Survivor is a popular reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off a tribe member, until only one final contestant remains and wins the title of "Sole Survivor". The format for Survivor was created in 1992 by Charlie Parsons, and the first production of it was the Swedish show Expedition: Robinson in 1997. Linda Isacsson will be the worlds first female host of Expedition: Robinson also known as Survivor, when the Swedish version return on TV4 in 2009.
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The creation of the Survivor concept, although credited to Charlie Parsons, was actually conceived by Bob Geldof's Planet 24 television company. It initially failed to attract the attention of any of the major broadcasters in Britain or the United States and was eventually sold to the Swedish television company Strix Television as Expedition Robinson (alluding to Robinson Crusoe). After some public debate and putting the show on hold a few weeks while removing a few scenes not fit for public service TV, it became a major hit when it debuted in 1997 in Sweden.
The initial U.S. series was a huge ratings success in 2000 and, along with ABC's prime-time game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, sparked a reality-television revolution in the USA. The popularity of these shows prompted networks to push sitcoms and conventional drama series aside and rushed their own reality shows into development. Even the Fox Network, which had vowed never to air a reality show again just months earlier following media outrage surrounding its Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? program, broke its promise and launched several competitors of its own. Survivor's second season, in the winter/spring of 2001, drew even larger audiences. Subsequent U.S. versions have attracted smaller but still substantial audiences. There have also been British and Australian versions of the show in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Both were considered ratings failures. Indeed in Britain, its failure was a national joke (though ratings for the UK series were considerably lower than ITV had hoped for, it still regularly attracted six to eight million viewers, a decent rather than huge audience, but enough for ITV to commission a second series which appeared a year later). TF1 France has produced seven seasons of Koh-Lanta, a French version of Survivor, and a Japanese version was also produced for four installments which achieved some success.[1] Broadcast rights for the American version have been sold to various broadcasters and is viewed in many countries around the world. The first ever Celebrity Survivor, made in Australia, attained moderate ratings. The first season of the Israeli version of the show, "Hisardut" ("survival"), has aired in 2007-2008, with its final episode being aired on 17 May 2008.
The following description of the show is based primarily on the American version of Survivor, though the general format applies to all international versions.
The show strands between sixteen to twenty strangers in a remote location divided into two to four teams called tribes. Depending on the season, tribes are usually given a minimal number of tools with which to survive: commonly, this has included a machete, a pot, water canteens, and a special water well created for the show. This well holds brackish water that the players need to boil prior to drinking, forcing tribes to make fire on their own or to win (as a reward) the tools to make fire. Tribes are encouraged to build shelters to protect themselves from the elements and to forage on the local flora and fauna for nourishment. In some seasons, tribes have started with food supplies (typically rice) provided by the show, while other seasons have given the tribes no additional help at the start of the game.
Initial tribe divisions have been made in several ways over the years. Early seasons tended to feature tribes divided based on a roughly equal distribution of age and gender within each tribe. Several seasons have featured tribes split by gender, age, and/or racial background. Divisions are generally made in advance by production, however, three seasons have had the tribes selected in various manners by one or more contestants after the game starts. Tribes are given unique names and identifying colors which are used on tribe flags, challenge courses, on-screen text and various other items.
Each player is given a buff, an elastic ring of material generally patterned with the logo for the current season, that can be worn as an armband, headband, tube top, or mini skirt. Players are required to wear a buff with the color of their tribe in a visible location at all times, allowing the audience to identify tribal affiliation. Upon switching tribes (due to a merge or tribe switch), players are required to give up their old buff and obtain a new one in the new tribe's color.
The producers have generally made sure that all players will not back out prior to being stranded, and will generally have backup players ready to go if one does drop out, but in the case of Survivor: Fiji, one contestant backed out the night before day one of the game. Since producers were not prepared for this turn of events, Fiji was the first season to feature an odd number of players, and subsequently required the production team to alter how the tribes would initially be divided.[2]
During the course of the game, players compete as tribes or individually in contests called challenges. Challenges consist of endurance, problem solving, teamwork, dexterity, and/or willpower, and are usually designed to fit the theme of the current season. A common style of challenge is a race through a series of obstacles to collect puzzle pieces which then must be assembled after all pieces have been collected. Challenges have also included gross food challenges (including foods eaten by the local population), and knowledge quizzes about the locale or players. Many seasons also include during individual challenges: a 'loved one' challenge where a family member, friend or significant other of each player participates or is part of the challenge reward; the 'Survivor Auction' in which contestants bid against each other on luxury items and strategic advantages; a challenge in which the winning contestant receives a car; and a challenge that includes components of previous challenges from that season. Endurance challenges typically require tribe members to stay balanced on a small perch or support their own weight in a precarious position for as long as possible. The degree of difficulty may be progressively increased during the course of an endurance challenge in order to arrive at a winner faster. Some challenges have had the tribes compete at their own beaches by constructing a shelter or an SOS signal. The results are then judged by an expert and the winning tribe notified by the receipt of a package dropped from a plane or delivered by boat.
Players are notified of when and where challenges are to take place via special messages left at a location near camp, dubbed treemail (a play on the word "email") by competitors, due to the fact that the messages were delivered to a basket hanging from a tree in Survivor: Borneo. These messages nearly always include a rhyme which gives hints to the nature of the challenge and sometimes include props that may be useful for the upcoming challenge, allowing tribes and players to attempt to form a strategy prior to the challenge. In some cases, the tribes have been given equipment to practice with or information they need to memorize prior to the challenge.
There are two types of Challenges: Reward Challenges and Immunity Challenges.
There have been several combined Reward/Immunity challenges. These have come in two approaches:
Prior to the merge, all challenges are between tribes, resulting in tribal rewards and immunities. After the merge, contestants compete in challenges on an individual basis. Individual rewards have often included the option to select one or more other tribe members to participate in the reward. After merging, there have been reward challenges where two or more teams are created from the remaining players, with the winning team reaping the reward benefits.
In recent seasons of the US version, a special message, held in a bottle or by host Jeff Probst, has been given to the winners or the losers of the challenge, with instructions to either read the note immediately after the challenge, or to hold the note unread until Tribal Council. These notes have provided additional instructions to the tribe that holds it, such as deciding to avoid Tribal Council but requiring the tribe to move to a less desirable beach, or to vote off a second player immediately after voting off a first player at Tribal Council.
When one tribe has more players than the other tribe, it must designate players to sit out of tribal challenges so that equal numbers compete. No person may sit out twice in a row or, if this is not possible, no person may compete twice in a row.
The challenges are usually held in a 3 day cycle - one day for the reward challenge, one day of rest, and one day for the immunity challenge and Tribal Council.
In seasons which start with more than two tribes, there is a dissolve of the tribes down into two tribes after one to four Tribal Councils.
In many seasons, there has been a Tribe Switch at some point before the merge. In this, the members of each tribe are swapped around, typically not redistributing the tribal numbers. The mechanism for the Tribe Switch has varied from a random shuffle to a schoolyard pick by two tribe 'captains'. There has also been a Tribe Switch accomplished by allowing players to 'mutiny' from their present tribe to join the other. This process typically defeats many early alliances and strategies, and has cost some players the game while saving other players from being eliminated early.
When there are 8 to 10 players left in the game, the separate tribes merge into a single tribe. From this point, Challenges are won on an individual basis. In general, after the merge has been announced, the members of the newly merged tribe collocate to a single camp. The merged tribe also selects a new tribe name and designs a new tribal flag with materials provided by production. There was no technical merge in Palau, as the Koror tribe had "conquered" the Ulong tribe by winning every tribal immunity challenge, leaving Ulong with only one member. This one member was then absorbed by Koror with no subsequent tribe name change.
In the most recent of the US versions, hidden immunity idols have been made available. These idols, typically a small object that fits with the theme of the Survivor location, are hidden near camp or located on Exile Island, with cumulative clues given to a select player (in Guatemala) or to exiled or kidnapped players (otherwise) as to its location. Once found, the player that possesses an idol may keep it or transfer it to another player prior to the start of Tribal Council, and it may not be stolen from that player. The player is not required to show this idol to other players, though may use it as a bargaining chip for alliance and voting purposes. Other players may discover the ownership of the idol via any means within the rules of the game, including peeking into other player's personal possessions. In the first few seasons of the twist, only one idol was ever in play, but in Survivor: Fiji and Survivor: China, two hidden immunity idols were made available to the players (one located at each camp). The hidden immunity idol can only be used up until and including the Tribal Council of the final four or five players, depending on the season.
The use of the idol by a player to become immune has changed through the seasons:
During Guatemala, the hidden immunity idol was not returned to the game after its use. Since then, if the idol is played, or the player with the idol leaves the game with without playing it, the idol is replaced at a new location to be found, as long as the means by which clues to the idol's location are still given out and that the idol can still be played at following Tribal Councils.
The concept of Exile Island was first introduced in Survivor: Palau, when a single contestant was made to stay on a beach by herself. The concept was later expanded in Survivor: Panama and was used in its successors Survivor: Cook Islands, Survivor: Fiji, Survivor: Micronesia and Survivor: Gabon. A selected player is exiled to a small island apart from the main tribe camps, typically for at least a day following a reward challenge and returning immediately before the following immunity challenge. The player selected may be either the first loser of a challenge (as was the case in Survivor: Palau), or a person selected by either the winning or losing tribe in the tribal phase, or an individual challenge winner in the individual phase. In Micronesia one person from each tribe was sent to Exile Island. A player who wins the right to decide who goes to Exile Island may also choose to send himself or herself.
Once selected, the exiled contestant is immediately taken to the island by boat. On the island, there are few tools to survive with, typically a water canteen, a machete, a pot, and a limited amount of shelter. The two main disadvantages of being on Exile Island are the lack of food and water, which can weaken a player and make them less effective in challenges, and the isolation from other contestants, which can cause a player to become out of the loop and weaken their position in their tribe. Contestants are often sent to Exile Island for one or both of these strategic reasons.
The person exiled receives a consolation prize of sorts - either a clue to the hidden immunity idol, which may or may not be located on the island, or (as of Survivor: Gabon) an "instant comfort".
Tribal Council is held at the end of each episode. Here, the tribemates vote one person out of their tribe. The first time any player visits Tribal Council, they are asked to take a torch and light it from the fire pit omnipresent at every Council. It is stated that "this is part of the ritual of Tribal Council because fire represents life. As long as you have fire, you are still in this game. When your fire's gone, so are you": a metaphor used commonly within the show's theme. If the formation of the Jury has started, they are asked to silently enter and watch the proceedings. The players are then questioned by the host, who often provokes revealing details from them of events and interactions since the tribe's previous tribal council. Immediately prior to the vote, if a player has been awarded individual immunity through an immunity challenge, he is then asked if he wants to transfer that to another player. Whoever has the immunity after this possible exchange cannot be voted out.
The players then vote for another player in secret and explain their vote at the voting confessional, and the player who receives the most votes must leave the game. Players cannot vote for themselves. Players are also required to write legibly, and to avoid the use of uncommon nicknames. During the Tribal Council portion of the episode as aired, these votes and confessionals are not all shown; this is done to maximize the suspense of the pending vote tally. However, the vote of each tribe member is revealed during the credits and the ousted player's confessional. When the votes are read, the order that the votes are pulled has also usually been manipulated by production to extract the most suspense from the players during the tally. All votes are final. Once the vote tally has exceeded the majority needed, the host will stop the vote tally, pronouncing that player eliminated from the game, keeping the remaining votes in secret to the players themselves.
As described previously, the player(s) with the Hidden Immunity Idol(s) are offered the chance to play the idol at specific points during this process.
The eliminated player's torch is extinguished (also dubbed as snuffing), and the host declares "The tribe has spoken" and "It's time for you to go." The player then exits the Tribal Council area and delivers some final words that air at the end of the episode. The remaining tribe members are then told to return to camp with their torches; in some seasons, this has allowed a tribe access to a source of fire, while in other seasons, the tribe is not allowed to return to camp with their torches lit if they do not yet have their own source of fire or method of starting one.
In the event of a tie before there are four contestants remaining, a revote among the non-tied contestants will occur, in which the only candidates for elimination are the tied players. If the revote does not resolve the tie, and the vote is thus determined to be deadlocked between two or more players, a two minute discussion will commence in which the non-tied players must come to a unanimous decision as to who should be eliminated. If a unanimous decision is not reached within two minutes, the tied players are granted immunity and the non-tied players (except anyone who has won individual immunity) are forced to choose rocks out of a bag without looking. The player who chooses the differently colored rock is eliminated.
In the event of a tie at the final four, a revote will occur, but if the revote does not resolve the tie, the tied players will face off in a challenge. In Palau and Panama, this challenge was a fire-making contest. In Marquesas, the random rock tiebreaker was used at the final four, which host Jeff Probst later admitted was a mistake.[4]
In the very rare case that a tribe prior to the merge is down to two players, as in Palau, those two will also face off in a challenge to determine who is to leave the game. This has only happened once to date.
Very rarely, a player may decide to quit the game. While this is disapproved of by the crew and contestants, the player's wish is granted, for whatever reasons.
In very rare cases when players are forced out of the game due to injury, or completely leave the game on their own terms outside of Tribal Council, Tribal Council is usually not held, with the other tribe(s) being informed of the player's departure if still before the merge. However, there have been occasions where, after a player is evacuated, an immunity challenge and subsequent Tribal Council are still held. This is typically when the game begins with more than eighteen contestants.
All eliminated players except, generally, the Final 9 (in later seasons this number has varied), leave the game altogether. The remaining players who leave the game, excluding the final two or three who will go on to the final vote, form the jury, a group of people who vote to determine the winner of the game. Once the Jury starts to form, the members are present at every Tribal Council, but are not allowed to speak or interact with the players still in the game; they are only there to observe the questioning and voting that occurs. Jury members are sequestered until the end of the final Tribal Council, and are not allowed to discuss their voting or issues with the remaining contestants, with other jury members, or the final players in order to prevent any possible cooperation or collusion from subgroups within the jury. This restriction continues through the game and up until the reveal of the winner of the game.
The last two challenges (starting on the third to last day of the competition) before the Final Tribal Council have always followed a similar pattern:
Prior to the second-to-last challenge, the players are usually treated to a small food reward (a hearty breakfast or similar meal) for making it this far. The second-to-last challenge tends to be an extremely grueling, multi-part challenge, and usually is the most elaborate challenge of the entire season. A Tribal Council is held to vote off one player at this point.
Prior to the last challenge, the remaining players partake in a memorial activity appropriate for the theme of the show, where they pay respect to the players who have been eliminated previously. (Torches of the eliminated contestants are usually alluded in this part.) This usually leads directly into the last challenge, which tends to focus on balance and endurance and which can last from minutes to almost half a day. In most seasons, with three players participating, winning immunity on this challenge allows that player to select whom he or she wants to go with to the Final Tribal Council, significantly improving their chance at winning the competition. Because of this, the challenges tend to allow players to talk and try to make last-minute deals, giving up immunity for assurance of being taken to the Final Two. A Tribal Council is then held to vote off the last eliminated player. Only the person with Immunity may vote since the other two votes cancel each other out. At this point, the game is no longer in the remaining players' control, as the next day they face the Final Tribal Council where their fate will be decided.
A similar pattern is used when there are three contestants attending the Final Tribal Council. The endurance challenge was held with the final four players left in the game, preventing one person from taking an unliked person to the Final Tribal Council with them."[5] It is possible that a tie may occur this way, but the method of resolving it is unknown.
On the last day of the competition, the surviving players generally either clean up, tear down, or burn down their camp as a tribute to surviving to the end of the game. They then make their way to the final Tribal Council.
During the final Tribal Council, the following events generally occur, though parts may be edited to fit within the time limitation for the show:
After this vote, the container with the votes is taken away by the host. The players are told that the vote will be revealed during the live finale, and secures them until the live finale of the show when the votes are revealed and the winner is announced. On several occasions the final tribal council and finale are edited together to make them seem like one event, until moments later the camera shows the studio audience. This is possible by recreating on a studio the Tribal Council set from the location of filming.
Prior to the use of a Final 3, the jury has always been odd-numbered, thus ensuring that no tie would be possible. However, with every Final 3 jury, or as in the case of Micronesia of an even-numbered jury for a Final 2, a tie may be possible; it is unknown what mechanism is used to resolve a tie should it occur. During the finale of Micronesia, the host had a white envelope that he claimed held the tie-breaker, but its contents were not revealed as no tied occurred.[6]
The player chosen as Sole Survivor receives a cash prize of $1,000,000 (prior to taxes).[7] The Sole Survivor also receives a car provided by the show's sponsor, except in Survivor: Cook Islands. In a few seasons, the final players have also agreed to play for the tribe flag or other representative object from camp.
In addition, the final five or six contestants may have the opportunity to compete for a car. The winner of this challenge has never won the game, leading to the concept of a "Survivor car curse".[8]
Every player receives a stipend for participating on Survivor depending on how long he or she lasts in the game. In most seasons, the runner-up receives $100,000, and third place wins $85,000. Sonja Christopher, the first player voted off in Survivor: Borneo, received $2,500.[9] The stipend was increased for Survivor: All-Stars. The known prizes for Survivor: All-Stars were as follows: 2nd = $250,000; 3rd = $125,000; 4th = $100,000. Tina Wesson, the first player voted off in Survivor: All-Stars, received $25,000. In Survivor: Fiji, the first season with tied runners-up, the two runners-up received US$100,000 each, and Yau-Man Chan received US$60,000 for his 4th place finish.[10] The prizes for other seasons with more than sixteen contestants are unknown.
All players also receive an additional $10,000 for their appearance on the reunion show.[11]
There have also been additional prizes given out, outside of the usual mechanics of the show:
The Survivor format has been adapted for numerous international versions of the show, some named after the original Expedition Robinson.
Country | Show name | Aired on | Grand Prize | Broadcast years | Seasons |
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Survivor | M-Net | Unknown | 2006 | 1 |
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Expedición Robinson | Canal 13 | $10,000 | 2002 | 2 |
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Australian Survivor | Nine Network | AU$500,000 | 2002 | 1 |
Celebrity Survivor | Seven Network | AU$100,000 (For celebrity's chosen charity) | 2006 | 1 | |
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Expeditie Robinson | VT4 (2000-2004), KANAALTWEE (2005-) NET 5 (2000-2004), Talpa (2005-2006), RTL 5 (2007-) |
€50,000 (originally BFr2,000,000) | 2000 - Present | 10 |
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No Limite | Globo | R$ 300,000 | 2000 - 2001 | 3 |
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Survivor BG | bTV | 250,000 BGN | 2006 - Present | 3 |
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Expedición Robinson: La Isla Vip (Celebrity Season) | Canal 13 | $ | 2006 | 1 |
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Expedición Robinson | Caracol Television | COL$250,000,000 | 2001 - 2002 | 2 |
La Isla de los FamoS.O.S. (Celebrity Season) | RCN TV | COL$300,000,000 | 2004 - 2007 | 4 | |
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Survivor | HRT | 2005 | 1 | |
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Trosečník | TV Prima | 5,000,000 CZK | 2007 | 1 |
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Robinson Ekspeditionen | TV3 Danmark | 500,000 DKK(originally 1,000,000 DKK) | 1998 - Present | 11 |
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Expedición Robinson | Teleamazonas | 2002 | 1 | |
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Ekspeditsioon Robinson | TV3 Estonia | 2001 - 2002 | 2 | |
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Suomen Robinson | Nelonen | €100,000 | 2003-2004 | 2 |
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Koh-Lanta | TF1 | €100,000 (originally ₣500,000) | 2001 - Present | 8 |
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GMiri Survivor | Rustavi 2 | 2007 - 2008 | 1 | |
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Expedition Robinson (joint with Austria) Gestrandet Survivor |
RTL II (2000-2001) ProSieben |
€250,000 | 2000 2001 2007 |
1 1 1 |
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Expeditie Robinson Survivor (joint with Turkey) |
Mega TV | 2003 2007 |
1 1 |
|
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Survivor - A Sziget | RTL Klub | Ft10,000,000 and car | 2003 - 2004 | 2 |
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Survivor 10 | Israel 10 | ₪650,000 and a car | 2007 - Present | 1 |
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Survivor Italia | Italia 1 | €200,000 | 2001 | 1 |
L'Isola Dei Famosi (Celebrity Season) | Rai Due | €200,000 | 2003 - Present | 6 | |
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Survivor | TBS | ¥10,000,000 | 2003 | 4 |
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Robinsonii | TV3 Latvia | 2001 - 2002 | 2 | |
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Expedition Robinson | TV3 Lithuania | 2001 - 2002 | 2 | |
Middle East | Survivor | LBC | 1,000,000SR | 2005? | 1 |
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Robinsonekspedisjonen | TV3 | NOK1,000,000 | 1999 - Present | 8 |
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Mountain Dew Survivor Pakistan | PTV, TV One, ARY | US$100,000 | 2006 (Discontinued) | 1 |
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Survivor Philippines | GMA Network | P3,000,000 | 2008 - Ongoing | 1 |
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Wyprawa Robinson | TVN | 100,000 PLN | 2004 | 1 |
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Survivor | TVI | Esc10,000,000 | 2001 | 1 |
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Last Hero | Channel One (Russia) | 1,000,000 RUB | 2001 - Present | 6 |
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Robinson VIP (Celebrity Season) | TV3 | 2004 | 1 | |
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Survivor Srbija | Fox televizija | Nissan Patrol Jeep and €100,000 | 2008 (Currently on air) | 1 |
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Survivor South Africa | M-Net | R1,000,000 | 2006 - Present | 2 |
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Supervivientes: Expedición Robinson | Telecinco | 20.000,000 ₧ | 2000 - 2001 | 2 |
La Isla de los FamoS.O.S. (Celebrity Season) | Antena 3 | €300,000 | 2003 - 2005 | 4 | |
Supervivientes (Celebrity Season) | Telecinco | €200,000 | 2006 - Present | 3 | |
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Expedition: Robinson | SVT (1997-2003), TV3 (2004-2005), TV4 (2009) | 1997 - Present | 10 | |
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Expedition Robinson | TV3 | 1999- 2000 | 2 | |
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Survivor Survivor |
Kanal D Show TV |
2004 2007 |
1 1 |
|
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Survivor | ITV | £1,000,000 | 2001 - 2002 | 2 |
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Survivor | CBS | US$1,000,000 | 2000 - Present | 17 |
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Robinson: La Gran Aventura | Venevision | 100,000,000 VEB | 2001 - 2003 | 2 |
United Kingdom Season #1 (2001)
United Kingdom Season #2: Survivor: Panama (2002)
United States Season #1: Survivor: Pulau Tiga, Borneo (2000)
United States Season #2: Survivor: The Australian Outback (2001)
United States Season #6: Survivor: Amazon (2003)
United States Season #9: Survivor: Vanuatu -Islands of Fire (2004)
Various Seasons, esp. United States 1-6