Further proof that the world of Internet entertainment is fast becoming as competitive as television came Monday, when reality TV impresario Mark Burnett and America Online announced an interactive Web program that -- to some in Hollywood -- sounded very familiar.
Burnett and AOL said they were jointly developing a treasure-hunt game show called "Gold Rush." Slated to debut online this year, the show would award $1.6 million in gold to Web surfers who can decipher the given clues and find the booty stashed in 13 locations across the country.
Meanwhile at Yahoo Inc., the Internet giant's Santa Monica-based media group has spent months developing its own scavenger hunt game: "Treasure Hunt." This project has an even bigger-name producer tentatively attached: Steven Spielberg.
Three people familiar with the Yahoo project claim that Burnett learned about "Treasure Hunt" while working with the company on another Web offering in development, "The Runner." These sources said that Burnett tried to get attached to "Treasure Hunt" as a producer, but Yahoo said no.
Reached Monday, Burnett disputed this account. He said he wanted to do a treasure-seeking project long before he hooked up with Yahoo. In fact, he said, when he and Spielberg had lunch "months ago," they were surprised to discover that they were both at work on similar ideas.
"It was like a million-to-one thing," Burnett said. Months later, he mentioned "Gold Rush" to Yahoo Chief Executive Terry Semel, Burnett said. But Burnett stopped short of pitching that project, he said, because his first priority was getting Yahoo to greenlight "The Runner," a find-the-secret-agent game that has yet to get the go-ahead.
Burnett said he approached his Internet deals the same way he did his TV shows, several of which have become hits. In television, he said, it's not unusual to do business with two networks at the same time.
"It's like I have 'The Apprentice' on NBC and 'Survivor' on CBS," Burnett said, referring to two of his most popular shows.
Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens declined to comment, saying, "We don't discuss projects in development."
Spielberg could not be reached for comment.
Just as in TV, developing shows for the Web is becoming a high-stakes business. Advertisers are expected to spend nearly $17 billion this year on online ads.
Yahoo and AOL are seeking to dominate this market by turning their online networks into new platforms for watching videos.
