I know there're plenty of other factors blamed for Big Brother (in the UK)'s sudden decline:
- The sheer fact it's not a new phenomenon any more
- The racism row
- The predictability of certain housemates
But I'm wondering if the shift from television to online viewing is partly to blame. I'm not speaking for everyone but personally I became much more active in watching television on the internet around 2008/2009, which will have been BB9/10. I read earlier that the ratings for last night's highlights show were 870,000. I find that with the world's viewing literally at my fingertips the necessity to watch every night has dissipated somewhat.
Whereas with series like BB3, 4 and 5, at the time, I was glued to my television because the ability to download or stream whole seasons of shows was still in its infancy.
And I don't wish to diss TiBB at all
but I think I enjoyed Big Brother more before I joined here... maybe it's just the scrutiny of everything we get up to