount of money as they would if it were a regular person winning and keeping the money.

I don’t know if the tax ramifications are the same if it is an expense or a donation.
It depends on how the money gets to its final destination. The celebrities are choosing the charities, if ABC pays the money to the celebrity for the celebrity to donate, then the celebrity has to deal with the tax reporting. If ABC pays the charity directly, I would think it would go down as a donation on their part instead of an expense.

disclaimer - I'm not a tax attorney, I only pay taxes
Total game show career losings = $171,522
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