Celador wins $269m 'Millionaire' verdict

Celador has been awarded $269m (£177m) in damages after a US court ruled in its favour in a legal wrangle with Disney over the US version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

A jury in Riverside, CA today found Disney in breach of an agreement which entitled Celador to 50% of the profits from the gameshow's syndication in the US.

The British production firm won both its claims relating to breach of contract and fair dealing against Disney's ABC, Buena Vista Television and Valleycrest businesses.

Judge Virginia Phillips ordered Disney to pay Celador $260.2m in network licence fee damages, along with just over $9m in costs relating to lost merchandising revenue, reports The Wrap.

However, the US firm has already signalled its intention to appeal against the ruling.

"We believe this verdict is fundamentally wrong and will aggressively seek to have it reversed," said Disney in a statement.

Celador, which launched the Chris Tarrant-fronted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on British TV in 1998, agreed for ABC to bring the format to the US in 1999.

However, the company later claimed that Disney had failed to appropriately share out the profits from the show, leading to a six-year legal battle.