Mark Burnett, Hearst Team Up for Joint Venture

7:13 AM PDT 4/11/2011 by Georg Szalai

Hearst will acquire a “substantial” stake in his production business, and the venture will create TV, live event and other content across emerging media platforms, including content that leverages Hearst brands.

NEW YORK – Hearst Corp. and Mark Burnett, the TV producer behind such reality hits as Survivor and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, said Monday they have formed a 50:50 media, production and events-based joint venture, with Hearst acquiring a “substantial” stake in Burnett’s existing production business as part of the deal.