here's more from the dallas morning news: Win Mark Cuban's money – a million dollars of it.
That'll be the challenge when the outspoken Dallas billionaire morphs into The Benefactor for the ABC reality series he'll host this summer. No stranger to the media spotlight and with already substantial entertainment holdings, the Dallas Mavericks owner will magnify his profile on the national TV stage – and make the American dream come true for one contestant.
"Why has he agreed to give away such a large sum of money?" ABC asks in a news release to be issued today. "Simply because he can and because he can't wait to devise the means through which applicants must prove to him that they deserve the money."
In an e-mail interview Monday evening, Mr. Cuban said he had been approached by several production companies and networks in recent months before settling on The Benefactor. "The idea of letting me give away a million dollars just because I could was just craziness, and that's what really got my attention."
Show details are being worked out, including the format and the number of episodes. About 30 contestants will compete.
"The basic premise is simple: What will you do for a million dollars?" Mr. Cuban writes, adding that he's not being paid. "Those people will have to compete to convince me why they should walk away with the million dollars."
The money will come out of Mr. Cuban's pocket, well-lined when he and business partner Todd Wagner sold broadcast.com to Yahoo in 1999 for $5.7 billion.
Mr. Cuban then bought the Mavericks, and he's been courting the spotlight ever since, including taking on referees and the U.S. Olympic basketball team.
But don't look to be grossed out or offended – The Benefactor won't be Fear Factor. It sounds a little closer to The Millionaire , a 1950s drama anthology in which an unseen multibillionaire gave away a million dollars each week just to see how it would affect the recipients.
"This isn't a traditional contest," Mr. Cuban says in the ABC release. "You don't need special talents. I'm not looking to find out who is the grossest, funniest, prettiest, smartest or able to go without food or water the longest."
So what do you need to win?
"The right person is going to get on my good side at the right time, and whoever that is, is going to walk away with a check from me for $1 million. ... I can promise you it will be a journey, with some of the rules made up along the way."
Mr. Cuban's name came up when creator and executive producer David Young of Britain's 12 Yard Productions approached ABC with the idea, and a search began for a host, ABC says. Mr. Cuban will follow in the footsteps of another Richie Rich, Donald Trump, host of the highly successful NBC series The Apprentice.
"Mark Cuban is the ordinary guy who has done extraordinary things," Mr. Young says.
"The Benefactor is a show without boundaries," says Andrea Wong, ABC senior vice president of alternative series and specials. "It can take infinite twists and turns, and Mark's sense of fun and adventure is going to make this a great ride."
Mr. Wagner will also serve as an executive producer, ABC says. Together, he and Mr. Cuban have begun building an entertainment empire.
Last year, they bought Landmark Theatre Corp., a 185-screen art-house chain that includes Dallas' Magnolia and Inwood theaters. Their 2929 Entertainment also owns a film-TV library and production company that brought Star Search back to the air on CBS. They also operate HDNet, a high-definition satellite-TV channel.
And Mr. Cuban hosts a local weekly TV show devoted to the Mavericks.
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