WB slates Pepsi Smash , Billion
By Paige Albiniak & John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/9/2003 1:22:00 PM
After months of speculation, The WB Television Network and PepsiCo Inc. have finalized plans to air two collaborative programming efforts: Play for a Billion, a $1 billion live game show, and Pepsi Smash, a live music show that will air this summer.
Play for a Billion, produced by Michael Davies of ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, will air this September.
After running a sweepstakes on Pepsi products starting in May, the show will bring 1,000 players onto a live show to compete for a guaranteed $1 million.
Once that winner is determined, he or she will go on to play for $1 billion.
The million-dollar winner has a 1-in-1,000 chance to win $1 billion, but he or she keeps the $1 million no matter what.
Pepsi has taken out an insurance policy with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in case someone does in fact win.
Pepsi Smash will feature live musical acts in front of a live audience, and it will include backstage and up-close segments on the artists.
The show will be produced by Joel Gallen, who helmed America: Tribute to Heroes after Sept. 11, as well as the MTV Video Music Awards and the VH1 Fashion Awards.
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