For over ten years, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has aired on major network stations across the nation and it has become a family game show.
It came as a rude shock when news went round that its major sponsor, telecoms giant, MTN, pulled out of the show. Due to this development, the organisers of WWTBAM had no choice but to rest the show temporarily.
While several rumours have surfaced especially on the internet stating reasons why the telecoms operator backed out, Punch learnt from a reliable source why the show has been rested temporarily.
The source also hinted that the show would definitely be back on air for its tenth-anniversary celebration.
The source revealed that the main reason MTN backed out was because of the N330bn fine by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
“It is the fine that was imposed by NCC that made them pull out of Who Wants To be A Millionaire. The company loved the programme and wanted it to air but that fine was too much for it. It was not WWTBAM alone that it dropped, so many agencies working with the company were also affected including its permanent staff; so it is not about the programme alone.
“Apart from that, its South African arm also has some little problem that it is facing. That is the reason. However, it is just a temporary thing, once it has settled, the programme would be picked again. It is coming back but for now, it is temporarily resting. In fact, it would air for its tenth year anniversary,” the source said.
It came as a rude shock when news went round that its major sponsor, telecoms giant, MTN, pulled out of the show. Due to this development, the organisers of WWTBAM had no choice but to rest the show temporarily.
While several rumours have surfaced especially on the internet stating reasons why the telecoms operator backed out, Punch learnt from a reliable source why the show has been rested temporarily.
The source also hinted that the show would definitely be back on air for its tenth-anniversary celebration.
The source revealed that the main reason MTN backed out was because of the N330bn fine by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
“It is the fine that was imposed by NCC that made them pull out of Who Wants To be A Millionaire. The company loved the programme and wanted it to air but that fine was too much for it. It was not WWTBAM alone that it dropped, so many agencies working with the company were also affected including its permanent staff; so it is not about the programme alone.
“Apart from that, its South African arm also has some little problem that it is facing. That is the reason. However, it is just a temporary thing, once it has settled, the programme would be picked again. It is coming back but for now, it is temporarily resting. In fact, it would air for its tenth year anniversary,” the source said.
