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Topic: ABC Survivor knock-off (Read 589 times)

chickmama
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ABC Survivor knock-off
« on: Jan 8^th, 2003, 9:27pm »

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This morning I was watching my husband waste his time on IWon (sorry I'm venting), when he came across an interesting article. I'm not sure if this belongs here, or in the Other Television Shows forum, but I'm putting it here.

Judge Mulls if Show Is 'Surviver' Clone

Jan 8, 1:27 PM (ET)

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge will likely decide next week whether ABC's upcoming celebrity-themed reality show should be scrapped because it too closely resembles CBS ratings magnet "Survivor."

In two days of hearings that ended Tuesday, CBS Broadcasting Inc. asked U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska to block ABC Inc. from airing "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" in February.

CBS lawyer Leslie Gordon Fagen said ABC's celebrity show was copied from its Emmy award-winning show "Survivor," which began airing in May 2000 and routinely finishes in the Top 10 of the Nielsen Media Research ratings.

ABC lawyer Thomas Smart said ABC acted on its own.

"The history of television is derived from generic concepts," he said. "It is in the execution, which is the expression, that the protection arises. We have not infringed their expression."

The judge said she would probably rule Jan. 13.

Charlie Parsons, owner of the rights to "Survivor," testified that what he saw of "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" left him thinking "they had taken tracing paper to 'Survivor' and copied it in order to make the same program but with slight variations in the hopes that they would kind of get away with it."

James Allen, a director of British company Granada Factual, said he helped create "I'm a Celebrity" with ideas he came up with in 1996 after thinking about other British-based shows, including one featuring a comedian left to fend for herself on a desert island for nine days.

He said he had seen only about a third of one airing of "Survivor."

On "Survivor," 16 contestants dropped into the wilds of the world compete in challenges for food rewards and the right to stay on the show. One contestant is voted off each week; the last person wins $1 million.

ABC's celebrity-based series would deposit eight celebrities in a remote location, give them tasks or trials to perform and allow them to eat if they do well, according to promotional material.

Allen said it will provide "the delightful prospect of us being able to watch two weeks as people who are used to a pampered lifestyle are thrown into an alien environment."

CBS President Leslie Moonves said viewers of ABC's celebrity-based show would mistakenly think it was made by the makers of "Survivor," cheapening one of the network's top products and costing CBS millions of dollars.

Moonves also said CBS was forced to stop plans to bring its own celebrity-based "Survivor" show to market because ABC came out with one first. "It's sort of hard to start ours going when theirs is already in existence," he said.

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Rhune
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Re: ABC Survivor knock-off
« Reply #1 on: Jan 9^th, 2003, 8:56am »

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Judge to Decide Whether ABC's 'Get Me Out' Can Air
Wed, Jan 8, 2003 11:07 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - A federal judge is set to rule next week on whether ABC's planned reality show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" will ever see the light of day.

CBS sued to block the program, based on a British show of the same name, in November. The network contends "Get Me Out" too closely resembles the format of its flagship reality series, "Survivor."

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska heard two days of arguments on the matter this week in New York. She will likely issue a ruling Monday (Jan. 13).

ABC's lawyer, Thomas Smart, contends that the show is not a copy of "Survivor."

"The history of television is derived from generic concepts," Smart tells the AP. "It is in the execution, which is the expression, that the protection arises. We have not infringed their expression."

Charlie Parsons, who owns the rights to "Survivor," would disagree. In his testimony, he said it was as if the producers of "Get Me Out" "had taken tracing paper to 'Survivor' and copied it ... but with slight variations in the hopes that they would kind of get away with it."

Castaway Productions, which produces "Survivor" worldwide, filed suit last fall against the the makers of the British version of "Get Me Out," which stranded eight second-tier celebrities in the Australian Outback and had viewers vote on which person would leave the game each week.

"Get Me Out" was a surprise hit for U.K. broadcaster ITV. The finale, which aired Sept. 7, drew an audience of 12 million and a 53 audience share. Proceeds from the phone voting went to charity; the participants received nothing more than camera time.

ABC is planning to air its version of the show in February.

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Rhune
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Re: ABC Survivor knock-off
« Reply #2 on: Jan 14^th, 2003, 8:23am »

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Judge Votes Off CBS Suit Against ABC
Mon, Jan 13, 2003 09:55 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - A federal judge on Monday (Jan. 13) extinguished a lawsuit filed by CBS to block the airing of an upcoming unscripted series on ABC.

The ruling allows ABC to proceed with its plans for "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here," a show that strands famous (or marginally famous) people in a remote area and has them compete for food and other amenities.

CBS thought the premise of the show was a little too close to its own "Survivor," and filed suit to stop "Get Me Out" in November.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska disagrees. In her ruling, she says the two shows are different enough that viewers won't think ABC's series is a copy of "Survivor," the AP reports. Additionally, she notes that similar, competing TV shows have existed since the days of "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners."

Television undergoes a "continual evolutionary process involving borrowing frequently from what has gone before," Preska writes in her ruling.

A spokesman for Disney, ABC's parent company, says the firm is "delighted" with the ruling and "look[s] forward to giving the American public a chance to see" the show. CBS says it's studying options for further action.

"Get Me Out" is based on a show that was a surprise hit for British broadcaster ITV last summer. The U.K. version placed eight B-list celebrities in a remote part of Australia and filmed them performing everyday tasks and challenges for better food. Viewers voted by phone to evict one person from the group at a time, with proceeds from the calls going to charity.

The judge cited the charity aspect of the game, and the probability that "Get Me Out" will be lighter in tone than the often highly competitive "Survivor," as reasons why viewers aren't likely to confuse the two.

ABC hasn't set an air date for "Get Me Out" but is reportedly considering airing it over a number of consecutive nights during February sweeps. "Survivor: The Amazon," the next edition of the CBS franchise, premieres Thursday, Feb. 13.

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chickmama
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Re: ABC Survivor knock-off
« Reply #3 on: Jan 17^th, 2003, 2:03pm »

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I find it interesting that after all of this, CBS is admitting to having a "The Bachelor" type show in the planning stages. Hypocritical?

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