Canada’s CTV Takes New Mark Burnett Reality Series

TORONTO, February 8: In its second straight deal with Mark
Burnett Productions, CTV has acquired the Canadian broadcast rights to the new reality
series Pirate Master: The Adventure Begins,
for premiere this summer.

CTV’s deal with Mark Burnett Productions comes on the heels
of its acquisition of On the Lot, also
from Mark Burnett Productions. Pirate Master: The Adventure Begins, is the latest addition to CTV’s summer lineup, which
already includes On The Lot, Canadian Idol and So You
Think You Can Dance? Pirate Master: The Adventure Begins is scheduled to debut on CBS when the network wraps
up Survivor: Fiji.

In Pirate Master: The Adventure Begins, 16 people living aboard a real pirate ship in the
Caribbean embark on intense, physical expeditions and solve clues and riddles
in a competition to find a hidden treasure worth one million dollars. Each
week, one competitor is "set adrift" from the pirate ship until only
three remain in the hunt for the treasure. Casting for the series is currently
underway and production will begin soon in the Caribbean, with a host for the
series to be announced at a later date.

"With high seas, high adventure and high stakes, our 16
pirates will decipher an old treasure map that leads them to a mysterious
island," noted Burnett. "To recover the booty, they will have to work
together—but are always aware that in the cutthroat world of pirates,
nobody is ever safe. Pirate Master is
the type of adventure reality competition that our company was built
upon."

“Pirate Master
promises to be jolly good summer fun,” said Susanne Boyce, CTV’s president of
programming and chair of the CTV Media Group. “It's complete escapism and will
make for rollicking summer viewing.”