The real question is how many of the 7 million + viewers who tuned in over the show's first 2 weeks will consider gold bullion as an investment for the first time after catching 'gold fever', and learning of gold's rarity and the difficulty in obtaining it?
The debut of the Discovery Channel’s “Bering Sea Gold” last month unleashed a torrent of phone calls to Nome city offices and other businesses.
“Bering Sea Gold” is a popular reality TV show about miners who risk their lives to find ocean gold in the Bering Sea.
The Jan. 27 debut was watched by 3.6 million viewers, making it the highest-rated series launch in Discovery history. Next week, 3.73 million viewers tuned in.
As a result, Nome officials faced a deluge of similar questions: What permits do we need to dredge for gold? Is there a mining camp? Can I buy a dredge up there? Can just anybody go and mine the beaches of Nome?
As a result, Nome officials faced a deluge of similar questions: What permits do we need to dredge for gold? Is there a mining camp? Can I buy a dredge up there? Can just anybody go and mine the beaches of Nome?
Nome city manager Josie Bahnke has been besieged by calls and she’s not alone. Kerwin Krause with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources told the Nome Nugget his department got a call every five minutes, especially on Mondays following the Friday evening show. “That kind of call volume is not normal. So far we received about 300 phone calls,” he said. “We’re telling people that there are no leases available now.”
Krause has urged Nome city officials to prepare for a modern-day gold rush.
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