Sunday 22 January 2012

Will Big Brother 2012 be a bigger let down?

When Channel 9 announced it was bringing back "Big Brother" for their 2012 schedule, many people raised an eyebrow thinking WHY?
I, for one was excited by the prospect. When BB was last on Network 10, like most people i didn't watch it. The show had run it's course. Producers had tried everything to reinvent the formula. Sexy contestants, changing hosts, twins as well as introducing a one million dollar winners prize. For eight seasons numbers declined until the kiss of death in Australian television, radio host Jackie O and shock jock Kyle Sandilands finally hit the last nails in the coffin.
But as my mother always said " you'll never know how much you will miss something until it is gone" This was true about Dr Pepper, a gold card for bar 20 and eventually Big Brother. When it was axed in 2008 many people felt a void left by its absence, Sure Masterchef pulled bigger figures but within that important 16 - 34 demographic they needed a replacement show. Luckily that with Internet downloads, many people had access to seasons from both the UK and the US. In the united kingdom the show also was axed by Channel 4. It was the crown jewel in their television schedule since 2001 and continued strong ratings throughout its run. When the famous celebrity big brother race incident of 2007 involving Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty blew up and the numbers started to dwindle. It looked as though producers had deliberately created tasks that the sociably inexperience Goody would cause conflict.
In 2011, The Channel 31 of the UK, Channel 5 purchased the format giving them the best viewing figures for an entertainment show since the networks inception. Going back to a basic formula where the casting had a blend of characters and likable people hit the right note with viewers.
 
So what can channel 9 do to make the return of Big Brother as successful as possible? As i know management of channel 9 reads this blog, please take note.
We have found out that the public like reality celebrity shows. The ratings for celebrity apprentice were amazing. Pick the right people and the ratings will be great. They surely know this because signing David Hasslehoff for the second season is a coup. Start the season with 3 weeks of celebrity big brother. Create some buzz by paying the money to get some international housemates and don't just stick in your lost and forgotten roster stars. I would ask Gretel Kileen to be in it, she knows better than most how the game works. Give the public what they want. When Celebrity big brother finishes on the friday night - Commence the standard version on the following Monday. A few people have mentioned it will follow the US version with a "Secrets" twist. All housemates have a secret and fellow housemates need to work it out for cash prizes. Just go back to the original formula. People act differently when faced with real life situations. If one housemate is given a choice to hear a message from home, but to do this needs to sacrifice the letter of another persons. This opens up real life situations and shows a persons true values.
So lets see how it goes, Channel 9 have 7 months to get it right.
Who would you like in the Australian Celebrity Big Brother House?



Big Brother
Channel 9
July 2012 est.

1 comment:

  1. It just doesn't seem to fit Channel 9's demographic, but maybe they are deliberately going for this audience?

    It feels like it's been off for much longer than 4 years. I don't really wanna invest the time in it anymore, but maybe I'm just too old for it now and the kids these days were too young last time round. I have absolutely no idea how it will go, it'll probably all come down to the people.

    Ray Martin for host! HAHA

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