“Want to know what you’re playing for?”
It’s a line Survivor executive producer and host Jeff Probst has said countless times, right up there with the immortal catchphrase “the tribe has spoken.”
But what Survivor contestants are playing for isn’t what it used to be. Legacy competition shows largely haven’t kept pace with inflation, while newer reality shows on streaming network are aggressively flooding the zone with massive Lotto-sized payouts.
When CBS launched Survivor in 2000, the competition series’ $1 million prize seemed like an unfathomable amount of money. The payout equaled the highest possible prize on ABC’s quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which launched a year earlier. The following year, CBS debuted another competition series, The Amazing Race, which likewise offered a $1 million prize.
Suddenly, $1 million was the monetary TV prize ideal, and it sounded wonderful each time it was said on screen: “One … million … dollars.” For that kind of money, you could buy a house pretty much anywhere, along with a luxury car and a few vacations to islands where could enjoy a few gourmet meals instead of rice and beans.
What a difference 25 years makes — especially amid a years-long inflationary spike that’s refusing to entirely recede.
Want to know the value of $1 million compared to back then? That prize today is worth $534,850 in 2000’s buying power, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Asked about the Survivor’s prize shrinking buying power, a source close to the show replied, “$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.”
Which is true enough, and Survivor remains a ratings titan as it approaches its 50th season (averaging 8 million viewers and ranking as the top non-sports primetime program in the adult demo). The program actually once tried offering a $2 million purse for 2020’s Survivor: Winners at War, so it’s not like CBS has never experimented with boosting its payout.
And Survivor certainly looks generous compared to American Idol, whose top prize has dramatically decreased. The show awarded its winner $1 million during early seasons on Fox, before declining to $250,000 (plus a recording contract, of course).
One competition series that has boosted its prize over the decades is Bravo’s workhorse cooking competition Top Chef. The show has gone from a not-bad-for-basic-cable $100,000 when it debuted in 2006 to almost-exciting $250,000 today.
All of these examples, however, look like Taco Bell wages in comparison to the new kids on the reality TV block which are funded by streaming giants. Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge debuted in 2023 with a top prize of $4.56 million. This marked the largest cash prize in TV history until Amazon’s Beast Games came along in December and offered a $5 million top prize. Then Beast Gamesnonchalantly doubled its prize to a jaw-dropping $10 million in the show’s finale. Along the way, Beast Games also had a very Survivor-like stretch of mid-season episodes set on an island where Mr. Beast gave away the literal island (valued at $1.8 million).
If this sounds like prizes are being fueled by mine-is-bigger-than-yours boastfulness, well, they probably are. Beast Games co-creator and host Mr. Beast — who frequently stood atop a pyramid constructed of $5 million in cash on the show — said the quiet part out loud in a behind-the-scenes video: “I had to throw a little diss at the normal shows,” he explained. “A $1 million dollar grand prize? [He pretends to spit]. “Beast Games! I gave away $1 million in the first minute and 42 seconds. This is establishing dominance.”
MrBeast in ‘Beast Games’
Amazon MGM Studios
It’s certainly establishing something. And is, perhaps, rather appropriate that in an era with a social media culture driven by lifestyle flexing, that even TV shows would eventually succumb to bragging about who has the fattest stack.
Yet all this focus on reality TV cash actually ignores the larger benefit of appearing on such shows. Unlike when Survivor and Amazing Racelaunched, an entire economic ecosystem has been established that allows reality stars to grow their brands after their appearance.
“The coveted commodity on most reality shows is not only the prize but the media exposure,” said June Deery, Professor of Communication & Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Even if participants aren’t catapulted into A-list celebrityhood, the attention capital they accumulate on TV can be monetized online — from pitching sponsors or regular YouTube ads.”
Alexandra Devlin, a Brand Endorsement Agent at William Morris Endeavor, agreed, while adding some important distinctions. “Social media has given people the ability to monetize their own platform — from brand deals to podcasts to live tours — though the longevity of that is volatile,” she said. “Sometimes a reality show is the best thing that you could do to get your brand out there and sometimes it’s the worst — it’s just really depends on how you’re portrayed.”
Devlin noted that many go on shows assuming they have to have the most obnoxious personality in order to cash-in on their screen time, but that’s not usually the case. “If you get airtime by being super outspoken and controversial and argumentative, you’re pushing away opportunities you might have had outside of the show,” the agent said.
Those who tend to successfully monetize their newfound TV fame, she said, are those who already have an established business and brand and are able to leverage their screen time to boost their business to a new level — such Bethany Frankel presenting herself as an entrepreneur when she debuted on The Real Housewives of New York City.
Talent agents consider Bravo’s Housewives franchise the best possible reality TV platform for gaining lucrative opportunities. Shows which focus on a person’s lifestyle and personality actualy have far more revenue-generating potential for the cast member than your typical competition series which offers prize pools yet are considered “mission based.”
So do you really want to know what you’re playing for? It’s clout, not cash.
— Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report