Buena Vista Television Announces Meredith Vieira as Host for Syndicated ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire''.

Entertainment Editors

NOTE TO MEDIA: Photo is available in a Smart News Release(TM) on

Business Wire's Home Page at www.businesswire.com and at

www.newstream.com

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 7, 2002

Meredith Vieira, Emmy-winning broadcaster and popular moderator of ABC's daytime talk show "The View," has been tapped to host Buena Vista Television's weekday version of the hit game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," which will launch in national syndication in September, 2002.

In making the announcement today, Buena Vista Television President Janice Marinelli said, "Meredith Vieira has all of the qualities we were looking for in the host of the weekday version of `Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.' She's a huge star with the daytime audience. She's smart and funny, with extraordinary charisma and a great sense of fun. We're extremely fortunate to have her, and we can't wait to see her put her own unique stamp on the show."

"Meredith Vieira is a proven broadcaster and a huge fan of `Millionaire'," says executive producer Michael Davies. "She is disarmingly clever, infectiously funny, incredibly warm and brilliantly real. Moreover, she'll bring the same class to syndicated `Millionaire' that Regis brought to the prime time show. We got who we wanted and I can't wait to get back in the studio."

"I first fell in love with 'Millionaire' as a parent," Vieira said. "After all, what's better than a smart television program that even kids refuse to miss? My family has been hooked from the very start. Plus, as a contestant, I've had the opportunity to experience firsthand what it's like to be in that hot seat with no 'Lifelines' left, staring at the $500,000 question. Now, I have the chance to actually be a part of the show, and I couldn't be more excited." Vieira added, "For me, being on 'The View' and 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' is a dream come true. Besides, my children think I'm really cool. Final answer."

Best known as one of the opinionated hosts of "The View," Vieira also is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, with a distinguished career as an anchor, reporter and correspondent for many of the top organizations in network news. In more than a decade at CBS News, she received five Emmys for her work as a correspondent on "60 Minutes" and "West 57th," and served as an anchor for "CBS Morning News" and national correspondent for "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather." She also won an Emmy for her work as chief correspondent for ABC News' "Turning Point."

Vieira has hosted numerous network television specials as well, including ABC's "Countdown to Oscar" and "The Beatles Revolution." In addition, she currently is the host of Lifetime Television's "Intimate Portrait" series. She will continue her present duties with "The View" and "Intimate Portrait" while taking on her new role as the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" host.

The half-hour show will be produced by the same Emmy Award-winning production team that brought "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" to ABC in 1999, where it instantly became a national sensation and a pop culture icon. The syndicated version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" will launch on some of the top station groups in the country, including the CBS owned-and-operated stations, the McGraw-Hill station group, the Scripps Howard station group, and three Post-Newsweek stations. The show currently is cleared in 85% of the country.

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" is produced by Valleycrest Productions Ltd. Michael Davies and Paul Smith are executive producers, and Leigh Hampton is co-executive producer.

For photos, please visit http://millionairehost.bvtv.com

Note: A Photo is available at URL: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.050702/bb9