War of Survivor Sponsorships?

Corporations that want to be part of the next edition of CBS-TV's smash television hit Survivor are paying big money for the privilege.

According to a report in Monday's USA Today, Visa, General Motors and Anheuser-Busch are each paying about $12 million—or roughly triple what they shelled out last time—for their advertisements on the show.

The price works out to more than $450,000 for a 30-second ad—comparable to the rate for such lucrative series as Friends and Monday Night Football.

Survivor: The Australian Outback

Visit The Official Web Site
For a look at the sequel to the enormously popular Survivor TV show, visit the official CBS Web site.

CBS is looking to sell eight or nine total sponsorships and the newspaper says the openings could spark a bidding war.

Survivor: The Australian Outback is scheduled to premier after the Super Bowl on Jan. 28. The network plans to use spots before and during the game to promote the first episode.

"For the first time, there may be as much hype for the show after the Super Bowl as the Super Bowl itself," said Joe Abruzzese, the network's president of ad sales.


©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed