“Need to know what you’re taking part in for?”
It’s a line Survivor government producer and host Jeff Probst has mentioned numerous instances, proper up there with the immortal catchphrase “the tribe has spoken.”
However what Survivor contestants are taking part in for isn’t what it was once. Legacy competitors exhibits largely haven’t saved tempo with inflation, whereas newer actuality exhibits on streaming community are aggressively flooding the zone with huge Lotto-sized payouts.
When CBS launched Survivor in 2000, the competitors sequence’ $1 million prize appeared like an unfathomable sum of money. The payout equaled the very best potential prize on ABC’s quiz present Who Desires to Be a Millionaire?, which launched a 12 months earlier. The next 12 months, CBS debuted one other competitors sequence, The Wonderful Race, which likewise provided a $1 million prize.
Immediately, $1 million was the financial TV prize best, and it sounded great every time it was mentioned on display: “One … million … {dollars}.” For that sort of cash, you might purchase a home just about anyplace, together with a luxurious automobile and some holidays to islands the place might get pleasure from a couple of connoisseur meals as an alternative of rice and beans.
What a distinction 25 years makes — particularly amid a years-long inflationary spike that’s refusing to completely recede.
Need to know the worth of $1 million in comparison with again then? That prize at this time is value $534,850 in 2000’s shopping for energy, in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Requested in regards to the Survivor’s prize shrinking shopping for energy, a supply near the present replied, “$1 million continues to be some huge cash — greater than many different exhibits provide — for what’s a lifetime alternative for these lucky to take part. The cash isn’t the one motivating issue — the life expertise and private development is a giant driving power for many who audition.”
Which is true sufficient, and Survivor stays a rankings titan because it approaches its fiftieth season (averaging 8 million viewers and rating as the highest non-sports primetime program within the grownup demo). This system really as soon as tried providing a $2 million purse for 2020’s Survivor: Winners at Conflict, so it’s not like CBS has by no means experimented with boosting its payout.
And Survivor actually appears beneficiant in comparison with American Idol, whose high prize has dramatically decreased. The present awarded its winner $1 million throughout early seasons on Fox, earlier than declining to $250,000 (plus a recording contract, in fact).
One competitors sequence that has boosted its prize over the a long time is Bravo’s workhorse cooking competitors Prime Chef. The present has gone from a not-bad-for-basic-cable $100,000 when it debuted in 2006 to almost-exciting $250,000 at this time.
All of those examples, nonetheless, appear to be Taco Bell wages compared to the brand new youngsters on the actuality TV block that are funded by streaming giants. Netflix’s Squid Recreation: The Problem debuted in 2023 with a high prize of $4.56 million. This marked the most important money prize in TV historical past till Amazon’s Beast Video games got here alongside in December and provided a $5 million high prize. Then Beast Video games nonchalantly doubled its prize to a jaw-dropping $10 million within the present’s finale. Alongside the way in which, Beast Video games additionally had a really Survivor-like stretch of mid-season episodes set on an island the place Mr. Beast gave away the literal island (valued at $1.8 million).
If this feels like prizes are being fueled by mine-is-bigger-than-yours boastfulness, effectively, they most likely are. Beast Video games co-creator and host Mr. Beast — who often stood atop a pyramid constructed of $5 million in money on the present — mentioned the quiet half out loud in a behind-the-scenes video: “I needed to throw slightly diss on the regular exhibits,” he defined. “A $1 million greenback grand prize? [He pretends to spit]. “Beast Video games! I gave away $1 million within the first minute and 42 seconds. That is establishing dominance.”
MrBeast in Beast Video games
Amazon MGM Studios
It’s actually establishing one thing. And is, maybe, fairly applicable that in an period with a social media tradition pushed by life-style flexing, that even TV exhibits would ultimately succumb to bragging about who has the fattest stack.
But all this concentrate on actuality TV money really ignores the bigger good thing about showing on such exhibits. Not like when Survivor and Wonderful Race launched, a whole financial ecosystem has been established that enables actuality stars to develop their manufacturers after their look.
“The coveted commodity on most actuality exhibits isn’t solely the prize however the media publicity,” mentioned June Deery, Professor of Communication & Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Even when members aren’t catapulted into A-list celebrityhood, the consideration capital they accumulate on TV will be monetized on-line — from pitching sponsors or common YouTube adverts.”
Alexandra Devlin, a Model Endorsement Agent at William Morris Endeavor, agreed, whereas including some essential distinctions. “Social media has given folks the power to monetize their very own platform — from model offers to podcasts to reside excursions — although the longevity of that’s unstable,” she mentioned. “Generally a actuality present is the perfect factor that you might do to get your model on the market and typically it’s the worst — it’s simply actually is dependent upon the way you’re portrayed.”
Devlin famous that many go on exhibits assuming they need to have essentially the most obnoxious persona with a purpose to cash-in on their display time, however that’s not normally the case. “For those who get airtime by being tremendous outspoken and controversial and argumentative, you’re pushing away alternatives you may need had exterior of the present,” the agent mentioned.
Those that are inclined to efficiently monetize their newfound TV fame, she mentioned, are those that have already got a longtime enterprise and model and are in a position to leverage their display time to spice up their enterprise to a brand new stage — such Bethany Frankel presenting herself as an entrepreneur when she debuted on The Actual Housewives of New York Metropolis.
Expertise brokers contemplate Bravo’s Housewives franchise the absolute best actuality TV platform for gaining profitable alternatives. Reveals which concentrate on an individual’s life-style and persona even have way more revenue-generating potential for the forged member than your typical competitors sequence which gives prize swimming pools but are thought-about “mission based mostly.”
So do you actually wish to know what you’re taking part in for? It’s clout, not money.
Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report
This story first appeared within the Feb. 26 situation of The Hollywood Reporter journal. To obtain the journal, click on right here to subscribe.