Endemol

The company’s name sounds like “End ‘Em All”, fitting for the game and reality show producers known for “Deal or No Deal” and “Big Brother.” In fact, the Dutch company’s name “Endemol” was derived from the last names of company founders, Joop van den Ende and John de Mol. They started their company in 1994.

The American branch of the company, Endemol USA, began in 2000 with its first show, “Fear Factor.” Its current U.S. game shows include “1 vs 100”, “Show Me the Money”, “Set for Life”, and the ratings winner, “Deal or No Deal.”

“Deal or No Deal”

For Endemol, “Deal or No Deal” is the jewel in their crown. While some critics have lauded it for its simple yet ingenious use of probability theory, others have condemned the show for its no-brainer grab-bag game-play and the glorification of greed. Case in point, in a recent broadcast, there were six briefcases displayed onstage and available to contestants, each containing $1 million.

I can only speculate that John de Mol, the creative genius behind “Deal or No Deal” and most of the other Endemol shows, has probably been in on the “joke” of showing human beings at their greediest.

Why would I make such an assumption? The answer: “The Big Donor Show” (in Dutch: “De Grote Donorshow”).

“The Big Donor Show”

On June 1, 2007, Endemol broadcast a game show created for BNN, a Dutch public television network. On “The Big Donor Show”, three “contestants” in need of a kidney transplant competed for a donor’s kidney.

When Endemol later revealed that the game show was a hoax and the “donor” was an actor, this triggered a worldwide protest. “The Big Donor Show” was, in fact, a social experiment done at the expense of the three ailing contestants.

An Endemol spokesperson, however, defended “The Big Donor Show.” While it seemed like the ultimate cruel joke, the stunt served to effectively publicize the extreme shortage of organ donors in the Netherlands, garnering 50,000 requests for organ donor forms and registering 7300 new organ donors to the Dutch health system.

BNN

BNN is a Dutch public broadcasting network founded in 1997 by Bart de Graaff. Note that the initials “BNN” stand for “Bart’s Neverending Network”, giving a strong hint at the network’s irreverent style aimed at teenagers and young adults.

Besides “The Big Donor Show”, BNN has presented additional controversial shows, including a seven-episode sex information series called “Neuken doe je zo!”, translated as “This is How You F*ck!”

On another BNN show, “Try Before You Die”, a show host was dared to “streak” a Wimbledon finals tennis match—- and did.

An interesting side note about “The Big Donor Show”: BNN founder Bart Graaff died of kidney failure five years before the 2007 hoax kidney donor show.

Resources:

“Outcry over TV kidney competition”, BBC

“Donor boom after kidney hoax”, BBC

“Donor show causes outrage”, Stephanie Kennedy, ABC Australia