Hello there,
I would just like to express my views to you on the upcoming series of Big Brother this Summer, firstly I'm personally delighted that you have replaced Jeff Ford as director of programming on Channel 5 - as a long term Big Brother fan, I felt that he didn't connect with the core fan base the show has and lead to very poor leadership and production when it came to overseeing the franchise as a whole since it's move to the channel in 2011.
I'm eager to express my interest to you, on behalf of thousands upon thousands of Big Brother fans across the country - to seriously consider taking the show back to it's roots. I understand wholeheartedly that you (along with the production team of Big Brother) need to ensure that shows stay modern and up to date - but stripping it of vital components such as, the live streaming, isn't the right way to go about achieving high viewing figures when it comes to television ratings.
There is nothing more disappointing for us fans, than to see our favourite show perform poorly in the ratings, and this could simply change with the re-installation of live streaming. (Whether that be through online feeds or a red button option)
Jeff Ford had previously made the statement numerous times that live feed for Big Brother was 'unnecessary' in these times, as fans are more interested in the 'social media' aspect of the show.
I can tell you from a fan's perspective, and a long standing member of several Big Brother fan groups from the show begun, this is not the case - people are more interested in watching the housemates, rather than reading what they are doing on Twitter or Facebook.
Statistics prove everything aswell. The 10th series of Big Brother on Channel 4, pulled in a series average of 2.5m viewers, which at the time was the lowest in the show's history.
Without a doubt, the one and only factor to the ratings falling in 2009, was because Channel 4 decided to axe the live streaming, by 2010 - they had realised their vital mistake, and reinstalled the live streaming, and by the end of that Summer, the 11th series of Big Brother averaged at 3.2m viewers, this is no coincidence.
If you want to create a successful Big Brother series, there are alot of different factors that must be addressed - however, the most important, is the live feed.
So I ask you, once again on behalf of all Big Brother fans - please reconsider the importance of a live streaming for the 14th series of Big Brother.
Thanks for your time, hopefully I hear back from you in due course.
- Patrick
