NEW YORK - They're writing checks furiously over at ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.''
ABC's hit game show has two million-dollar winners - the fifth and sixth since its debut last August - in programs airing over the next week. Both shows were taped last month.
The winners come at a key time for ''Millionaire.'' While it still draws a formidable audience, landing in Nielsen Media Research's top 10 even in repeats last week, the show has been eclipsed in attention by the CBS reality shows ''Survivor'' and ''Big Brother.''
ABC wouldn't say who wins the money.
The two winners aren't an indication the show is getting easier, said executive producer Michael Davies. The British version of ''Millionaire,'' on the air two years, has never crowned a big winner.
Davies said he tries to challenge contestants with tough questions in different subjects if they reach the final four questions, but he doesn't want to make the job impossible.
''Knowing the effort our contestants have to go through to make it on the program, I have to give them a fighting chance,'' he said.
Over the next week, another player also missing the usually easy $100 question, something only three of the show's approximately 250 contestants have done.
Since its special celebrity series in May, ''Millionaire'' has become more a television institution than an event - a mantle it has passed to ''Survivor,'' Davies said.
He saluted the CBS rival, which beat ''Millionaire'' head-to-head in the ratings its second week on the air in early June.
''These are fantastic days to be a reality television producer,'' he said.
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