Jump to content

Big Brother Axed by Channel 4


YGNB

Recommended Posts

Channel 4 confirmed today that it will axe Big Brother after a decade following next summer's 11th series.The broadcaster announced this morning at its autumn programming launch that it would not renew Big Brother producer Endemol's deal for the reality show.Another series of Celebrity Big Brother will be broadcast in January before Channel 4's association with the show comes to an end.Channel 4 is locked into a £180m three-year deal with Endemol which means an 11th and final series will air next year before the curtain is drawn on the show, which made household names of housemates such as Jade Goody.The broadcaster said today that it would use the axing of Big Brother for the "most fundamental creative overhaul" in its 27-year history, with measures including an extra £20m a year investment in more "event drama", such as the critically lauded Red Riding and The Devil's Whore.Channel 4 will also be looking for more "quirky, returnable series aimed at younger audiences" for its main network and E4, in the mould of Shameless and Skins, with the axing of Big Brother freeing up 200 hours of airtime from 2011."Big Brother has been our most influential and popular programme over the last decade. Big Brother will leave a huge hole and filling it will involve the most fundamental creative overhaul in our history. We have 18 months to transform the schedule," said Julian Bellamy, head of Channel 4."It has been hugely innovative in its own right, has provoked a really astonishing level of public debate and has been an underappreciated showcase for social diversity and youth culture. Its success has also helped support an extraordinary range of creativity across Channel 4. Inevitably we're both excited and ever-so-slightly terrified by the prospect of getting by without it," Bellamy added.Kevin Lygo, Channel 4 director of television and content, said the broadcaster was still making a profit from Big Brother despite its ratings decline in recent years and could have looked to renew a deal with producer Endemol beyond 2010.Lygo said axing Big Brother would not solve Channel 4's funding problems, with the broadcaster having £125m less to spend on programming this year compared with 2007, but would give Channel 4 more flexibility in how the programming budget was spent, assuming the advertising recession relents.Big Brother was hauling in audiences of up to eight million in 2002, the year Goody was a contestant and the show was won by Kate Lawler. At its peak from 2002-2006, Big Brother generated £88m of revenue a year, of which about £68m was profit.Channel 4 is understood to have struggled, however, to make as much money from the show since striking the £180m renewal deal with Endemol in 2006. Channel 4 had its hand forced to some extent in negotiations by the threat of ITV stepping in to snatch the show.Big Brother also became a victim of its own success as far and away Channel 4's most commercially successful show, with critics using it to argue that the broadcaster was straying from its public service remit.Audiences and advertising revenues have dropped off in recent years, particularly since the Shilpa Shetty race row that engulfed Celebrity Big Brother and Channel 4 in early 2007.This summer's 10th series has been averaging around 2 million viewers, down a third year-on-year.Big Brother is unlikely to disappear from UK TV screens, however, with another broadcaster expected to step in to pick up the rights from Endemol.Big Brother was axed in Australia last year but has enjoyed something of a ratings renaissance in the US this summer, a market in which the format has not traditionally done well.The current series of Channel 4 reality show Big Brother is the least watched of the 10 seasons so far, according to ratings figures.Viewing figures up until the end of July show that Big Brother 10 averaged 2 million viewers and a 10.1% audience share on the main Channel 4 network. This is down 33% year-on-year, for the show's first 53 days on air, between 4 June and last Sunday, 26 July.The average viewing figures for the key advertiser-friendly 16- to 34-year-old demographics for the series so far stand at 700,000 viewers and a 16.7% share.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Flat Ericó
I dont get what the "about time" stuff is aboutWho here watches Emmerdale? No one gives a sh*t about that problem but they arent sitting around waiting for it to cancel.
yeah but emmerdale doesn't take up all the flippin slotssometimes you wanna just turn on the tv to watch some late night my name is earl or somethig but all you see is some gays sleeping in night vision modeannoying
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was still getting an audience of almost 2milion, so its still a popular programme - just no longer a flagship primetime one.They started going wrong when they decided to go for the "whacky" route with contestants. Having 1 or 2 out of 10 people was ok but from 2005 they just filled the house with all sorts of f*cked up characters which went against the "10 normal people in a house" ethos. Also, they started using reality whores who had already been in 3-4 programmes. They should strip everything back for the final series and just choose 10 "average" people. Will probably be the best series in years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest WAVESURFER
It was still getting an audience of almost 2milion, so its still a popular programme - just no longer a flagship primetime one.They started going wrong when they decided to go for the "whacky" route with contestants. Having 1 or 2 out of 10 people was ok but from 2005 they just filled the house with all sorts of f*cked up characters which went against the "10 normal people in a house" ethos. Also, they started using reality whores who had already been in 3-4 programmes. They should strip everything back for the final series and just choose 10 "average" people. Will probably be the best series in years.
Don't have it, mrkiernan.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dont get what the "about time" stuff is aboutWho here watches Emmerdale? No one gives a sh*t about that problem but they arent sitting around waiting for it to cancel.
yeah but emmerdale doesn't take up all the flippin slotssometimes you wanna just turn on the tv to watch some late night my name is earl or somethig but all you see is some gays sleeping in night vision modeannoying
c/s ghana man
Link to comment
Share on other sites

yay... still tho, thats a lot more worse programmes on tv.
like heartbeat.
C f*ck*ng Show the hell has this programme managed to stay on air for so longwhen i hear da first couple bars of notes from that riddim i get furious
LOL I thought I was the only one who actually got angry hearing that opening theme. Actual anger... and then the rush to find the remote and turn over, before tune has anytime to get into any kind of full swing.I despise it with all my might.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Big Brother could be so much betterLess gay people for a start. Gay people pretty much killed big brother.Actually make real challenges and make it a lot more competitive. Up the prize money if you have to aswell.Big Brother just doesnt work anymore because people are aware of the outsides perception of their actions. Real badguys cant exist anymore because they get voted off too quick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...