An African version of the interational reality phenomenon Survivor was announced by pay-channel M-Net on 20 April, 2006 - the week following their announcement of Survivor South Africa.
Survivor is a reality game based on the highly popular Swedish show Expedition Robinson, in which a group of castaways competes on an exotic location for a grand prize (in the case of Africa - $100 000).
Producer Mark Burnett licensed the rights to the show in 2000 and renamed it Survivor, which today is a worldwide reality television hit.
Survivor Africa features 12 contestants selected from countries across the African continent (excluding South Africa) playing for 21 days. Entries for the show closed on 5 May 2006, filming began in the Panama Islands in July 2006 and lasted 21 days.
On Tuesday, 22 August M-Net announced the show's host - actor, porducer and musician Anthony Oseyemi, who auditioned to host Survivor SA and was cast in Africa instead.
The show is made and produced by Endemol South Africa, and is co-produced by Strix Entertainment, the international format rights holder.
Strix provided all the resources and infrastructure (including camera crews) for all Immunity Challenges and Tribal Councils. Strix also provided the logging facilities for the daily rushes.
The show premiered on M-Net (East) Africa on 3 September 2006.