LOS ANGELES, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- When reality TV show "Survivor" debuted in summer 2000, it was the most-watched show since the Super Bowl.
"If you'd have told me four years of 'Survivor,'" says show host Jeff Probst, according to a CBS report, "I would have bet my house, which I didn't own at the time, that we wouldn't be doing it this long."
Reality TV is now a small-screen staple, with new shows being launched every season. "Survivor," however, still brings in top viewing figures, with over 25 million watching the recent Pearl Islands finale.
The biggest question, says Probst, is why people like the show, which has made mini-stars of some contestants. "It definitely helps being first, that we were first, that we grabbed people."
And making contestants eat live bugs helped, though now that is a tame challenge compared to drinking blood from a live cow in Africa.
