AOL, Mark Burnett Team for Online Gold Rush

By Geoff Duncan January 30, 2006

America Online and Survivor creator Mark Burnett have inked a deal to produce Gold Rush, an online treasure hunt reality show.

The show will “air” exclusively on the AOL.com Web site and follow real-life participants as they search for hidden treasure across the United States, with the treasure hunt clues to be placed throughout AOL’s network of Web sites, including AOL.com, AIM.com, Moviefone.com, and MapQuest.com. Both the clues and the show itself will be promoted via a variety of media, including print, television, and wireless.

Mark Burnett is considered the most successful producer in reality television, having launched the successful Survivor,The Apprentice,The Contender, and Rock Star franchises.

“This is a totally original concept that comes to us from the guy who created reality television,” said Jon Miller, AOL’s Chairman and CEO. “It defines engagement; it’s disruptive by nature and it will certainly be habit forming – all the best of the Internet in one fell swoop.”

“I’ve been amazed by the volume of fans who constantly want to communicate online about each of these shows. They clearly want a lot more content than they can enjoy during one hour of television per week,” said Mark Burnett. “The Internet is about to become the next broadcast network. With the volume of people able to watch content on their computers between 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. 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.“

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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