'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' Returns..As UP, Payattitude, Payarena, Hope PSBank unveiled as new sponsors

The popular brain-teasing and very entertaining quiz program, ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ is back and better on the screen, but now with new sponsors and new verve to make it more demanding for viewers to watch and savour. The new sponsors for the award-winning and ace TV game show, now christened ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Series 2-The Rebirth,’ have also been unveiled. They are: UP, Payattitude, Payarena, and HopePSBank. The companies are members of the UP Group viz: Nigeria's premier Payments and Financial Technology Company and Leaders in Digital Payments Innovation. The new sponsors were unveiled at a special Sponsor and Host Reveal event, held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, on Sunday, February 6, 2022. The popular TV broadcaster and previous host of the program, Frank Edoho, also returned as the show host, as he was revealed to the guests and audience who watched the event live on stream amidst cheers and applause. Delivering his keynote speech at the event, Agada Apochi, the Managing Director of UP Group, explained that the Group's decision to sponsor Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Series 2-The Rebirth,' was borne out of the desire to educate, inform, excite and entertain Nigerians, by bringing back the game show that keeps families at the edge of their seats. Apochi stated that the investment in the game show is not only aimed at promoting the brands in the company's portfolio, but geared towards building a better future for Nigerians by informing, educating and entertaining them. "Entertainment brings people together, whether it is football or show. It brings families together colleagues together. It is for that reason we are investing in entertainment. For that reason, we are bringing back Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? For us in the UP Group, we should invest in this TV game show not only because we want to promote our brands but also because we want a better Nigeria. You would agree with me there is no better way to build a better future for Nigeria than investment in education," he said. The show, as usual, would help promote knowledge acquisition and allow Nigerians to realize their economic dreams, by winning cash prizes every week for 52 weeks. He further disclosed that the company would be leveraging on its expertise in technology to open up the space. Nigerians can now participate in the show from the comfort of their homes, using the Payattitude USSD code *569# or USSD codes of Payattitude partner Banks. "This is the first of its kind. With ease from your hand-held device, you can download the Payattitude app or dial *569#, and you can then link your Banks' accounts to Payattitude. For the first time, you no longer need SMS code to play a game of this kind, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria," he added. In his remarks at the event, Hakeem Condotti, the Chief Executive Officer of BLK Hut, the franchise owner of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in Nigeria, explained that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Series 2-The Rebirth is produced in Nigeria by BLK Hut, under the exclusive license of Sony Pictures. He noted that BLK Hut is ready to deliver international, creative and quality content for the admiration and excitement of Nigerians. "It is a great deal of excitement for us to be involved in the production of the iconic game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which a lot of Nigerians have been looking forward to gracing their TV screens. We are aware of the expectation, and we can assure everyone that the quality of the content week in week out would be superb. We have the capacity and the resources to deliver entertaining and educative content that lives long-lasting memories," he said. Speaking immediately after his unveiling as the returning host of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' Series 2 - The Rebirth, Frank Edoho announced that the show comes back with some latest innovations, including aEdoho, and also announced that, apart from the usual ‘three life-lines,’ which lovers of the show are familiar with, '50/50,' where the computer eliminates two random wrong options, leaving the right option, and the other remaining wrong option, 'Phone a Friend,' where the contestant has just 30 seconds to call one of their five pre-arranged friends, to read the question and four possible alternatives to the friend, who has the remaining time to offer input, and 'Ask the Audience,' where the audience members use touch-pads to designate what they believe the correct option is; the percentage of the audience choosing each specific option is then displayed to the contestant; while a new lifeline, 'Ask The Host,' has now been added to this Series 2. This lifeline gives the contestants one chance to ask the host to answer the question, just as a new staggering star prize money of Twenty Milion Naira, (N20,000,000.00,) has also been introduced to boost the attractiveness and stiff competitiveness of the game.