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Outdoor Life Network going wild for 'Survivor'

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puddin:
|#'  (| :] ]#* { I actually get this channel but not GSN  }}{ }

Outdoor Life Network going wild for 'Survivor'
By Kimberly Speight
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Outdoor Life Network has snapped up cable rerun rights to "Survivor," sources said.

The cable network is said to have paid distributor King World about $60,000-$70,000 per episode for CBS' hit reality competition show.

The deal is said to include the first 10 "Survivor" installments, which have already aired, with an option for the next two installments. Outdoor Life, which is owned by Comcast Corp., is expected to announce the deal Wednesday.

Separately, King World also is in talks with GSN (formerly Game Show Network) for the cable network to acquire rights to another hit CBS reality competition show, "The Amazing Race," sources said.

It remains to be seen how reality shows perform in syndication. FX Network bought "Fear Factor" from NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution last year for an estimated $250,000 per episode.

But "Survivor" and many other reality shows are more serialized in nature, unlike "Fear Factor's" self-contained episodes, a feature that tends to be more attractive to buyers because the episodes can air out of sequence in syndication.

GSN has been an active buyer of reality shows, including such acquisitions as "Average Joe" and "The Mole," both of which reportedly sold for less than $20,000 per episode.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=8662381

WENDY:
NEW YORK - OLN has bought the syndication rights to the 10 seasons of
CBS'
"Survivor" series, and will begin airing the reality show's first
season
July 24.


OLN, the cable channel formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, will
premiere the reruns after its coverage of Lance Armstrong's final ride
in
the Tour de France, a competition that usually gives the network its
best
ratings of the year.


The deal represents an interesting test for TV's best-known reality
program. There's some question in the industry about how many people
will
tune in to watch a competition where the winner is already known.


Besides showing "Survivor" series in their entirety, OLN plans to
package
highlights under themes like "most villainous characters" and "biggest
twists."


"`Survivor' is the reality series that spawned a whole new television
genre," said Gavin Harvey, OLN president. "It is a prized acquisition
and a
perfect fit for OLN."


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

puddin:
 |#' I hope that our OLN carries it in Pa. Wendy  _-^

Trevor:
I think Survivor is going to do very well in syndication.  I've actually been somewhat surprised that we haven't seen it earlier and I'm really surprised that the network carrying it is going to be the Outdoor Life Network.  I'm surprised a bigger cable channel didn't step up and pay for it. 

BTW, I'm surprised Viacom which owns CBS, MTV, Spike TV and VH1 wouldn't spin them all off into a reality TV channel.  There are plenty of hours of reality TV that they could recycle.  Just between old seasons of Survivor, Amazing Race, Real World, and Real World/Road Rules Challenges you could fill up a ton of programming.  Plus you could have talk shows about the current stuff and pregame shows before season finales.

Cecil:
I hope we get more than the next 1 survivor series's  MUST HAVE ALL STARS 2!!!!

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