Seven set to pit Million Dollar Minute against Nine's Hot Seat in the crucial 5.30pm timeslot Grant Denyer is hoping Million Dollar Minute will beat Eddie McGuire's Hot Seat. Channels Seven and Nine are set for a bitter TV war in the 5.30pm timeslot when Million Dollar Minute goes up against Hot Seat on Monday night. The rival quiz shows are set to face off in a multi-million dollar clash that has far reaching ramifications for the rival networks. Seven and Nine know that success at 5.30pm is crucial to building strong ratings for their 6pm news bulletins and 6.30pm current affairs shows. Eddie McGuire's Hot Seat is supreme, thrashing Seven's Deal or No Deal by more than 200,000 viewers nationally per night in recent months. That has had a flow-on effect with Nine's 6pm news bulletin easily beating Seven's in Sydney and Melbourne. "We are in a vital timeslot - 5.30pm is the new prime time," McGuire says. Seven has shunted Deal to 5pm and now it is hoping that Million Dollar Minute will turn the tide. The show is a return to a simpler general knowledge quiz format after the razzle-dazzle of Deal. Grant Denyer, host of Million Dollar Minute. Picture: Nigel Lough Source: Supplied It will remind viewers of a speeded-up Sale of the Century. Contestants face a series of general knowledge questions. The player with the highest score at the end of each episode will play for a cash jackpot starting at $20,000. If the carry-over champion survives eight shows, he or she gets to answer a burst of questions for the chance to win $1 million. Denyer believes Million Dollar Minute's rapid-fire format will please viewers who may be disgruntled with the slower pace of Hot Seat. We'll deliver 15 questions within two minutes - and that's the difference," Denyer says. Million Dollar Minute is going to have its work cut out for it. The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire format was a ratings success for a decade before Nine launched the shortened Hot Seat version. Eddie McGuire host of Hot Seat on Channel Nine. McGuire has hosted more than 1000 episodes of Hot Seat since the show launched in 2009. "I'm not sure how much analysis Grant needed to do - 15 questions wins you $1 million every night (on Hot Seat)," McGuire says. (With Million Dollar Minute) it sounds like you have to answer a million questions over eight nights to win $1 million. I haven't analysed it but it seems to be a big ask. Hot Seat is the perfect format. Part of the show has always been the suspense. It is as much a psychological drama as anything else. We won't be doing anything different. Our show is one that has withstood the test of time. Media analyst Nathan Cook, from Maxus Global, says Seven is taking a big punt in shaking up the 5.30pm timeslot but the risk is worth it. "There is no doubt that Deal or No Deal has been tiring and has lost quite a bit of ground compared to Hot Seat," Mr Cook says. To experiment and make a change is better than doing nothing I think audiences will definitely sample Million Dollar Minute in the short term and we may even see Seven pulling ahead of Nine. The big question is whether Million Dollar Minute can hold the audience after a few weeks once the novelty value has worn off.