Yes but at the same time they only film 16 episodes, they don't have to pay their actors (other than a minimal cash prize), and they don't have to pay for expensive script writers. Network executives love shows like Survivor. It's like the anti-"Friends." Remember, the Friends actors were making a million dollars each PER EPISODE. Try adding that one up. The Survivor contestants don't even make 2 million dollars for the entire season combined. Why do you think the Writer's Guild argued so hard to pull reality television under its protection? They know that if you add up the costs of a reality show versus the costs of a hit sitcom, the reality show is far cheaper to produce. From the standpoint of a network like CBS, Survivor is pretty much the ultimate TV investment. Zero cost + high ratings + no stars = mega revenue value. It's like the perfect TV show.

Jeff Probst could go up there and demand 10 million dollars per season, and it would still be a good investment for them. Of course they would never allow that to happen. They would probably replace him with someone for $500,000 like Tom Bergeron. But still. As much as I would love to see Survivor canceled, I doubt it will happen soon. CBS has too much at stake for it NOT to be canceled. After the fallout from the Writer's Strike, they need it. As far as the show has fallen in the past four years, it still puts food on the table for a lot of people.