In a legal setback for the Walt Disney Co., a California federal jury sided with the creator of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and awarded it with nearly 269.2 million U.S. dollars in damages from the once-popular prime-time game show, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

Creator Celador International sued The Walt Disney Co. in 2004, claiming that it had been denied its fair share of profits from the show, which aired on the entertainment giant's ABC network for three years beginning in the summer of 1999 and continues to appear on local TV stations.

Celador argued that a series of "sweetheart deals" struck between a clutch of Disney-owned companies kept the show in the red, even as it became ABC's first No. 1 show in more than a decade.

Celador, a UK-based independent production firm formed in 1983 that has produced a number of popular light entertainment shows including "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? " and blockbuster film "Slumdog Millionaire," asked the jury to award damages of up to 395 million dollars in broadcast licensing fees. It also claimed that it was owed 10 million dollars in revenue from the sale of "Millionaire"-inspired games and other merchandise.

According to The Times report, the jury in Riverside arrived at a figure that was slightly less -- 260 million dollars in licensing fees and 9.2 million dollars in money owed from the sale of merchandise.

Disney issued a statement, saying it plans to challenge the award.

The jury's decision could be a setback to media mergers that has swept Hollywood over the last 20 years, in which media giants contend that it is economically advantageous to control both the production and distribution of TV programming, The Times said.

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