Billion to One

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

After marketing it all summer, ABC's Pepsi Play for a Billion sweepstakes takes place Sunday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m.

The event, which ABC took over from The WB this year, gives one finalist a chance to win $1 billion on national TV. Hosts Damon Wayans and Tom Bergeron will co-host, and Destiny's Child will perform a new song in their first appearance together in nearly two years.

Just like last year, chimpanzee Mr. Moneybags will randomly select a six-digit number to determine the winner out of 200 finalists. If that number matches the number of the final contestant, he or she will win $1 billion.

Pepsi Play for a Billion is executive produced by Michael Davies and his Diplomatic Productions.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.