The Rebel Billionaire
It All Comes Down To The Toss Of A Coin
Commentary By Eleanor Meilinger
January 10, 2005
When The Rebel Billionaire premiered we were all pretty confident that Sir Richard Branson had agreed to this folly as what would ultimately be his biggest publicity stunt to date. He has admitted in numerous interviews that his intention was to create name recognition in the US market. We speculated that he might be considering a US based airline "Virgin America" or some such, that would require him to have a United States citizen listed as CEO (on paper) in order to comply with federal regulations. There may have been some tie in with the future of Virgin Galactic, since the home base is to be in the USA. For weeks prior to the premiere there was talk of an undisclosed prize that would be "the largest in Reality TV history" with the apparent intention of creating a major buzz about the show. Unfortunately, that buzz never materialized into more than a faint hum. The announcement that the prize would be "One million dollars and Sir Richard's own job as chairman of Virgin Group" didn't generate anything more than polite skepticism.
The 2-hour premiere had disappointing ratings and Fox network quickly withdrew promotion for the project, though they at least allowed the series to run in it's entirety, something to be grateful for since they have abandoned so many others midstream. Read Fox Needs A Clue.
I had to believe that a clever businessman like Branson would not commit to such a project without some sort of escape clause. With the evidence that this series was not going to be the anticipated success and reviews saying that the show was "going over like a lead balloon" it was very likely that the multitude of investors in the many holdings that make up the Virgin Empire would not sit back quietly and allow control of their companies to be turned over to the winner of a television game show, no matter how much confidence they put in Sir Richards judgment. The only question was how, knowing that the prize had been announced, would they resolve the dilemma of fulfilling contractual obligations without plunging Virgin stock into negative digits? Now it seems that the whole thing will be resolved with a coin toss.
This is what I have deduced from the information we have been given - remember, I am just guessing and could be completely wrong. The one sure bet is that a coin will be tossed:
The winner is announced (let's pretend it could be anyone -they want you to think that someone else may have a chance, let them have their fun for now). Sir Richard tells them that their prize is a check for $1,000,000 - but there's one more twist. They can take the money and run, or gamble it on the toss of a coin. One side let's them leave with the million dollar check and no regrets, the other will result in the opportunity of a lifetime (namely the chairmanship of Virgin w/ a million dollar salary) but that won't be revealed until after the coin is tossed. Will the winner take the gamble? Of course! Neither of the final two players was playing for the money - they wanted the life altering opportunity. Will they win the ultimate prize? Your guess is as good as mine. If they do, you had better believe that it WILL make headlines on Wednesday; forever altering the way Virgin enterprises is viewed. It will garner the publicity that was so lacking throughout this adventure. If Virgin has a new leader come Wednesday morning it would surprise me, but I'd love to see it happen. Still, something tells me that Richard Branson is not unfamiliar with a bit of sleight -of -hand…
No matter how it turns out, getting to that final revelation promises to be the best part of the adventure yet. The two remaining contestants must first survive the face-off with their former teammates, "grueling physical and mental challenges" and the thought of returning to their mundane existence after life with Branson. I don't imagine any of them will ever look at life quite the same way. I know that I've been possessed by that rebel spirit and I never left my living room -imagine what those contestants will be inspired to accomplish after learning from the Master. Job or no job, they should all consider themselves winners.
Will Sir Richard Branson being turning over the key to the kingdom on Tuesday night? The coin has been tossed - but wait, it was just announced that Branson is set to make approximately 1.3 Billion when he floats his Virgin Mobile holdings in the US this week - do you really think he's going to leave decisions like these up to the outcome of the toss of a coin?
Let's pretend we believe that too. We all need a few fairy tales to keep life interesting!
Eleanor is about to take the leap from "writing to keep out of trouble" to "Writer with Resume". With a little luck you will be seeing her name in some of those credits by the end of 2005. She'll still take time to comment on everything RTV - it's cheaper than therapy!
You can contact Eleanor at ifyouaskme@msn.com
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