Reality TV 's survival challenge

US Survivor: The UK show was not as successful

By entertainment correspondent Tom Brook in New York

America's top reality show Survivor faces a crucial ratings test when it goes on the air on Thursday with a new series set in Africa.

Since the 11 September terrorist attacks, viewing figures for a broad swathe of US reality programmes have declined creating concern among TV executives who now wonder how Survivor: Africa will fare.

If the new Survivor series fails to pull in substantial viewers it could indicate that the reality TV juggernaut of the last two years has run its course.

Shows that are on TV like Survivor, it just feels silly to watch them after what we've seen over the last month

Michael McDonald

Although many viewers are eager to see what Survivor: Africa has to offer some Americans claim they now find the show's subject matter irrelevant and trivial.

Among them is Michael MacDonald, who works for Nasdaq in offices close to the devastated World Trade Center complex.

He says: "Shows that are on TV like Survivor, it just feels silly to watch them after what we've seen over the last month" referring to World Trade Center towers collapsing and "seeing people on a mass scale die on live television".

CBS, the US network broadcasting Survivor: Africa is doing what it can to promote and package the new series as escapist entertainment that will appeal to an angst-ridden nation.

Richard Hatch won $1m in the first US Survivor

This latest Survivor instalment once again has 16 contestants, battling one another, this time in the Shaba National Reserve in Kenya, surrounded by wildlife that includes lions, tigers and elephants.

Lisa Bernhard, deputy editor of TV Guide, thinks the show could sit well with audiences "if people get swept away in the location of Africa, if there is not too much backstabbing".

Not all reality programmes have suffered in the new climate - it really depends on the type of programme, and many think Survivor may emerge relatively unscathed.

Bernhard added: "Survivor maybe the one show that may still get viewers during this difficult time because it really was the show that started it all.

"It really put reality shows on the map, it was the big breakthrough phenomenon."

Survivor maybe the one show that may still get viewers during this difficult time because it really was the show that started it all

Lisa Bernhard

Indeed, the reality TV that has suffered since 11 September - programmes like CBS's The Amazing Race and ABC's The Mole II: The Next Betrayal - are among a second-tier of reality shows while not exactly copycats are seen as part of a glut of programmes spawned by Survivor.

The original Survivor set on an island near Borneo became most watched TV series during the summer of 2000 with an audience that at one time peaked at 51 million.

The second series, from the Australian Outback, earlier this year wasn't as successful but an estimated 41 million viewers tuned in for the final episode.

Given the change in audience sensibilities and tastes since 11 September CBS would be ecstatic if Survivor: Africa got figures that high.

ITV's Survivor saw 16 people battle it out

The network has been playing down expectations and has almost resigned itself to lower ratings because the extensive news coverage of the attacks and current military campaign has severely reduced its ability to promote the new Survivor and create a strong buzz for the show.

So far, since 11 September, US TV audiences have shown that they are eager to embrace tried and tested scripted shows like Friends, which has been enjoying some of its highest ratings ever.

This presents a challenge for Survivor, because in its first half hour it will be competing with Friends which is carried by the rival network NBC.

Industry experts say executives will be watching to see if the new edition of Survivor brings in about 30 million viewers, the average audience the series enjoyed last year.

Anything below that would be considered worrisome and could prompt a major rethink among network programmers affecting the future of a whole raft of reality shows.