AOL said last week that it is teaming with high-profile reality TV producer, Mark Burnett (the latter's company, Mark Burnett Productions, is responsible for, among other things, "Survivor" and "The Apprentice"), to develop a reality TV treasure-hunt show that will air exclusively on AOL's Web site. Entitled "Gold Rush!," the show will track what AOL describes as "real-life challengers" as they search for hidden treasure across the US. While it remains unclear to what extent regular Web surfers will be able to participate in the treasure hunt (the press release announcing the new show was short on details), AOL says that clues to the location of the show's hidden treasure troves will be placed on various of its Web properties, including AOL.com, AIM.com, Moviefone.com, and Mapquest.com. The company also says that it plans to promote "Gold Rush!" and the existence of the clues on a variety of media, including TV, print and wireless: "With 'Survivor,' 'The Apprentice,' 'The Contender' and 'Rock Star,' I've been amazed by the volume of fans who constantly want to communicate online about each of these shows," Mark Burnett, said in a prepared statement. "They clearly want a lot more content than they can enjoy during one hour of television per week. The world is changing and the Internet is about to become the next broadcast network. With the volume of people able to watch content on their computers between 9:00AM to 5:00PM, it could very well become the new primetime. The immediate future will take advantage of content that utilizes television, print and the Internet in concert. AOL and I are embracing this immediate future through 'Gold Rush.'"
(Note: Rival Internet portal, Yahoo!, is currently developing a Web-based scavenger hunt show, called "Treasure Hunt," and there have been mutterings that Mark Burnett, who has also been working with Yahoo! on a Web-based reality show called "The Runner," took the idea for "Gold Rush" from "Treasure Hunt." Burnett denies the accusation.)
(Note: this article was published in the February 6th issue of the InteractiveTV Today [itvt] email newsletter.)
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