Turkey's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", known locally as Kim Milyoner Olmak İster?, aired its first episode under a new host on Sunday, October 18, 2026, on atv, according to the channel's own episode page. News anchor Cem Öğretir took over presenting duties from actor Oktay Kaynarca, and the program's prize structure was overhauled at the same time.
Who is Cem Öğretir?
According to Sözcü, Öğretir was born on September 10, 1973, in England; his parents were academics, and the family moved to Eskişehir, Turkey, when he was four. He graduated from Anadolu University's Cinema-Television Department in 1995 and began his journalism career in 1997, working at Show TV, Star TV, CNN Türk and Habertürk before joining atv. He has anchored the atv Ana Haber Bülteni, the channel's main evening newscast, since August 2009. Sözcü also reports he is married to fellow news presenter Seda Öğretir, with whom he has one daughter.
The show's episode numbering did not restart with the host change: atv's own listings show the October 18 broadcast as episode 1252, with the following episode, numbered 1253, scheduled for October 25, 2026, at 20:00, meaning the long-running program continued its existing episode count rather than beginning a fresh series tally.
What changed in the prize structure
Alongside the host change, the program's "money tree" was redesigned. Turkish outlet Milli Gazete reported that the number of questions increased from 13 to 15, while the top prize rose from 5 million Turkish lira to 10 million Turkish lira. Sabah's coverage of the October 18 premiere likewise described a new money tree and confirmed the top prize rose to 10 million lira, noting that the values of the other 14 questions were also raised.
Old format vs. new 2026 format| Metric | Previous format | New format (from Oct 18, 2026) |
|---|
| Number of questions | 13 | 15 |
|---|
| Grand prize | 5,000,000 TL | 10,000,000 TL |
|---|
Milli Gazete detailed the new safety-net (baraj) checkpoints: contestants are now guaranteed 20,000 lira if they answer the 5th question correctly, 50,000 lira at the 7th question, and 300,000 lira at the 10th question. The outlet put the full ladder at 2,000 lira for question one, 5,000 for question two, 7,500 for question three, 10,000 for question four, 20,000 for question five, 30,000 for question six, 50,000 for question seven, 100,000 for question eight, 200,000 for question nine, 300,000 for question ten, 500,000 for question eleven, 1,000,000 for question twelve, 2,000,000 for question thirteen, 4,000,000 for question fourteen, and 10,000,000 lira for the fifteenth and final question.
Why did Oktay Kaynarca leave?
Neither Kaynarca nor atv has issued a public statement explaining the host change, based on the sources reviewed for this article.
Kaynarca had hosted the Turkish Millionaire franchise before Öğretir's arrival. His exit coincides with the broader format revamp, though the sources reviewed do not establish a direct causal link between his departure and the prize-structure changes.
What is known and what remains unclear
- Confirmed: Cem Öğretir hosted his first episode as presenter on October 18, 2026 (atv.com.tr).
- Confirmed: The question count rose from 13 to 15 and the grand prize rose from 5 million to 10 million Turkish lira (Milli Gazete, Sabah).
- Confirmed: Öğretir has anchored atv's main news bulletin since 2009 and joined the network's journalism staff in the late 1990s (Sözcü).
- Unconfirmed: The exact reason for Kaynarca leaving the host chair; no official statement from him or atv was found in the sources reviewed.
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