ABC Summer Game Shows ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and ‘Match Game’ Return for New Seasons With Multi-Year Highs

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Summer game shows “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” and “Match Game” returned strong for new seasons on Wednesday, July 23, as the No. 1 and No. 2 shows of the night, respectively, among Total Viewers, both rising to multi-year highs and surging ahead of the previous season averages to deliver a juggernaut Wednesday for ABC, lifting the network to the top of Wednesday prime.

“Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” (8 p.m. ET/PT)

• The Emmy® Award-nominated “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” (Outstanding Game Show and Outstanding Host for a Game Show for Jimmy Kimmel) returned for a new season as the No. 1 telecast of the night among Total Viewers (4.24 million), earning its most-watched telecast in over four years (since 1/31/21) and leading its unscripted competition on CBS, “Big Brother,” by double digits (+45%; vs. 2.93 million).
• The premiere episode, featuring Drew Carey, Aisha Tyler, Matt Damon and Ken Jennings, soared ahead of last season’s average (+27%; vs. 3.33 million).
• “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” scored its best Adults 18-49 rating (0.38 rating – tied) since last summer’s premiere – since 7/10/24.
• The “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” premiere stands as ABC’s top entertainment telecast in Total Viewers (4.24 million) this summer to date.

“Match Game” (9 p.m. ET/PT)

• Martin Short took the helm for a new season of “Match Game,” with the show becoming the No. 2 program of the night in Total Viewers (3.30 million), behind “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”
• The season debut marked its most-watched telecast (3.30 million) in five years (since 6/28/20), topping its most recent premiere by +13% (vs. 2.93 million on 5/31/20).
• The premiere also delivered its best performance among Adults 18-49 (0.37 rating) since 10/29/20.
• Featuring celebrity guests Kevin Nealon, Selena Gomez, BD Wong, Anthony Anderson, Cara Delevingne and Ziwe, the season six premiere rose solidly above the previous season average in Total Viewers (+19%; vs. 2.77 million).

On next week’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” airing Wednesday, July 30, at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC and streaming next day on Hulu, Matt Damon and Ken Jennings continue their suspenseful round from last week – going for the million; and later, “The Daily Show” duo Jordan Klepper and Ronny Chieng put their knowledge to the test. Immediately following at 9 p.m., things get wildly BLANK with Martin Short on a brand-new episode of “Match Game” as contestants and celebrities Caroline Rhea, Jay Pharoah, Ana Gasteyer, Phoebe Robinson, Randall Park and Constance Zimmer play to win $25,000.

Source: Nielsen, National Live+Same Day Program Ratings for 7/23/25, as dated. Summer season to date (5/22/25 – 7/23/25).

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Leslie Schwartz
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