The modern way to grab a TV audience is to launch a reality game show in which we get to know the contestants and a winner is only crowned at the end of the season. A modern way to gamble is to place bets on Kalshi or Polymarket on what will happen. But those bets affect the odds, and the odds are made public. The 50th season of the reality game show Survivor (titled Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans) ended on May 20th with Aubry Bracco as the winner. But the show was filmed months earlier. Six weeks before the February premier, prediction markets had Bracco's odds of winning at 61%. Just before the winner was announced, her odds stood at 97%.
Both betting platforms ban insider knowledge, but there are plenty of ways around that. Survivor isn't the only reality show the markets have spoiled, either. Betting on the outcome had produced spoilers for Next Level Chef, The Bachelorette, and The Masked Singer. You may care little about reality TV game shows, but you also have to consider the affect of insider knowledge on betting markets as they pertain to business ventures, politics, and national security as well. Read about what betting markets are doing to TV at Variety. -via Metafilter
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