BB FANS

Thursday, 30 November 2006
BBC

Channel 4 has secured the rights to Big Brother until 2010 in a deal worth up to £180m, according to some estimates.

The company moved to reach an agreement with makers Endemol UK after ITV expressed interest in show's format.

There have been seven series of the globally popular format in the UK, with the finale of the last series being watched by up to 8.2m viewers.

Channel Four had the hit US desert island drama Lost poached by Sky in a £20m deal in October.

The extended Big Brother commission includes spin-off programming Celebrity Big Brother, Big Brother's Little Brother, Big Brother's Big Mouth and E4 streaming.

Angela Jain, Channel 4 commissioning editor, said: "Channel 4 is the spiritual home of Big Brother.

"It remains the ultimate reality format and continues to deliver dramatic, innovative viewing as one of the UK's most talked about television programmes."

While being derided by some critics as low-brow TV, it has been a consistent ratings performer.

Big Brother 7 attracted an average audience of 4.7m viewers, up on the previous series which delivered an average 4.5m.

December 01, 2006

£70million Big Brother winner

CHANNEL 4 has signed a massive £70million-a-year deal to keep Big Brother for three more years.

Producer Endemol hiked the price from £40million a year after a rival bid from ITV.

But C4 was determined to keep the hit reality show. It now has it until 2010, with the new deal kicking off after next summer’s series.

It covers the main show — hosted by Davina McCall — plus Celebrity Big Brother and spin-offs such as Big Brother’s Little Brother and Big Brother’s Big Mouth.

A TV source last night confirmed: “Channel 4 has triumphed, which is a huge blow to ITV. Bosses there were keen to have it.” ITV had hoped to grab the show to boost its summer schedule.

But losing BB would have been devastating for C4. It gets the channel’s highest ratings and brings in huge advertising revenue.

Nearly eight million viewers saw wacky Pete Bennett, 24, win this year.

C4 said last night: “We are the spiritual home of Big Brother.”

theSUN