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American Morning

Who Wants to be a Hong Kong Millionaire?

Aired August 13, 2001 - 09:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The answer to the question appears to be clear: "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" The final answer is everyone from Europe to the U.S. to even Asia.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: This thing is getting bigger and bigger. It's incredible.

CNN's Andrew Stevens shows us how the "Millionaire" show is now lighting up screens all over Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What would you do with $1 million? That's a question Hong Kong viewers have been asking themselves since the debut of the international hit show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

Masterminded in Britain, the show is now seen in almost 80 countries. In Hong Kong, thousands have swamped phone lines and line up for hours outside the studio, even though the payoff, a million Hong Kong dollars, is much smaller than in the U.S. or Britain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The host is good. They have got great questions. It really reflects the standard of the knowledge of the Hong Kong people. There isn't any other program like it here.

STEVENS: "Millionaire"'s May debut has provided viewers with an alternative to the usual programming, which relies heavily on soap opera and costume dramas.

KEN CHAN, HONG KONG "MILLIONAIRE" HOST: I guess people in Hong Kong are pretty -- a little bit fed up with that kind of thing. It's not that they are not good. They're good. I enjoy them very much. But after a few years, I think we need to change. People need something that works their mind, not just other -- not just other senses, but the brain.

STEVENS: Local academics are applauding the show's knowledge- based format, which has viewers dusting off their textbooks.

PROF. ALEX Y.H. KWAN, CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: I could see the good thing about it is that people start to look at some of the history, some of the daily affairs and all of the kinds of things surrounding them. And that's good.

STEVENS: Good, too, for the company that produces the show. Long regarded as an underdog, ATV has seen ad revenues jump 40 to 50 percent and ratings triple to record levels.

KWAN: I think this show can last -- can last for a long time, because -- because, you know, every question is different. Every contestant is different. People are -- just like karaoke, people, they can sing for their lifetime.

STEVENS: Although the Hong Kong version of the smash hit has yet to produce a million dollar winner, its success has rivals like TVB scrambling for a lifeline of their own. A version of "The Weakest Link" debuts in the coming weeks.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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