Dominique Wilkins to star on Jazeera Sports Plus $60m game show
Source ::: The Peninsula/ by D RAVI KUMAR
DOHA: Al Jazeera Sports Plus channel will launch one of the biggest game shows in the history of sports and entertainment television in September this year.
Hedi Smirani, spokes-man for the channel, told The Peninsula that if all the participants in the entire series achieved a 100 per cent success rate then the channel would have to pay out a total of approximately $60m.
The show, named ‘Lifetime Shots’ will have three parts and 15 episodes and it will be based entirely on one sport — basketball.
“This show will be a marriage between sports and entertainment. It will be interactive with the involvement of viewers from the entire Arab world,” Smirani said. “It will be a new step towards bringing fresh and innovative ideas into the world of sports telecasting,” he added.
The programme will be a registered brand of the channel and will be made available for franchisee rights even outside the Arab world in future.
The three parts of the game show are follows:
Slam Dunk: This is open to all Arab professional basketball players. The rating will be based on synchronization of movement and style of scoring.
The winner will be decided by a jury comprising former players from the Arab world and the US. Former NBA player and King of Slam Dunks Dominic Wilkins will be the head of the jury. Prize money of $25,000 to $50,000.
Three-point shots: This is also open only to Arab professional players. The winner will be the one who scores maximum points in two minutes. Prize money of $25,000 to $50,000.
Lifetime Shots: This is open to public. Viewers can enter the contest by sending a text message, telephone call or e-mail message. Participants for each episode will be selected randomly by a computer. There will be about 10 players per episode and will have a chance to shoot from different distances, marked by different coloured lines. A person who ‘baskets’ from the nearest point will get $100 and the reward will increase in proportion to the distance with $1m up for grabs for the one who ‘baskets’ from the other end.
To make the whole show lively and colourful, the channel is planning to hire the American band ‘And One’ and will also have cheerleaders from Turkey. Professional basketball players from the US, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Canada and several other countries have already evinced a lot of interest in the show.
Smirani said Al Jazeera Plus is looking at ‘Lifetime Shots’ as a competitor to ‘Star Academy’ and ‘Who Wants To Become A Millionaire’.
He also revealed that to cover the risk factor of a 100 per success rate by all participants, in which case the total pay out will be $60m, the channel has insured the whole show, paying a substantial amount as premium.
Come September, lucky hoopsters can hope for a million dollar pay day!
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