I write Like & Subscribe, Ankler Media’s creator economy newsletter that’s being sampled today for Ankler subscribers. I wrote about Alex Cooper’s unpopular Unwell deals, covered the launch of women’s sports media venture Reign and spoke to two Chernin Group partners about the firm’s bet on creator-led empires. I’m natalie@theankler.com
Survivor’s “smartest player to never win” might seem like a dubious honor, but Rob Cesternino — who was tagged with that superlative by none other than Jeff Probst — has parlayed his two seasons with the iconic CBS franchise into a pretty lucrative career.
When Survivor first premiered in August 2000, Cesternino was a broke recent college grad trying to figure out how to turn a degree in broadcasting into a viable career. He fell in love with the show and became obsessed with becoming a reality television contestant himself, first applying for Big Brother before being cast on Survivor: The Amazon in 2003.
Cesternino’s two stints on Survivor (he also appeared on Survivor: All-Stars in 2004) made an impression — he finished third on his first season. So when he decided to pick up a podcast mic in 2010 to break down the show’s 20th season, there was an eager audience at the ready.
Rob Has a Podcast quickly became the No. 1 podcast for Survivor recaps — not that there was a lot of competition back in the earliest days of the medium, two years before Apple released its mobile Podcasts app. Sixteen years later, Cesternino’s show has morphed into a whole empire of more than five dozen (yes, dozen) pop culture and reality TV podcasts that cover everything from Survivor to Top Chef to The Bachelor to Severance.
Rob Has a Podcast isn’t just where listeners go for episode recaps and contestant interviews, it’s also where they congregate with fellow reality TV fans — the RHAP community today boasts 50,000 podcast subscribers, 200,000 YouTube subscribers and over 3,000 Patreon members (who pay for exclusive content, access to podcast talent and more).
Cesternino, 47, who lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons, calls it all “an interesting ride.” And though the podcast arena has boomed around him in recent years, he’s not worried about the crowded field — after all, he’s not one to shy away from competition. “Because we have really hyper-served the audience in this space, there’s a real connection between me and the other podcasters and the audience at large,” he says. “It feels like the type of thing that could go on for quite some time.”
Cesternino’s full-time attention over the past decade-plus has been focused on growing his business (which now has five employees and many freelancers), but last year he got a surprising call: Would he want to compete on Peacock’s The Traitors?“It was a really cool honor to have been asked to come out of my reality TV retirement,” he says of joining other Survivor fan favorites like Rob Mariano (aka Boston Rob), Cirie Fields and Parvati Shallow on the explosively popular new series.
His time in the castle was brief — he was the third person eliminated — but he says he enjoyed polishing up his strategy skills for the Traitors “mind game.” And just before he jetted off to Scotland last summer to film the show’s fourth U.S. season, Cesternino turned in the final revisions for his new book: The Tribe and I Have Spoken, which delves into the lore and legacy of Survivor, was released Tuesday by Simon & Schuster amid the celebratory Survivor 50 season.
I spoke with Cesternino about the “athlete” mindset that makes him a compelling podcaster, the evolution of Survivor — even the villains — have evolved and his idea for decoding The Traitors’ next season.
‘Respect’ in the Reality Game
What’s behind the popularity of Rob Has a Podcast?
I have credibility to be able to talk to the guests [from Survivor casts] in the same way as if I was a former athlete. I could talk about the ins and outs of the games with the other athletes, who know that I know what they have gone through. There is a respect that people who come into this reality TV world have. They know I’ve been in those situations, so it’s easier for me to get into their head space.
How did The Traitors compare to Survivor? I imagine it was a much cushier experience.
On Survivor, a lot of times it becomes simpler at the end of the game. Yes, you’re physically defeated, but you know who you’re with and who you’re not with. Whereas on The Traitors, it’s the opposite where you just are completely spun around and questioning everything by the end of the game.
How has your appearance on The Traitors impacted the audience for your podcast?
It definitely introduced me to some new people. I also got to do a lot of press with different outlets that don’t typically talk about Survivor. We certainly did pick up a lot of steam in the first couple of months of the year heading into the busiest Survivor season we’ve ever had for Survivor.
What did you learn about Survivor while writing the book?
There are 50 seasons and you could write a book about every season. My favorite thing is just the evolution of the types of players that we’ve seen on Survivor. “Heroes vs. Villains” [from 2010] is the greatest season, but really the types of heroes and villains that Survivor has had on the show has really evolved where now even the villains are still kind of heroes.
Fast Five Questions
When was the first time you made money as a creator?
Back in 2012, I listened to a lot of podcasts about being a podcaster, and I got some tips about having affiliate income. So I started an Amazon affiliate account and asked people to do their shopping by clicking on my link — I think it was a couple hundred dollars. It really was not that much.
Describe the first time you were recognized out in public.
I certainly got recognized when I was on television, but then there was a long period of time where nobody was recognizing me. Now that the podcast has its own audience, I do get recognized fairly often out in public places and airports.
Who’s your dream collab?
Vanessa Van Edwards does a lot of videos about body language, and that’s something I have really picked up from when I went on The Traitors. I’d love to analyze what’s happening on the reality shows and break down how people’s body language is giving away what they’re actually thinking and how they’re playing the game.
What’s on your For You feed?
It’s a lot of Survivor. I really try to curate my feed to keep away all the brain rot and the doomscrolling. So my TikTok feed is surprisingly mostly very positive and inspiring content.
Who’s entertaining you on the internet right now?
Definitely not the New York Mets, but I do spend a lot of my free time with sports content.
