BB FANS

2007-05-29
WorldScreen

HILVERSUM, May 29: After a five-year break, Endemol International’s hit format Big Brother will return to Poland on TV4 this September.

The new series will be produced by Endemol Polska and is scheduled to premiere on September 2. Nationwide casting is set to begin on June 2.

Big Brother was last shown in Poland on rival broadcaster TVN, with three seasons of the format produced by Endemol Polska in 2001 and 2002.

Big Brother has been sold to 39 countries and will be broadcast this year in over 20 territories around the world including the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Spain, Germany, pan-Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Australia.

A major highlight of Poland’s new TV 4 programme line-up will be a refreshed version of one of the most popular reality-shows ‘Big Brother’ which this time will include elements of Web 2.0 technology.

As TV 4’s president Piotr Fajks explains, quoted in wirtualnemedia.pl:

“Big Brother 4.1 will have many new, features. As in the internet-based virtual world game ‘Second life’, internet users will have an opportunity to participate in the programme. This highly innovative project called ‘Virtual Me’, designed by [the programme’s makers], Endemol, with Electronic Arts, will allow viewers to create a virtual character, a so called avatar. Avatars’ owners will be able to interact with the Big Brother house.”

“This feature will be used for the first time anywhere in the Polish edition of Big Brother,” said Andi Ward, Endemol International representative.

Big Brother returns to Poland after five years’ break – earlier on its three editions were shown by another broadcaster, TVN. First episode of “Big Brother 4.1” will be broadcast on September 2.

The re-launch of Big Brother is part of a general facelift at TV 4, which is part of the Polsat group, and has around a 2 percent market share in Poland.

thenews.pl