When Survivor first hit the airwaves way back in 2000, the show’s $1 million grand prize was among one of the biggest payouts in reality TV. It was a life-changing amount of money and made the show immediately stand out from the crowd thanks to the size of its prize fund. Fast forward 48 seasons and 25 years, a lot has changed on the show but one thing that remains the same is the show’s grand prize.
Those who outlast, outplay, and outwit their fellow players each season continue to walk away with $1 million at the end of the season. It's a prize fund that remains quite notable and $1 million is nothing to scoff at. It most certainly remains a life-changing amount of money for players; however, Survivor’s grand prize isn’t worth as much as it once was. Why you might ask? After all, $1 million is still $1 million and can make an incredible difference in the winner’s life. Well, the answer is simple: inflation.
As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter in a new op-ed, the show’s $1 million prize “today is worth $534,850 in 2000’s buying power, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” That’s still a lot of money as pointed out by a source close to the show, but $534,850 doesn’t exactly have the same wow factor as hearing $1 million tossed around.
“$1 million is still a lot of money — more than many other shows offer — for what is a lifetime opportunity for those fortunate to participate. The money isn’t the only motivating factor — the life experience and personal growth is a big driving force for those who audition,” a source commented to The Hollywood Reporter, defending the show’s $1 million prize.
Sure $1 million is indeed one of the bigger prizes on broadcast reality shows, but the sad reality is that $1 million today doesn’t go nearly as far as it did back when the show started in 2000. In the early 2000s, the prize fund could be stretched a lot farther during a time when homes were far more affordable as were even the simplest of things like eggs. Today, that $1 simply doesn't go as far.
What is interesting is that while Survivor had maintained its $1 million prize throughout its run and opted not to increase the prize fund in recent years, CBS’s other long-running reality show Big Brother has actually raised its prizes significantly in recent years. While Big Brother contestants still earn less than Survivor winners, CBS has raised the show’s grand prize from $500,000 to $750,000 in recent seasons which is quite a sizable uptick for the show. (Big Brother also increased its second-place prize from $50,000 to $75,000, and America’s Favorite Player now walks away with $50,000 over $25,000.)
It’s perhaps worth noting that Big Brother players are asked to commit to a far longer filming period with recent seasons of the show seeing the finalists playing the game for 90-100 days, whereas Survivor has shifted to a filming schedule of 26 days. This means that Survivor players compete over a far shorter period of time and still walk away with a larger grand prize than that of Big Brother winners.
When you take that into consideration, suddenly it doesn’t seem as bad that CBS hasn’t raised the prize fund for Survivor. After all, contestants aren’t spending as much as they once were on the island competition so we can see why CBS has opted to keep the $1 million prize in place.
Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a case to argue that the network should raise the prize fun, even if just slightly. Many shows on streaming services are now offering prizes well over the $1 million prize Survivor hands out such as Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge and Prime Video’s Mr. Beast Games, so one has to wonder if the time will come when CBS might decide to elevate its prize for Survivor.