Red Moon
03-01-2009, 09:26 AM
BB FANS' BOYCOTT THREATCELEBRITY Big Brother fans have threatened to switch off the new series because they think it is going to be one big cover-up.
The public reacted furiously after it was discovered Channel 4 bosses have decided to cut live streaming from the house.
There will be no “red button” facility, which would have allowed viewers to watch stars including Lucy Pinder, 25, on digital station E4 24 hours a day.
Instead, there is only a reduced service showing a few hours a day from the BB house.
Furious fans think TV chiefs have pulled the plug on the live feed to hush up any bullying rows like the clashes that dogged the last series.
Back in 2007, Jade Goody, 27, and 33-year-old actress Shilpa Shetty clashed in the spy house, sparking a record 45,000 complaints.
This series, viewers will only get to see live feed on E4 from 2pm until 4.30pm every day. It will return from around 11.30pm until 6am – when the celebs are usually sleeping.
The move has sparked a storm of protest, with fans threatening to boycott the show, either by refusing to vote for evictions or even not tuning it at all.
One fan raged: “Channel 4 are taking the mickey. The whole point of Big Brother is that it’s a reality show and we should be allowed to watch what’s going on.
“All we’ll get is a watered-down version of what they want us to see.
“Channel 4 just want control to stop anything controversial getting out and to avoid more backlash. We will miss loads of action now.”
Last night a Channel 4 spokeswoman denied a cover-up, saying: “Last summer we found that rather than watching live streaming on red button, viewers much preferred watching bite-size video clips from that day’s action. During the series, there were almost 19million clips viewed – a 58% increase.
“And we will be showing all the other great shows that make up the Celebrity Big Brother experience, including seven nights of CBB programming and Big Brother’s Little Brother, Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Diary Room Uncut.”
A senior Big Brother source last night claimed that the decision to axe the live feed was based on money rather than trying to cover up any rows.
He said: “The truth is that ratings for the live feed are very low.
“The cost of editing the footage and putting it through our legal department before it runs on air 24/7 is phenomenal.
“So this year it was decided to heavily reduce the live feed and instead put more short clips on the web throughout the day.”
Source:Daily Star (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/64231/BB-FANS-BOYCOTT-THREAT-/)
The public reacted furiously after it was discovered Channel 4 bosses have decided to cut live streaming from the house.
There will be no “red button” facility, which would have allowed viewers to watch stars including Lucy Pinder, 25, on digital station E4 24 hours a day.
Instead, there is only a reduced service showing a few hours a day from the BB house.
Furious fans think TV chiefs have pulled the plug on the live feed to hush up any bullying rows like the clashes that dogged the last series.
Back in 2007, Jade Goody, 27, and 33-year-old actress Shilpa Shetty clashed in the spy house, sparking a record 45,000 complaints.
This series, viewers will only get to see live feed on E4 from 2pm until 4.30pm every day. It will return from around 11.30pm until 6am – when the celebs are usually sleeping.
The move has sparked a storm of protest, with fans threatening to boycott the show, either by refusing to vote for evictions or even not tuning it at all.
One fan raged: “Channel 4 are taking the mickey. The whole point of Big Brother is that it’s a reality show and we should be allowed to watch what’s going on.
“All we’ll get is a watered-down version of what they want us to see.
“Channel 4 just want control to stop anything controversial getting out and to avoid more backlash. We will miss loads of action now.”
Last night a Channel 4 spokeswoman denied a cover-up, saying: “Last summer we found that rather than watching live streaming on red button, viewers much preferred watching bite-size video clips from that day’s action. During the series, there were almost 19million clips viewed – a 58% increase.
“And we will be showing all the other great shows that make up the Celebrity Big Brother experience, including seven nights of CBB programming and Big Brother’s Little Brother, Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Diary Room Uncut.”
A senior Big Brother source last night claimed that the decision to axe the live feed was based on money rather than trying to cover up any rows.
He said: “The truth is that ratings for the live feed are very low.
“The cost of editing the footage and putting it through our legal department before it runs on air 24/7 is phenomenal.
“So this year it was decided to heavily reduce the live feed and instead put more short clips on the web throughout the day.”
Source:Daily Star (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/64231/BB-FANS-BOYCOTT-THREAT-/)