[acjohnson55]

Agreed! My step-uncle, an actor and extremely outgoing guy, managed to impress the producer enough to get into the small selection pool of contestants and get on the snow. He won a bunch of stuff, but had to turn it down because he had no space for a bunch of random merch and didn't want to pay taxes on it. It can actually be a big burden on these shows that don't do cash prizes.

[paulpauper]

cash would mean smaller profit margins and less of a spectacle

A 60 inch TV sounds more impressive than $200

[dmix]

You're missing the biggest reason: advertising. Getting your product on the show is great for brand awareness and probably costs quite a bit, plus free products.