The producers of Big Brother just can’t seem to decide what channel they want to broadcast their TV show on, switching from Channel 4 to Channel 5 and now possibly even going to ITV.
The producers of Big Brother just can’t seem to decide what channel they want to broadcast their TV show on, switching from Channel 4 to Channel 5 and now possibly even going to ITV. Reports suggest that the bosses at ITV are strongly considering buying the rights for the popular reality show.
Big Brother first launched in 2000 and on June 5 it began its fifteenth series, called Big Brother: Power Trip, which is currently on Channel 4 every night. The concept is that fourteen strangers are put together in a house for eleven weeks, without any connection to the outside world, except for a few minutes once a week during evictions.
Most weeks housemates are given the opportunity to put others in the house up for eviction, and the ones who receive the most votes could potentially leave at the end of the week, depending on the public reaction to them. They are filmed 24 hours a day and the highlights are put into an hour-long show shown most nights of the week.
After the contract
During this time, they are given secret tasks to earn treats and shopping for the week. It may sound simple, but there are always many surprises in store for the housemates, who often have to go behind each other’s backs and look after themselves only, as well as making new friendships and learning new things along the way.
In 2011, Channel 5 agreed to broadcast Big Brother on its channel for two years, but now that time’s up. Since ITV have recently become so successful, being the biggest digital channel in the UK, they’ve decided to launch two new channels, including ITVBe, with a focus on a female audience.
The idea is that this channel will broadcast some of the most popular reality TV shows, including The Only Way Is Essex and Real Housewives, with Big Brother (and Celebrity Big Brother) seeming to fit the part just as well. Although, there have been speculations that the two may be split between channels, with Celebrity Big Brother being broadcast on one and Big Brother on another, which would be beneficial for both Channel 5 and ITV.
It appears to be that this programme is still very popular with the British public, especially with teenagers, who enjoy watching it regularly, but over time the viewership is decreasing. This brings about doubts about whether or not it is worth ITV buying the rights, but Big Brother still brought about almost 2 million views last year, which could easily increase this year due to improvements and changes within the series.
However, none of this has been confirmed and ITV have declined to comment, so as of now the future of the TV show is unclear. Channel 5’s new owners Viacom bought Channel 5 for £450 million last month, and their opinion on the deal is also unknown, but Big Brother is still deemed to be a success, so it’s more than likely that it will be back on our screens very soon, no matter what channel.
What do you think? What is the future for Big Brother? Have your say in the comments section below.
