It’s more than just a TV show… - Big Brother 10 Opinion

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It’s more than just a TV show…

...but Channel 4 don't seem to think so

Channel 4 have opted not to bring back the red-button live feed for BB10 — a decision that means Big Brother UK is no longer the show it once was.

OK, so it wasn’t a wholly unexpected decision, but there was some hope that it would return: one theory from January was that some of the CBB6 contestants had stipulated that they didn’t want the live feed to be on air 24/7 in their contracts.

Alas, that theory has now been shattered.

I know it has been said time and time again, but Big Brother really isn’t Big Brother without the live feed — it’s a fundamental factor of the format that you can tune in and watch action from the house 24 hours a day. The thing is, they have also axed daytime streaming on E4 in the afternoon — which means that the only live feed will be broadcast overnight. When the housemates and viewers will be sleeping.

At least Channel 4 have been a bit more open with their reasons for axing the feed. Previously, they had claimed that clips on the official website were getting more and more popular and therefore there was no need for the live feed (which is probably the worst excuse possible). Now they’ve admitted that the live feed is costly to run, and low viewing figures coupled with the current recession mean it’s not viable to run it.

I had thought before the news was confirmed that they had axed three days of Big Mouth to find the money to bring the live feed back, but clearly that was another cost-cutting measure.

I’m sure they could have found ways to get enough money to reinstate the live feed. They could have completely axed one of the spin-offs — Diary Room Uncut could have gone, or they could have got rid of Big Mouth seeing as they’ve already drastically scaled it back.

They also seem to have commissioned a lot more pre-series specials to ‘celebrate’ the fact that it’s the tenth series on air. One of these is Big Brother’s Big Quiz.

I’ve found myself asking the question, why has Channel 4 spent money on crap like that (a Big Brother quiz! Why the hell have they commissioned a QUIZ!)? They could have invested it in the live feed, which adds a lot more value to the show than a quiz ever will.

A number of fans, me included, are still angry and/or disappointed that the amount of live feed is continuously being scaled back — and some have even decided to boycott Big Brother.

I urge feed fans to keep complaining to Channel 4 — not just about the absence of the 24 hour feed, but about E4’s daytime streaming being axed too - in the hope that they’ll eventually get the message. Click here to go to their online complaint form.

Finally, to those of you who are unhappy about the amount of live feed rants on bbspy, sorry, but it’s still very much a big topic on our agenda. Fear not though — we’ll be giving our views on more subjects soon.

You can complain to Channel 4 about the lack of live feed by clicking here.

Written by Matt Posted on May 5 2009 at 6:35pm

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23 comments

Will says: May 5, 2009 @ 6:38 pm

I completely disagree. By commissioning shows like the quiz, C4 are promoting the show well and gaining some hype. BB fans always complain about the lack of promotion, and Channel 4 are investing in stuff like that rather than the live feed which - lets face it - nobody ever watches anyway, and they’re going to do E4 live blocks in times when drama usually happens. Also, this could make some of the die-hard fans tune in MORE to the highlight shows. I think they made the right decision.

Nic says: May 5, 2009 @ 7:29 pm

IBB have a great view on the subject, much more positive!

Brekkie says: May 5, 2009 @ 7:51 pm

Much more naive I’d say. It’s already been proven no live feed doesn’t translate to higher ratings.

It’s not true no body watches the live feed at all - 150,000 used to watch it in the afternoon on E4. That’s a sizeable audience for 2pm in the afternoon on a digital channel.

Matt says: May 5, 2009 @ 7:52 pm

When will bbspy be posting a ‘views’ article with a positive spin on Big Brother?

Brekkie says: May 5, 2009 @ 8:11 pm

I tried the other night - but in writing what I want for BB10 I got too angry knowing what we won’t be getting.

Live Feed Fan says: May 5, 2009 @ 8:31 pm

I completely agree with everything you have said. Why the hell are they doing a quiz when they could bring back the live feed, even if it was only for the afternoons?

Matt says: May 5, 2009 @ 8:38 pm

The quiz is probably costing considerably less to make than a whole summer of live feed.

Freddy says: May 5, 2009 @ 9:03 pm

OH no, not another negative rant.

I agree that lack of live feed is bad. But you already said that abou dozens of times, lol!

You promised a nice uplifting blog for once .

Brekkie says: May 5, 2009 @ 9:22 pm

When there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon we’ll latch onto it I’m sure - but even if things looked promising for BB10, the negatives really would put a dampener on any positive moves. After all, if it’s a good series, don’t you want to see as much of it as you possible can?

Matt says: May 5, 2009 @ 9:49 pm

Freddy, they are on their way, but at the moment there’s nothing else to write about really - unless I was to rant about how much I hate the Daily Star!

Nic says: May 5, 2009 @ 10:15 pm

Brekkie - if thinking about Big Brother makes you angry and you think it doesn’t deliver anymore why on earth do you watch it and why do you work on a fan site!?!

Prehaps being a bit more positive would make a better site seen as its aimed at people who actually enjoy the show!

Freddy says: May 5, 2009 @ 10:21 pm

I agree Nic.

Why do you work for a BB fansite and then constantly moan about the show, which a lot of people still like?

I can understand you moaning once or twice. But to do it all the time is extremely annoying.

It’s putting me off this website. I uised to love this website so much before, but I’m finding it extremely annoying to come on here and see all the negative views. You should at least try to balance it out with a more positive article. It wouldn’t be so difficult.

lanky says: May 5, 2009 @ 10:42 pm

Well, I completely agree with everything you said. It sucks that they’ve axed the live feed and I’m not particularly enthusiastic about Big Quiz.

And it’s easy to say “Why can’t you write about something more positive?”, but at the end of the day, this is an opinion section where the authors leave their thoughts.

The only big news we’ve had recently is the live feed axing, Big Mouth’s reduction and Big Quiz, all of which have been covered here. There’s not much else to comment on, and why would the authors of this site give positive opinions on things if they weren’t true to themselves?

Having said that, could you please do a feature where commenters and readers can email their views in and get them published on the site, or maybe consider letting more people become authors?

And by the way, I appreciate all the hard work and effort you guys put in - no amount of negative opinion posts will spoil that for me. Well done!

Matt (a different one!) says: May 5, 2009 @ 10:47 pm

This website is so depressing. I used to love it but I think this is my last ever visit. Its not good to hear all the time negative views and it just puts a downer on the build up. Big Brother gets taken way too seriously by internet folk.

I agree with the above posts, what is the point in running a site on a show all you do is complain about?

And Brekkie, it hasn’t been proven live feed reduces figures. That is just guesswork built on an awful Celeb BB that was rubbish regardless of live feed.

Brekkie says: May 6, 2009 @ 12:28 am

Just like the fact that every time Celeb BB loses viewers the subsequent main series loses viewers too - despite people trying to convince themselves they’re unconnected.

And thanks for the comments lanky. To those moaning about us ranting just think about this - what are we going to report in the summer? Yes, we can just rehash articles from the official site as they feed us crumbs of information and 60 second videos, but things like live updates for tasks and other events outside of the C4 shows just won’t be possible.

Virtually any blog on BB that I’d write at the moment would turn into a rant about C4, whether about the live feed, Big Mouth, the start date, the pre-season programmes, the lack of hype etc. etc.

Just remember last time BB was really under the threat of the axe - off the back of that we got BB5, a massive promo campaign and the knowledge for weeks ahead things would be different this summer. This year - nothing.

Martin says: May 6, 2009 @ 12:56 pm

It may be a negative article but its the truth, better to be realistic than completely naive and deluded like IBB are.

Freddy says: May 6, 2009 @ 1:33 pm

It’s not the truth Martin. It’s an opinion.

Both articles have their fair points. Yes, I agree that the lack of live feed is a huge disappointment for core fans (including myself).

But on the flip-side, the live streaming was not making any more for Channel 4 - in fact making a loss apparently. Channel 4 are a business, and in this economic climate, they can’t be losing money like that.

Now, some of you might argue that they could have saved money by cutting down on Davina’s wages or not had that BB quiz. But the fact of the matter is that the BB quiz show will probably make C4 more money through advertising than the live feed would ever make. In addition, Davina is an important part of Big Brother and she has taken a pay-cut for the main show.

There was a lack of demand for the live feed. I do appreciate that the live feed was BB’s Unique-Selling-Point. However, this USP service was not being used by many people.

It is far better for them to concentrate on the main series and try and make that matter, instead of trying to please a few thousand fans.

The vast majority of viewers couldn’t give a crap about the live feed. It’s the highlights show which is the most important thing.

Big Brother is no longer the social experiment it started out as. In fact, it hasn’t been that for a few years! Hence, the broadcaster and production company are adapting the show and they’ve made it into a more gameshow feel. The live feed is not as essential, if at all, compared to earlier series.

What BB Spy could at least do is not judge the series before it’s even started. Give it a chance at least, and then form your opinions of whether you like it or not.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that live feed streaming will not return. You can’t change that now. But move on, accept the decision, and try to enjoy the series. It’s good that the other website at least are being optimistic instead of putting a total downer on things and throwing toys out of their prams like this website.

Nothing personal against this website, but you could at least try to even out the amount of negative ‘Views’ articles with some positive ones. Even 1 positive article would suffice.

Brekkie says: May 6, 2009 @ 1:49 pm

It’s not about balancing things out - it’s about expressing an honest opinion, which people then have the chance to respond to and agree or disagree with - and although I don’t agree with you Freddy, that last post is one of the more rational pieces I’ve seen from the opposite point of view.

Joee says: May 6, 2009 @ 1:53 pm

I so agree with Freddy. That’s a brilliant post!

I’m sad that BB live feed has finished. BUT I think the producers can now spend more time and money on the actual series and make it a great one!

I didn’t watch live feed much, but I do understsand a lot of fans need it. BUT most people who watch BIG BROTHER ONLY watch highlights shows.

So Channel 4 are just making right decision on business-sense.

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JIVE says: May 10, 2009 @ 8:31 pm

No, the live feed has nothing to do with the actual concept of Big Brother and the only people moaning about it are the hardcore fans who had the time to watch the live feed anyway, I never did, it was usually boring. I can sympathize with those that enjoyed it but TOUGH, the show can still go on and as somebody above me said, they can use the surplus funds and make BB10 an even more exciting series.

BB10 RIP says: May 13, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

Nice try the CH4/Endemol Trolls trying to justify the live feed cut. Doesnt fly though.

As just one example regarding cost. Prehaps you can explain how every other BB edition worldwide pretty much can provide some form of live feed ( Even the likes of Albania ) for a fee or free yet they cant here ?

Its not cost related IMHO its all about wanting to control everything after problems like CBB5 and been able to distort the thruth about HMs when it suits the producers. Also mistakenly think that will get people to watch HL show as well. For hardcore fans opposite is likely as you can already see on Forums.

Merope says: May 13, 2009 @ 8:07 pm

I think the more important issue is to get more E4 coverage, not 24/7 livefeed. Coverage on E4 is restricted to 11.30 onwards, what is the point in that? Alot of people have work or have other commitments to look after.

We need some connection to the house at the important points in the day. E4 show repeats from 1.45 to 4.25 in the afternoon - why not use that? Or why not mix it up a bit and show some from 5pm-8pm, I don’t know - anything to keep that premise that so many love the show for.

Nolivefeed says: May 14, 2009 @ 7:50 pm

Channel 4 will pay when noone watches by week 2

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