Top > Entertainment > 2006 > September > 2006-09-02

Survivor Loses a Sponsor

The entertainment reality show Survivor has lost General Motors as a sponsor. The company says, however, that the sponsorship deal end was not influenced by recent disagreements surrounding the program. A lot of criticism was attracted to the entertainment show because of the plans to divide contestants into "tribes" based on race. A group of New York City officials held a meeting last week urging TV company CBS to reconsider the plans.

But a spokeswoman for General Motors said the firm decided to end its deal before the new format was announced. She said: "I think it`s just a coincidence. I know it`s not cause and effect". She added that the company has decided to focus its advertising on product placement, which is difficult to do with Survivor, given the format of that is a group of people who spend their whole time on an island."

The car manufacturer will continue to sponsor crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which features its products prominently. CBS announced last week that contestants on the 13th series of the entertainment reality show would be initially segregated into groups of black, white, Asian and Latino contestants before merging later in the series, which made campaign group Hispanics Across America to call the program "racist TV". The show`s creator, Mark Burnett, has defended the entertainment program, saying people have misunderstood the format.