<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> External links </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Website </Td> </Tr> <P> Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (abbreviated WWTBAM and informally known as simply Millionaire) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight . In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television, contestants tackle a series of multiple - choice questions to win large cash prizes, with the format being a twist on the game show genre--only one contestant plays at a time, similar to radio quizzes; contestants are given the question before attempting an answer, and have no time limit to answer questions; and the amount offered increases as they tackle questions that become increasingly difficult . The maximum cash prize offered in most versions of the format is one million of the local currency . </P> <P> The original British version debuted on 4 September 1998, and was aired until its final episode on 11 February 2014; a revived series of seven episodes to commemorate its 20th anniversary in 2018, were aired from 5 to 11 May . Since its debut, international variants of the game show have been aired in around 160 countries worldwide . </P>

Who created who wants to be a millionaire