I think that the new version of 1 vs. 100 collapsed because of the $50,000 top prize being (A) much less than the previous million, and (2) it was not easy to win.
I liked the show, but i also agree it wasn't that fun to see someone win only a few $1000 dollars. Why not make the top prize $100,000 or $250,000? No one will make it there, and the payoffs for the contestants will be higher, making it more fun for us to watch.