Writers’ Nonunion Status Causes Gripe at ‘Millionaire’

ABC awarded more than $1.4 million to contestants on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” this summer but now faces grumbling about whether the program’s staff is getting its fair share of the loot.

Despite “Millionaire’s” stunning ratings success in its two-week August trial run, the series was shot on a nonunion basis and is resuming production on those terms for its return in November.

As a result, writers aren’t receiving standard network benefits and residuals. According to a source at the show, writers were also initially referred to as “segment producers” to avoid generating attention from the Writers Guild of America, though executive producer Michael Davies denies that’s the case.

Hosted by Regis Philbin, the series is produced through Valleycrest Productions--an entity also responsible for the Comedy Central game show “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” which doesn’t work under a union contract either. Valleycrest is a subsidiary of Buena Vista Television, a production unit of the Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC.

While a Disney source maintained the show’s writers are actually paid above the guild minimum, nonunion programs don’t offer the same health and pension benefits as productions covered by WGA contracts. Residuals from reruns are structured differently as well.

“Disney can afford to give a perfect stranger seven figures but can’t find the dough to pay their own employees a fair wage,” observed one “Millionaire” source.

A Writers Guild spokeswoman said the organization was aware of the situation and is currently in discussions with Disney, still hoping to convince the studio to enter into an agreement with the guild.

“They’re interested in doing it on the up-and-up,” she noted. “We said we’d work with them. . . . Things are better when they’re aboveboard.”

According to Davies, the producers approached the Writers Guild without prompting about the feasibility of signing a WGA contract; however, he added that most shows in the genre air on cable channels and the union doesn’t even have a fixed rate structure governing a nightly game show on a major network.

“I don’t think this is one of the priorities of the Writers Guild,” he said.

As for the prospects of becoming a union show, Davies said, “I wouldn’t rule it out in the future. At the point we have more than a two-week guarantee . . . then we can work it out.”

ABC will bring “Millionaire” back Nov. 7, broadcasting the program--which promises the chance to win $1 million--on 15 consecutive nights during the November rating sweeps. Local television stations rely on results from surveys in November, February and May as the basis to negotiate advertising rates.

ABC has yet to determine what to do with the franchise beyond November. The show could remain a periodic event or become a regular part of the network’s prime-time schedule--possibly running several times each week.

“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is expected to revise one aspect of production by no longer charging those attempting to qualify as contestants. The series will likely shift to a toll-free number, having previously employed a screening system that cost those phoning in $1.50 per call.

Representatives for the show said the fee was merely designed to cover expenses, with the remainder going toward the program’s prize and travel costs--the latter being especially high on the series, since players are flown in on short notice from all over the country.

Although “Millionaire’s” call-in system totaled more than 1.5 million calls in August, Davies said, “We didn’t make a single dollar off of it.” The new call-in number will be up and running about a week before ABC begins televising the new episodes.