Donald Trump’s rise is driving global demand for The Apprentice

PEOPLE all over the world are frantically scouring 14 seasons of The Apprentice for clues on what kind of leader Donald Trump will be.

Donald Trump in 2003 on The Apprentice.

DONALD Trump’s stunning win in the 2016 presidential election has sparked a global spike in interest in old episodes of The Apprentice, a data analytics firm has found.

People around the world are looking to the show, which ran on NBC for 14 seasons over more than a decade, to get some clues about the kind of person Mr Trump will be as leader of the free world come inauguration day.

Wared Seger, the co-founder of Parrot Analytics, a measurement company that helps international TV executives gauge interest in TV properties, told The Post that over the past three months, audience demand for The Apprentice, has quadrupled.

The show’s demand index rose significantly when the President-elect won the primaries — then again on September 11 and when he won the election earlier this month.

Parrot Analytics’ demand index draws data from video streaming services, Wikipedia searches, file sharing sites, searches, social media commentary and blogs.

A surge in value for the library of The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice could be a financial boon for both Mr Trump and MGM as both own the archive along with the series creator Mark Burnett.

MGM and Mark Burnett have been fielding a huge number of calls about ways to extend the franchise and for straight sales to broadcasters, a source close to the property confirmed.

“There are plans to exploit different things,” said a person familiar with The Apprentice.

“There’s been a lot of global interest,” the person said. “With a great format like that there are always opportunities for exploiting it further. The demand is huge.”

Celebrity Apprentice, is currently airing on streaming video service, Hulu. The New Celebrity Apprentice, hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger, begins in January on NBC.

Mr Trump, who will become the 45th president of the United States on January 20, has been under fire for potential conflicts of interest with his Trump Organisation, a sprawling real estate and licensing firm.

Mr Trump was represented during the long run of The Apprentice by several talent agencies, including William Morris Agency and Endeavor which later merged to become WME.

On Sunday, WME boss Ari Emanuel visited Mr Trump in New Jersey but the two are said to have not discussed business, according to sources.

WME acquired the Miss Universe Organisation from the Trump Organisation. The Trump Organisation and a rep for MGM did not immediately respond for comment.

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Donald Trump’s rise is driving global demand for The Apprentice