Is TIBB following the national trend
 

According to al lot of other sites, the post traffic is way down on last year. FM's seem to be constant but the post tally and involvement regarding topical issues seem to be on the dip. This generally is a good indication of the lack of interest in the series and the correlation between viewing figures and post tallies on forums are indicative of a good or bad series.

I thought it was a little quiet in here as it is on DS, but I didn't realise everyone was reporting lower foot traffic figures. Can anyone tell us if TIBB is busier or down on last year. I would like to think we are holding our own but we seem to be missing a few avid posters this year.

I am trying hard to drum up interest, but my posts must be boring as they just seem to slip away into the read and ignored category, as a lot of others seem to be doing. Daniel, if you are still out there, do you have any stats mate.

Hi Sam, I know what you mean I was so looking forward to this year but it's been such a disappointment, they're just all so unlikable :(

I'm the opposite at the moment this is my favourite civilian c5 series but not a patch on the c4 series c5 should stick to cbb much better at casting that

I'm loving it as well. It's a great mix of personalities and i love that some housemates true colours are starting to come out. Aaron anyone? ;)

I am enjoying it. For me it is a refreshing change to not have to watch housemates continually yelling at each other. Last year was just too many arguments however I seem to be in the minority as this seems to be what people want to watch now.

I also think that they have started it too early this year. A lot of people in BB's age demographic are in the middle of GCSE's and A levels and are probably too busy to invest in it at the moment.

Yes, it's nice to see them have fun for a change. I like the arguments, but i also want to see them enjoying themselves.

I think it is a BB designed to appeal to a certain age range more than previous Big Brothers. Viewing figures/advertising revenues will decide if that was the correct strategy, because even if the viewership is down overall, its likely to be much more targeted toward a demographic and hence more valuable.

The show used to have immediate impact because of the feed. Everyone was talking about what happened as it happened on forums (and these days they would be on twitter). Now though the response to anything that happens sometimes comes 24 hours later (as with the face to face noms) and it dies down very quickly after. There's no excitement, no spontaneity, everything is micromanaged to within an inch of its life. It's dreary and dull and keeps viewers at a distance. Trust has been lost and viewers just can't be bothered. Especially when they have to rely on desperate twist after desperate twist to contrive drama so as to maintain an audience.

This why TIBB and especially DS are so quiet. Where people used to be discussing everything that was going on in the house as it happened, the few who remain on the forums are now discussing the poor ratings and whether or not the lack of the live feed is the problem.

The majority of Big Brother viewers have always been older. They're silly to forget that.

Aside from sites Big Brother related. I've found that forums as a whole have been on a steady decline in members and discussions over the past few years. I don't think Big Brother itself is to blame really, forums do generally seem to be more out of date these days with the rise in social media and apps that offer people other ways to communicate with friends and online friends and strangers.

But Big Brother related it does seem quieter than usual. Given the amount of manipulation the last few series of CBB and Big Brother have had it seems like a lot of fans have lost interest, and I don't blame them. I've struggled for years with C5's series to keep hooked on to a series and dedicate myself to a forum like this during on season.

It's just not the show it once was, they keep removing audience participation (and yes live feed is a part of that) and it's becoming more and more obvious it's a fabricated show that is controlled by the shows producers, not the viewers. The original concept of viewers deciding how the show works, watching live feed as they please to form opinions, watching highlights that are non-biased and a true picture seems to be out the window, and I think those are fundamentals that C5 have removed which has resulted in viewing figures dropping and fans losing interest.

How is Big Brother (by which we mean the producers) not to blame? The forums were busy because there was more to respond to throughout the day. It's perfectly obvious why that was and why it no longer is.

Exactly. They have kept the viewers at a distance and in many cases driven them away. A peculiar thing to do when you're running an interactive show.

You are basing that opinion on how BB was in the "good old days". The only thing that is the same as the early Big Brothers is the name.

Digital Spy has more then Big Brother so its holds up in other areas as people choose to post in them instead, Not really sure if a forum for one programme would work now as I think they will just die off :)

BB will always have an older audience regardless of whether they try to get a younger audience or not. Why did Aaron win BB12 by such a distance? Because he appealed to older women who tend to decide these things.

Digital Spy is a good site. But the BB forum is a travesty compared to what it used to be. It pretty much became the official BB forum with producers like Phil Edgar Jones actually posting on it.

I think if producers analysed those that cannot connect with BB this year and have switched off, it will be directly related to age range. That is a concious decision made by the producers, and no amount of shouting and throwing toys out of the pram is going to change it.

I have watched every episode of BB since it began, I just cannot force myself to watch it now. That is not a mistake on the producers part, it is by design.

I don't think the producers have analysed anything other than the low ratings and have no idea what to do about it other than the usual outside interference, meddling with nominations and desperate attempts to contrive drama.

No one is shouting or throwing their toys out of the pram. They are pointing out what is wrong with the show with well reasoned arguments.


You're not the only one not watching it. And the reason for that is because the show is crap.

Because from personal experience of being a member on multiple forums across a range of subjects (from Big Brother, to photography, to theme parks etc..) forums do tend to be far quieter than they were 2 or so years ago. In that respect the producers are not to blame for an old craze of joining forums to discuss and debate subjects starting to die out. I've found that generally forums now consist more of older people and younger people tend to not be attracted to websites where you talk, debate and meet new people.

This is all for a different topic though since this thread is more about Big Brother.

Yes, but it's perfectly obvious that the reason BB isn't being discussed on forums like Digital Spy like it used to be is because there is nothing to discuss. When we don't find out what has happened until 24 hours after events, what is the point in discussing them? Years ago, every little thing was discussed throughout the day.

No doubt a decline would happen anyway, but it is shocking how dead the forums now are. A very unhealthy sign for what is meant to be an interactive show.

I'm loving this series, I do think there has been decline in people using forums across the board(including non BB sites) I think is just the rise in people using. social media sites ie Twitter/FB & such like.

As for me personally I have been on this forum in the last week more than was on for the same time period as last year, the reason being is, I think the the HM's are more likable this year ....IMHO.

I do think it all depends on what type of HM's you like to watch & who you can relate to in your own life's, another thing it could be is people just seem to more busy life's now & dont have the time to use forums.

But no one is discussing it on twitter. A piece of social media that would lend itself so well to a 24/7 feed

Have to agree with this the lack of LF is definitely is had effect on the lack of interest aswell on the show.

I have to say I'm finding it hard to get into this series. Not sure what it is, there isn't a lot of funny moments in fact there doesn't seem to be much happening really

As I have been trying to point out, comparing modern day BB to those in the years it began is a mistake because it is not the same show.

X Factor, the Voice, Strictly come dancing etc etc etc are all interactive shows that are successful and don't have live feed.

Those that can't identify with modern day BB are not within the producers target demographic. It's really that simple. The producers have not made errors, they have made decisions that have taken the program in a particular direction. That is by design, I don't understand why people don't get that :laugh:

Every viewer votes with their remote control channel changer, but don't automatically assume that a reduction in viewing figures reflects an error of judgement by the producers. All it reflects is more specific targeting of their desired demographic.

We all know that. It's a far worse show now.

The Channel 5 Big Brother is still more comparable to the Big Brother of old than it has ever been to any of those shows you've mentioned here. Those shows are talent show competitions based on singing/dancing, not on the drama that unfolds inside the house (which the live feed is essential for keeping up with). And actually, some of those programmes are running out of steam because of silly changes that have been made (the micro-management of X Factor is especially off putting).


The target demographic they want has always been there, along with other demographics. Hence the viewing figures being anywhere between 4 and 6 million. Who do you think made up all those people? Certainly a lot more young people than today.

... Who are not watching to the same degree that they used to. The design has failed on its own terms if indeed that was the design.

Personally I strongly believe that the live feed takes the running order out of the hands of the producers. They like to control the edits and storylines to run the program their way and this has manifested itself in a degree of mistrust in the show. Viewers and fans alike simply don't like to be led by the nose a force fed our daily dose of manipulated drama, we would all rather see it develop and explode the way it should, devoid of clever edits. The live feed gives us that and takes away the control from the CH5 numpties that think they can manufacture a beter show by doing their thing.

Sadly they just are not up to the job and people are not stupid, they wont support a scam and have walked away. IAC survives untouched because we trust anything Ant and Dec put their hands to but when Rylan and Emma are involved, the trust factor just isn't there due to their past record of biased opinions and bad editing support.

BB needs a strong hand at the helm and Bots needs to be run professionally as a fan run show, not as a spin off to the main show supporting their rather transparent false edits and manufactured ideas, what next, canned laughter.