Fans of Survivor: Island of the Idols rallied to voice their complaints about a spoiler-laden promo that CBS aired for the popular reality show and it appears to have worked. Host Jeff Probst expressed his frustration with the preview as well and hoped for this exact outcome.
During this season’s premiere episode of Survivor: Island of the Idols, fans were shocked at a promo that aired during a commercial break in the middle of the program, giving away a significant spoiler to the shows ending. The ad featured a team at tribal council when viewers had yet to discover which team would suffer that fate. The backlash was immediate as fans took to the social media voicing their disappointment with what seemed like a very careless mistake by the network that impacted their viewing experience.
As Jeff Probst himself announced via Twitter, the unified voicing of those complaints seems to have worked. Probst tweeted, “Well, it certainly wasn’t my most gracious moment :) but our alliance accomplished its goal." The long-time show host had previously encouraged fans to keep voicing their displeasure with the situation hoping to address a previous policy that gave the show itself no creative control over the promos which the network aired for their show. See the full tweet below:
The 57-year-old Emmy Award-winning host has previously joined the fray unexpectedly when he expressed his own displeasure and agreement with the fans by tweeting, “I have to admit I too find it mind-numbing. And it pains me to have joined in your complaints against @survivorcbs but I am…” He did continue on to reassure fans that the show would continue to be great but also encouraged them to continue drawing attention to the problematic way the promos were handled in hopes that it would bring about some change in the system. This unlikely partnership between fans and host appears to have done exactly what he’d hoped it would do.
While there have been no specifics given about what the change entails or how it will ensure that this scenario doesn’t repeat itself in the future, Probst has made it clear he personally feels the problem has been resolved to his liking. As a host, who has made it clear over the years how strongly he feels about the show, he’s putting out and how much he respects the fans and tries to do right by them, his reaction to this situation wasn’t a complete shock. But will this lead the way for other show producers to take back more creative control over how their shows are promoted will remain to be seen. Will this single social media outburst lead to long term change and rethinking of policies in how promos are done? TV viewers can only hope so because there is little else they find ad disappointing as spoilers to a show they are invested in.
Next: Survivor Host Jeff Probst Criticizes CBS’ Spoiler-Filled Trailers
Survivor: Island of the Idols airs Wednesdays at 8 PM EST on CBS.
Source: Jeff Probst
