MediaWeek
As Big Brother sees its sixth champion crowned, many will argue that Channel 4's commitment to Endemol's reality TV Behemoth is misplaced. Big Brother has slumped after a 2004 renaissance – and that is a disappointment.
A nadir was reached in 2003 when performance was woeful compared with a stellar 2002; and the interference by producers desperate to breathe life into the vein-openingly boring housemates was intrusive in the extreme.
Therefore, 2004 saw the adoption of auditions to ensure a volatile mix of personalities.
The change paid off as BB5 provided a house of hot lovin', an unprecedented security intervention and a police investigation.
This immeasurable entertainment increase delivered a 13% improvement in 16 to 34-year-old impacts.
With high hopes, the Elstree compound welcomed the latest batch of contenders, but for the first time opening night ratings did not improve.
While BB6 undoubtedly provided great entertainment, a 12.9% slide in 1634 impacts versus 2004, and a 1.6% slump against 2003 is worrying. Daily peak episodes of BB6 have averaged 13.3 16 to 34-year-old TV ratings (which translate to 1.86 million people), which ranks bottom of the BB league – a table topped by the irrepressible BB3 with 17.6 16 to 34-year-old TV ratings (2.47 million).
Channel 4's main concern will be that the decline of Big Brother contrasts with an otherwise strong performance in 2005, despite continuing viewer exodus to multi-channel options Channel 4 looked to strengthen its own position in the multichannel environment and bring further prestige to Freeview by giving E4 a much-heralded return to the platform to coincide with the start of BB6.
E4 experienced a 13.5% increase in 1634 impacts during the duration of Big Brother, but actual Big Brother impacts saw a 15% decrease, albeit with slightly fewer transmissions than in 2004.
Big Brother 6 has got its name in the record books. The 11-week run and the 16 housemates were highs and both factors which maximise phone/text revenue and sustain tabloid interest.
New innovations keep things fresh. Vanessa's eviction by her housemates was a rating highpoint outside the final; the myriad of secret missions kept folks guessing and the Secret Garden worked well, with Eugene becoming the first "new housemate" to achieve public acceptance. However, this manipulation can have a negative influence – John Tickle's reintroduction in 2003 was a desperate last throw of the dice to stir up a bit of interest among the eye-crossingly dull incumbents.
This year's arrival of Kinga, with only two weeks left, implied more cynical exploitation of voters and threatened to undermine the whole format if she had won.
Next year will, no doubt, have subtle twists that will stand BB7 apart from its predecessors.
Channel 4 has relied upon Big Brother to provide audiences over the past six summers, knowing the show readily delivers volumes unmatched by any other programme in the schedule. But BB6 needed 11 weeks to deliver less than predecessors had delivered in nine and further extensions will make it harder to sustain a high level of audience performance and continue to drive away those who think the Orwellian show should already be in BBC's Room 101.
With Desperate Housewives averaging 10.2 16 to 34-year-old TV ratings (1.43 million) and Lost achieving 15 on its debut (2.1 million), C4 has no need to rely on Big Brother as a channel-defining product.
Combined with the fact that you no longer get ostracised from your water-cooler for not knowing all the BB housemates, it all points towards a lower profile for Big Brother and a bigger push for alternative major programming.
