Copycat suit looms
Castaway plans to sue Endemol over hit show format
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British production company Castaway is expected to file suit against Dutch-based Endemol, charging that the latter's hit show "Big Brother" infringes on Castaway's format "Survive."
Castaway was recently formed by entertainers Bob Geldoff and Charley Parsons, along with Waheed Alli, a former managing director of British producer Planet 24 and a peer in the House of Lords.
The three recently sold Planet 24 to Carlton Television but retained the rights to "Survive."
Castaway execs told Daily Variety the company plans to file suit next month in a Dutch court, charging that "Big Brother," on three different counts, substantially copied the "Survive" formula.
In "Big Brother," contestants are isolated in a house in the suburbs of Amsterdam and monitored 24 hours a day by hidden cameras. At the end of 100 days, one remaining contestant will win 250,000 guilders ($125,000).
Endemol chairman John De Mol told Daily Variety the company sees the claim of format infringement as "having no merit. We believe it is a trial balloon."
"Survive" has been sold to Scandinavia and Switzerland, where it has been reincarnated as "Expedition Robinson," a show which, for several years, has pulled in audience shares of more than 50% in Denmark and Sweden. CBS in the U.S. has also picked up the format rights.
In "Expedition Robinson," contestants are isolated on an island and compete against each other in physical and psychological challenges, and in the end, one survivor wins a pot of money.
