List of national variants in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

United Kingdom

The show is hosted by Chris Tarrant.

United States

The American version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" premiered on ABC with Regis Philbin in 1999. The show marked a comeback for ABC's ratings and sparked a national craze. At its peak, "Millionaire" was airing hour-long shows up to four nights a week. However, its popularity declined after time, and ABC cancelled the show in 2002. Buena Vista Television, an ABC sister company, revived the show in first-run syndication in the fall of 2002, hosted by Meredith Vieira. "Millionaire" now airs five new half-hour segments per week, and starting in 2007, began using substitute hosts, with Al Roker and Tom Bergeron as substitutes. Buena Vista also distributes reruns of episodes from previous seasons which the affiliated stations can choose to air.

Originally, the US $1 million top prize was paid in lump sum. In recent years, the Vieira version, as well as on a $10 million special hosted by Philbin, the highest levels are no longer cash, but annuities.

Australia

Hosted by Eddie McGuire, Australia's "Millionaire" typically aired weekly on Nine Network. It was virtually identical in format to the British original, although it began with an eleven question format rather than the typical fifteen (now sixteen) question format that is now in use. McGuire hosted a daily edition of the show in 2004, but the expanded format was cancelled after just two weeks. The show returned on October 22, 2007 in a weekly 90-minute format, after an extended hiatus (the show hadn't aired since April 2006). In addition, the show now has the "Switch the Question" lifeline available for the contestant to use after the $64,000 question. [ [http://www.worldscreen.com/newscurrent.php?filename=nine090507.htm World Screen - Home ] ] . The levels for the new 16-question format are thus:

* "$5 million" (worth approx. 4.5 million USD or 2.2 million GBP)
* $1 million
* $500,000
* $250,000
* $125,000
* $64,000
* $32,000
* $16,000
* $8,000
* $4,000
* $2,000
* $1,000
* $500
* $300
* $200
* $100

Rob "Coach" Fulton became the show's first millionaire on Monday, October 17, 2005. Just four weeks later, on Monday November 14 2005, Martin Flood became the second million dollar winner. Several big wins by "professional" game show contestants who spent thousands of dollars ringing the competition line to get on the show led to a rule change in 2003 – only one phone call per person per week is now permitted.

New Zealand residents are allowed to enter, as the show is aired there as well, but, unlike other versions of the show which are filmed in one country but shown in another, there are few Kiwi-themed questions to the show. This makes it harder for NZ contestants, as they must know Australian trivia.

So far (up until April 2006), there have been 292 episodes, 623 contestants, 6,808 questions and the show has given away $28,595,000 cash.

Bulgaria

The Bulgarian version of the show is called "Stani bogat" ("Become Rich" in English). It originally aired 12 May 2001 and became one of the most successful television programs in Bulgaria. The show is hosted by Niki Kunchev (also the host of Big Brother and 1 vs 50).

Stani bogat returned with a new season on 7 January 2008 using the new logo and music (recently introduced in UK) and a new studio with new set. 10 contestants are playing the Fastest Finger, like in the original format (previously they were 6 in the Bulgarian version). There is also a new money tree.

France

The French version of the show is called "Qui Veut Gagner des Millions?" ("Who Wants to Win Millions?" in English). It is hosted by Jean-Pierre Foucault.

Japan

The show is called "クイズ$ミリオネア" ("Kuizu $ Mirionea"/"Quiz $ Millionaire", pronounced "Quiz Millionaire") by reference, but is also known by the original English title of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (Japanese text and transliteration: ???) by the show's logo. It is hosted by Mino Monta and currently has a top prize of ¥20 million (originally ¥10 million). Notably, while the game is played in Japanese, some Japanized pronunciations of English phrases are used, such as "Fainaru Ansah?" ("Final Answer?")

India

In India, the show is called "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (Who Will Become a Crorepati?). It was originally hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, but is now hosted by Shahrukh Khan. Originally, the top prize was Rs.1,00,00,000 (10,000,000) in KBC1, but it currently has Rs. 2,00,00,000 (20,000,000) as the grand prize for KBC2 and 3. While the original UK version and US version are popular in their own countries, India's has been a cultural icon in many countries along the Indian sub-continent since its launch in May, 2000.

Italy

The Italian version of the format ("Chi vuol essere milionario?") is broadcasted since 2000 on Canale 5, and has had only few changes: new graphics and a new help (switch) on 2007. The show is hosted by Gerry Scotti.

Netherlands

The Dutch version of the show is called "Lotto Weekend Miljonairs" (Lottery Weekend Millionaires) and is hosted by Robert ten Brink.

Norway

The Norwegian version of the game show started airing in 2000 with Arve Juritzen as the host. He was in 2002 followed by Frithjof Wilborn and in 2008 by Sarah Natasha Melbye (making Norway, USA, Slovakia and Indonesia the only four countries broadcasting the show with a female host).On September 13 2008 a new season begun airing on TV 2. Originally the top prize was 2 million NOK (approximately 350,000 USD, September 2008) but in this season it was dropped to 1 million NOK (approximately 175,000 USD, September 2008).

Norway is the world first to allow the audience at home to play simultaneously as the contestant through the internet. To make this happen the show broke its pre-recorded format and is now broadcasted live. The audience can through technology developed by Vizrt answer the same questions as the contestant only with a 30-second timer.The life lines has also been changed, the current set now consists of 50:50, ask the celebrity helpers, and because of the new internet game the contestant can get the result of what the audience at home have answered rather than asking the audience in the studio for help.

After the regular show is finished, six constants have been picked out from last week’s internet players to another world-first gameplay. The six contesters play together for the top-price of 400,000 NOK (approximately 70,000 USD, September 2008) after 13 questions. The players sit in the chair one at a time answering questions within 20–30 seconds. If they answer correctly, they get a new question; if they give a false answer, they are eliminated from the contest and a new contender gets to sit in the chair. They have one life line and that is to skip the question, this forces the next contender to answer the question. Last man standing or the player to answer the top question wins the prize.

Poland

In Poland "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" name's "Milionerzy" and is seen on TVN at 6 p.m. in Saturday and Sunday. Polish version quiz presented by Hubert Urbański, also the presenter of Dancing with the Stars in Poland. 1.000.000 Polish zlotych is final question prize.

Portugal

In Portugal, the show is called "Quem Quer ser Milionário" (QQSM), and had 5 seasons up to 2008, all of them shown in Public TV station RTP1

The first season was presented by Carlos Cruz (a very well-known tv presentor) and was shown from January to May 2000. It had a little bit different graphics comparing with the original UK version an the Money Tree was in Portuguese Escudos

Russia

The show is hosted by Maxim Galkin.

Venezuela

In Venezuela, as well as other Spanish speaking nations, the show is called "¿Quién quiere ser millonario?". It debuted in Venezuela on August 23, 2000 and is seen on Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) every Wednesday at 8pm. [ [http://www.rctv.net/Noticias/VerNoticia.aspx?NoticiaId=4254&CategoriaId=31 Rctv.Net ] ] [http://www.rctv.net/Programacion/VerPrograma.aspx?ProgramacionId=24 Rctv.Net ] ] The show is pre-recorded at the Teatro La Campiña in Caracas and is hosted by RCTV's President, Dr. Eladio Lárez. The top prize of this Venezuelan version is 200,000 Venezuelan bolívars, which is about US $93,000. On May 27, 2007, the Venezuelan government's refusal to renew RCTV's broadcast license forced the network off the air, but "¿Quién quiere ser millonario?" continued to be produced, as was proven on June 13, 2007, when the show was performed live at Plaza Alfredo Sadel in the Caracas neighborhood of Las Mercedes. [http://www.who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-game-online.com/millionaire-game-show.htm Who wants to be a millionaire trivia game show-history and facts ] ] [http://www.peru.com/noticias/idocs/2007/6/6/DetalleDocumento_413718.asp www.peru.com - Noticias: RCTV AL AIRE LIBRE ] ] [http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/06/06/310685.if] [http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/06/11/316094.if] Finally, on July 16, 2007, RCTV resumed broadcasting via cable and satellite in Venezuela and other countries in Latin America. On March 29, 2006, Zulay Marcano became the first woman to win the top prize of "¿Quién quiere ser millonario?" in Venezuela. [ [http://www.rctv.net/Noticias/VerNoticia.aspx?NoticiaId=3129&CategoriaId=0 Rctv.Net ] ] As of January 1, 2008, in light of the revaluation of the Venezuelan currency at a ratio of 1 to 1,000, the maximum prize is now 200,000 bolívares.

Other countries

Although it originated in the United Kingdom, the format of show has subsequently been exported to many countries around the world. As of early 2003 the producers' website lists the following territories as having licensed the show: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Here are some details of the differences in some of those countries:

Interesting Facts

Of interesting note is that Ireland is the only show which, after the change to euro, received a cut to the max prize fund. Sweden and Chile are the only versions to receive a cut to the grand prize while still using the same currency (although Chile recently increased its prize to 120 million pesos from 65 million [of which it started at 100 million] ).

Another interesting note is that the Russian version of millionaire is the only version to give contestants small prizes after a milestone (such as cellphones, watches, blenders, drinks, etc.).

With the expections that contestants would not risk money on the $1 Million question, but not the Japanese version, where contestants must risk it in the new version (Super Millionaire) [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA$%E3%83%9F%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%83%8D%E3%82%A2#.E3.80.8C.E3.82.B9.E3.83.BC.E3.83.91.E3.83.BC.24.E3.83.9F.E3.83.AA.E3.82.AA.E3.83.8D.E3.82.A2.E3.80.8D.E3.81.8B.E3.82.89.E3.81.AE.E5.A4.89.E6.9B.B4.E7.82.B9] . When a contestant answered the final question incorrectly, they'll lose 6,500,000 yen in the former edition, and everything in the new edition, as the milestone has been cancelled.

References

External links

The following list is a collection of links to the official websites of the national variants.
* [http://www.millionairetv.com/ American/US syndicated version from Buena Vista TV]
* [http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/section.aspx?sectionid=6033&sectionname=millionaire Australian version on Nine network]
* [http://www.rtltvi.be/millionaire/ Belgian version on RTL-TVI]
* [http://www.stanibogat.com/ Bulgarian version on Nova TV]
* [http://www.canal13.cl/millonario/ Chilean version on Canal 13]
* [http://www.bwzdx.com/main.html Chinese version on Guizhou TV]
* [http://www.canalcaracol.com/millonario/ Colombian version on Caracol TV]
* [http://www.hrt.hr/htv/emisije/milijunas/ Croatian version on HRT1]
* [http://www.million.tv2.dk/ Danish version on TV2]
* [http://www.lottoweekendmiljonairs.nl/ Dutch version on RTL 4]
* [http://www.ecuavisa.com/Desktop.aspx?Id=851 Ecuatorian version on Ecuavisa]
* [http://www.tv3.ee/index.phtml?nav=&page_type=document&document=17234/ Estonian version on TV3 Viasat]
* [http://www.mtv3.fi/miljonaari Finnish version on MTV3]
* [http://www.vtm.be/tv/index_programma_wie_wordt_euromiljonair.htm Flemish Belgium version on VTM]
* [http://premium.tf1.fr/premium/qvgdmpre/ French version on TF1]
* [http://www.rtl.de/quiz/quiz_werwirdmillionaer.php German version on RTL]
* [http://www.alphatv.gr/index.asp?a_id=49&tv_id=9273 Greek version on Alpha tv]
* [http://www.hkatv.com/infoprogram/04/millionaire3/ Hong Kong version on ATV]
* [http://www.rtlklub.hu/legyenonismilliomos/ Hungarian version on RTL Klub]
* [http://kbclive.indya.com/ Indian version on STAR Plus]
* [http://www.an.tv/s/?sid=5&programid=922 Indonesian version on antv]
* [http://www.10.tv/MivzakSitePage.asp?pgID=2400 Israeli version on channel 10]
* [http://www.mediaset.it/brand/canale5/programma/schedaprogramma_698.shtml Italian version on Canale 5]
* [http://www.fujitv.co.jp/quiz/ Japanese version on Fuji TV]
* [http://www.khabar.kz/index.cfm?tid=37 Kazakhstan version on Khabar TV]
* [http://www.tv3.lv/index.phtml?page_type=document&document=66547&chart=770972 Latvian version on TV3]
* [http://www.milioner.com.mk Macedonian version on A1 television]
* [http://www.georgekurdahi.com/ Middle East version: presenter George Kurdahi's home page]
* [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1893285 New Zealand version on ONE]
* [http://www.millionairenigeria.com/ Nigerian version on the NTA network]
* [http://pub.tv2.no/tv2/program/article409938.ece Norwegian version on TV2]
* [http://milionerzy.tvn.pl/ Polish version on TVN]
* [http://www.rtp.pt/web/milionario/index.shtm Portuguese version on RTP]
* [http://www.cvi.ro/productii/miliardar.htm Romanian version on Prima tv]
* [http://www.khsm.ru Russian version on Channel One]
* [http://www.b92.net/tv/milioner/ Serbian version on B92]
* [http://ch8c.mediacorptv.com/millionaire/ Singapore Chinese language version on Mediacorp]
* [http://www.stv.sk/relacieaz/jednotka/milionar/ Slovakian version on STV Slovakia]
* [http://www.rtvslo.si/milijonar Slovenian version on RTV Slovenia]
* [http://www.antena3.com/millonario/web/html/home/ Spanish version on Antena 3]
* [http://www.tv4.se/tavlaovinn/postkodmiljonaren/ Swedish version on TV4]
* [http://www.showtvnet.com/programlar/kim500binister/ Turkish version on Show TV]
* [http://www.1plus1.net/programs/millionaire/ Ukraine version on 1+1]
* [http://www.rctv.net/Programacion/VerPrograma.aspx?ProgramacionId=24 Venezuelan version on RCTV]
* [http://www.vtv.vn/vi-vn/trochoi/ailatrieuphu.vtv/ Vietnamese version on VTV3]