Mark Burnett To Produce Internet Reality Show For AOL

Washington Business Journal - 12:58 PM EST Monday
AOL hires "Survivor" producer for Internet reality show
Jeff Clabaugh
Staff Reporter

America Online will air a realty TV show on its Web site and has hired
the producer of shows such as "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and "The
Contender" to put it together.

Mark Burnett Productions has a production deal with AOL to develop a
reality treasure hunt that will air exclusively on the AOL.com Web site.

Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed.

AOL says the show, called "Gold Rush," will track contestants searching
for hidden treasure across the United States. The clues will be placed
throughout the AOL network, including MapQuest.com and Moviefone.com.

evwill...

Wow, there's an original reality show idea... except that NBC already
has a show called "Treasure Hunters" coming out this summer.

X marks the lawsuit.

Hunter Rose...

There was a board gaming company that announced a
treasure hunt contest, with clues to a statue supposedly sprinkled
throughout the game. Whoever found the statue could claim a large
cash prize. (I don't know if it actually was held or was cancelled.)
That was decades ago. The concept is so generic it's probably
impossible to trademark.

Everett W.

"The world is changing and the Internet is about to become the next
broadcast network," Burnett says in a statement. "With the volume of
people able to watch content on the computers between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
it could very well become the new prime time."

Dulles-based AOL, which has lost more than 6 million subscribers in the
last three years, announced deals last week with Verizon, AT&T and
BellSouth for an AOL-branded broadband service.

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