The accountants have spoken: Budget cuts hit CBS's 'Survivor'

The television Powers That Be have made true castaways of Jeff Probst and company. To save money, CBS will produce back-to-back seasons of Survivor in the same locale, forcing the production crew to spend four months on location instead of the usual six weeks.

Usually, the show shoots once around June and once in the fall. But rather than move the 80 containers of cargo it takes to produce each elaborate season of the show, TheInsider.com says, Survivor producer Mark Burnett elected to maroon the production in the South Pacific for double duty, with only a short break between competitions.

"This season we're doing back-to-back seasons is because of budget cuts, and that's just the truth," Probst told Reality Blurred. "We are having to do two seasons to save money, because every television show is undergoing some sort of a cut."