GM Pulls Its Sponsorship of CBS' 'Survivor'

General Motors Corp. has decided to end its sponsorship of CBS' reality series Survivor. While making the announcement, General Motors was careful to state that the decision to pull sponsorship had nothing to do with Survivor's decision to divide its contestants on the grounds of race for the upcoming season.

GM spokesperson Ryndee S. Carney said that the decision to drop sponsorship for Survivor came up months ago as part of the normal course of making its media buys. The decision to end sponsorship was reached long before Survivor announced their segregated season. The Washington Post quoted Carney as saying "I think it's just a coincidence. I know it's not cause and effect."

GM has been one of Survivor's most stalwart advertisers, having sponsored the show since its inception in May 2000. GM was also the only automotive sponsor for Survivor, but General Motors has decided to start investing their advertising dollar in areas such as live sports, award shows and other major events, according to Carney. Forbes went on to quote her as saying " There's a limited number of possibilities as to how you can integrate a car or truck in a show that people spend their whole time on an island."

Confirming the idea that GM is not pulling their advertising dollars as a result of the segregated season coming up, CBS spokesperson Chris Ender said that GM informed CBS of their decision months ago, and said " They informed us several months ago that they wouldn't be part of the upcoming season. It's unrelated to the controversy surrounding the upcoming edition."

Last week, Survivor announced they would separate next season's 20 contestants into 4 tribes, divided by race. The four tribes would be whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics. The 20 contestants will vie for the $1 million prize in the 13th season of the hit reality series. Premiering Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the prize will be stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. The controversial move of segregation has led to criticism from some and claims of racism from others. Show creator Mark Burnett addressed those concerns again on Tuesday, saying " By putting people in tribes, they clearly have to get rid of people of their own ethnicity. So it's not racial at all."

CBS would not discuss if General Motors was the only sponsor to abandon the show, now that the theme of racial segregation has been announced. While some accuse CBS of being racist or extremist, CBS News reports " CBS Entertainment has defended the ethnic twist, saying it follows the show's tradition of introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues."

While many think that the GM sponsorship contract may have gone south as a result of the segregation topic, other factors may play a key role. While Survivor was in the Top 5 rated shows on TV during its first four years, the show has been struggling as of late. While the first and second seasons brought in 28 and 29.8 million viewers, respectively, the most recent two seasons , Survivor: Guatemala and Survivor: Panama - Exile Island only gathered 18.3 and 16.8 million viewers, respectively.

[Additional Sources: Washington Post, Forbes, CBS News, Wikipedia]