Survivor Canada is long overdue. What is Global TV waiting for?

With New Zealand debuting their inaugural season this week, this Canuck wonders what it’ll take for Survivor Canada to be a real thing.

On Sunday evening, the fifth member of the Commonwealth State, New Zealand, enjoyed the debut of its very own season of Survivor. With 16 players, two tribes, Redemption Island and two episodes a week, they’re hitting the ground running. As a Canadian waiting on bated breath for Survivor Canada, I’m both proud and jealous of a fellow Commonwealth country to forge ahead with their own competition.

Sometimes it’s frustrating, even, thinking about the 51 different countries that have either had their day in the sun or have an ongoing rendition of Survivor before the Great White North ever did. It’s not a case of “that should exist because I want it;” Survivor is one of the pillars of viewed television in this great nation, as are reality and game show competitions in general. It’s simply illogical that we haven’t had a Survivor Canada after almost 17 years of the show.

As much as the Survivor ratings have been great for CBS compared to the rest of the Wednesday night lineup, they have been supremely excellent for Global TV in Canada throughout the week. Even when compared to the NHL playoffs (which are NFL-playoffs-in-America huge in Canada), Survivor brought in 1.88 million viewers in third place in the most recent Live + 7-day playback ratings. Considering Canada has about a ninth of the population of America, those numbers are quite comparable (if not better) in terms of viewership population density.

Those numbers are consistent week after week after week, showing Survivor Canada ratings near the top of all television programs in the nation whenever it’s on. Global TV, the Canadian television rights owner, sees the numbers in front of them and know the profits generated from selling commercial slots during those times. Money talks, and I’m surprised that they haven’t been singing a tune in favor of Canada’s own version in all these decades.

Are You Smarter Canadian 5th Grader Screengrab

Global TV (Screengrab via YouTube) /

If it’s a question about putting up a grand prize good enough to garner relevance on the international market, it’s not like Global TV hasn’t put up big money before. Even if it was for just five episodes, they did host their own Are You Smarter than a Canadian 5th Grader, hosted by comedian Colin Mochrie, where contestants played for one million Canadian dollars.

Back when it aired, the Canadian dollar was even stronger than the US dollar, and due to Canadian tax law, all earnings were tax-free. No tax evasion or a million dollars turning into $600,000 “by the time Obama takes it!” The show even gave Mark Burnett (Survivor creator and reality show production magnate) “Created by” credit for the show, showing a strong partnership between Global TV and the US owners of Survivor.

Even if the million-dollar prizes aren’t there for Survivor Canada, even $250,000 would make sense. That’s what they offer on The Amazing Race Canada, and that’s also a ratings beast. They tend to offer a lot more promotional consideration and sponsored spots, but considering the amount of product placement in the US version of Survivor (Sprint, Outback Steakhouse, Charmin, etc.), our own version would be quite manageable.

Canada is no stranger to their own version of reality competitions outside of The Amazing Race. We’ve seen Canada’s Next Top Model, The Bachelor(ette) Canada, Canada’s Got Talent, Canadian Idol, So You Think You Can Dance Canada and Wipeout Canada. Hell, even Big Brother Canada is making its mark in the ratings right now, and that’s on multiple times a week. There’s a market out there for the Canadian version of reality competitions.

More from Survivor News

If it’s a question about a capable host, Global TV has nothing to worry about. ET Canada reporter Erin Cebula has proven herself more than capable of taking over for Survivor Canada if need be. She runs a weekly exit interview podcast alongside Survivor Micronesia winner Parvati Shallow, does a ton of excellent pre-season content for ET Canada (including a behind-the-scenes half-hour show ahead of the Survivor Game Changers debut), and even Jeff Probst agrees she would be a great host.

Considering we’ve seen Survivor versions played from the Arab World to Venezuela, I can’t find a good argument that suggests Survivor Canada is anything but an excellent idea. The Survivor ratings are there; the money is there; the talent is there; the interest in Canadian versions of reality competition is there.

Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 33 Sole Survivors By Season

That leaves us with one question; when the hell can we get Survivor Canada, Global TV?

Home/Survivor News