'SURVIVOR' host JEFF PROBST may be snuffing his own torch

[rossshow]

He wants to "settle down" with his new girlfriend.

http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=SNYC,SNYC:2004-13,SNYC:en&q=Jeff%20Probst&sa=N&tab=wn

At Survivor Sucks:

Jeff wants out - Julie is the new Yoko

http://p085.ezboard.com/fsurvivorsucksfrm1.showMessage?topicID=43982.topic

[rossshow]

Oh...

Or not:

"Based on the accuracy of this item, the magazine that published it should rename itself 'Outside TV,' " a CBS spokeswoman said yesterday.

LOL! Just gossip, then

[rossshow]

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/report-survivor-producer-mark-burnett-expects-jeff-probst-leave-show-3785.php

Just when it appeared that Survivor host Jeff Probst had publicly quelled an Inside TV report that he planned to leave the long-running reality show after his current contract ends, the gossip mill has began churning again, with TV Guide (Inside TV's sister publication) now quoting Survivor producer Mark Burnett as saying he expects next spring's twelfth Survivor edition to be Probst's last.



According to TV Guide writer Michael Ausiello, Burnett "basically" told him the report that Probst wants to settle down with Survivor: Vanuatu girlfriend Julie Berry and get a job that doesn't require Survivor's travel was true.

"I believe in my gut that he will move on [after the next edition]," Burnett reportedly told Ausiello during an early October party to celebrate the launch of TV Guide's new full-size magazine format. Burnett also reportedly "half-nodded" when Ausiello asked Burnett if Probst would likely be replaced by a "former female Survivor contestant," leading Ausiello to conclude that "that rumor's apparently true as well."


Interestingly, TV Guide's launch party was on October 11 -- three days before Probst filled in for regular host Regis Philbin on the Friday, October 14 broadcast of Live with Regis and Kelly and appeared to shoot down the earlier Inside TV report.

During the appearance, Probst confirmed -- as he already had during previous media interviews -- that he is very much in love with Berry and that his current Survivor contract was set to expire after Survivor 12. But he also termed the rumors that he was going to leave the show because he was in love as being "ridiculous," adding he didn't "know where these stories come from" (perhaps he should start with Burnett?) and noted that he was going to be leaving for Survivor 12 in two weeks. Afterward, co-host Kelly Ripa joked that the reports were a contract negotiation tactic and chided Probst to "remember what happened to those CSI people" and not ask for too big a raise, causing Probst to (as he has repeatedly done in previous interviews) state that he was under no illusions that Survivor couldn't go on without him.

[rossshow]

At the SS board:

http://p085.ezboard.com/fsurvivorsucksfrm1.showMessage?topicID=44221.topic

[rossshow]

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,17934,00.html?tnews


Jeff Probst Keeps Survivoring

by Marcus Errico
Dec 9, 2005, 3:25 PM PT



Jeff Probst isn't snuffing his own torch just yet.

CBS on Thursday shot down months of speculation that the Survivor ringleader would abdicate his Tribal Council perch when his contract expires at the end of the next season.


"I was thinking about retiring and spending my time traveling to exotic locations around the world, meeting new and interesting people. Then I realized, uh, wait a second, I'm already doing that with 'Survivor' and getting paid for it, as well," Probst, said in a statement.

Probst's contract with the seminal unscripted show, which he has hosted since its inception in summer 2000, had only extended through the 12th season, now in production at an undisclosed location.

The currently airing Survivor: Guatemala--The Maya Empire is the 11th go-round for the Emmy-winning series.

Probst, 43, signed a two-year deal that would take him through the show's 16th cycle in 2008. (CBS recently committed to the 13th and 14th editions through the end of the 2006-07 season with the option of extending further, should ratings remain strong.)

"I consider him a friend and look forward to continuing to keep Survivor fresh with Jeff for many more seasons," said show mastermind Mark Burnett

It was Burnett who first fueled the Probst-is-gonzo speculation when he told TV Guide in October that he believed the 12th Survivor would be Probst's last.

"I believe in my gut that he will move on," Burnett said.

Burnett also hinted that a former female contestant may take the hosting reins should Probst leave.

Probst, for his part, had played coy in a subsequent interview with People.

"There's the inevitable point where you go, 'Do I want to do other things?' " he told the magazine. "But...I'll never have as good a job as Survivor."

Per reports, the reason behind Probst's dawdling was Survivor: Vanuatu alum Julie Berry.

Probst began dating the 24-year-old shortly after her season ended, and their relationship is widely speculated to be the reason for Probst's possible departure.

"I finally met someone someone who could teach me about love," Probst said of Berry to People. "Julie's given me a sense of balance I've never had. It's like fingers interlacing."

Survivor has ranked among the top 10 shows every season of broadcast, becoming only the sixth series in TV history to do so. It has become a staple of CBS' powerhouse Thursday night lineup. Survivor: Guatemala is the sixth-most watched show this season, averaging 18.1 million viewers this season in its 8 p.m. slot.

This season's final four will be revealed Thursday night, with the two-hour finale set for Sunday at 8 p.m. Probst will host the live one-hour reunion special immediately afterward.