Disney To Appeal Against Hefty ‘Millionaire’ Payout!
Looks like Disney bosses aren’t singing and smiling at the moment, following a Judge’s order that the company should hand over unpaid profits to the British creators of the hit quiz show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? – to the tune of over $269 million.
Celador (the brains behind the popular gameshow) claimed that they have been cheated out of half the profits from the U.S version of the programme, and following a lengthy court battle, the judge ruled in favour of the creators – ordering The Walt Disney Company to hand over $269 million (around £177 million) as a settlement.
Paul Smith, chairman of Celador, called the ruling “justice” after an eight-year court battle – but a spokesperson for Disney says the verdict was “fundamentally wrong” and insists the company will “aggressively seek to have it reversed”.
Smith says:
“It’s been eight years – two years of trying to settle it out of court and then six years in court. It’s a very daunting prospect. Disney is an absolute giant and we are a tiny little minnow. I don’t think they believed a small, independent producer would go after them and indeed be so determined. We were determined and we were not going to give up.
As they say, justice has been done.”
The show was first launched in the UK back in 1998 and the format became an instant hit when reproduced for an American audience the following year.
