Disney OKs interest payment in ‘Millionaire’ game show profits case, ups jury award to $319M

‘Millionaire’ profits judgment upped to $319M

LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney Co. has agreed to a $50 million interest payment to the creators of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” that pushes a jury verdict over the show’s profits to more than $319 million.

A federal judge approved the agreement between Disney and London-based Celador International, which won the $269.2 million jury award in July.

Disney is not waiving its rights to appeal the original verdict, which it called at the time “fundamentally wrong.”

Celador sued in 2004, accusing Disney of using creative accounting to hide profits.

“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” first aired in the United States from August 1999 to May 2002, and returned later that year in syndication.