General Motors has decided to no longer sponsor Survivor, despite their six year run with the series. The timing of this decision seems to coincide with the series’ new twist to pit races against each other, however, GM says that it had nothing to do with their decision to pull sponsorship. GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney told the Associated Press, “I think it’s just a coincidence. I know it’s not cause and effect.” Instead, GM insisted that Survivor simply did not fit in with their current marketing strategy—“to focus more on product placement and big-ticket live events, like sporting competitions and award shows.”

While most would agree that the news does seem to be a direct effect of this season’s segregated tribe format, CBS did confirm that GM announced the end of their sponsorship several months before the new season’s twist was announced. CBS spokesman Chris Ender said, “GM had no knowledge of [this season’s] ethnic format.”