Despite the number of reasons Jeff Probst rattled off about how great Survivor is to play in Fiji, huge rebates may ultimately be the deciding factor.
It’s no secret that broadcast television numbers are what they used the be. With the advent of filmed cable, satellite, subscription and internet content providing the TV audience with so many options, you’re not going to see 50 million people watching aSurvivorfinale ever again. When advertising dollars are down, television production must tamper down with it.
The notion that one central location making production travel costs lower was the theory behind whyJeff Probst insists on keepingSurvivorin Fiji “forever.”He may have insisted the waters are clear, the beaches are phenomenal and the crew is excellent, but not having to uproot production every other year to find a new spot to make everything work would be a big cost-cutting method.
However, a more prudent financial theory comes from theSurvivorsubreddit, pointing out that the show reaps a huge monetary gain from filming in the island country.Newswirereported back in 2016 that the Fijian government has granted $13.9 million Fijian dollars to filmMillennials vs. Gen XandGame Changerson Mana and Mamanuca islands.
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“I think we have never paid out such a large rebate,” insists the Fijian Minister for Finance Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. “And that is a fact of integrity of much we have spent by theSurvivorseries in Fiji and we are getting 47% of that spent and many Fijians have benefited from when the show was shot in Mamanuca and Mana Island.”
Although English is clearly a second language for the Minister, money is a language that crosses all barriers. Having 300 Fijians employed while boosting the beauty of the islands improves the local economy for both contract work and tourism, while CBS benefits from cutting their filming budget by close to half.
Next: Let’s Rank the Survivor Seasons by Their Locations
With the third and fourth recent iterations of the show being filmed in Fiji forHeroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlersand the to-be-announcedGhost Island,filming in one country may get a bit repetitive over time. However, dynamic gameplay, interesting challenges andbig movescertainly take precedence over the background.
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