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Emmys 2013: Mark Cuban on calling out ‘Shark Tank’ contestants

Jeff Probst ("Survivor") and Mark Cuban ("Shark Tank") talk reality TV at the Emmy Envelope Round Table.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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When a reality TV show is titled “Shark Tank,” it’s only reasonable for the judges to have some teeth. Mark Cuban, for one, is happy to oblige.

At a recent Envelope Emmy Round Table, Cuban and his three fellow panelists — Carson Daly of “The Voice,” Cat Deeley of “So You Think You Can Dance” and Jeff Probst of “Survivor” — talked about calling out too-clever contestants.

“Sometimes a company will come [on ‘Shark Tank’] and they’re relatively successful, and they’re trying to play us,” Cuban said. “They’re using the show purely for PR. They don’t want to do a deal.”

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“And it never works, either,” Deeley interjected. “It’s like that little bit of knowledge is always really dangerous on a reality show — you know, those people that think they know how to play the system.”

Probst recalled one of his favorite “Shark Tank” episodes, featuring a cocky winery owner. “At the very end, he finally gets an offer from Mark, and he’s going to pop his bottle of Champagne or something. And right before he’s going to do it, Cuban goes, ‘You know what? You’re messing with us. I’m done.’”

Cuban explained, “If you need the money to grow your business, and somebody with a business background who can truly help you offers you the deal that you’ve asked for, you don’t create all these theatrics, you don’t hesitate — you say yes!”

For more from the panel, watch the video.

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