[Jarrod]

2.6m According to Inside BB.

[JohnnyBB]

2.6 million viewers at its peak tuned in too watch the launch of big brother 12, now were out of celeb mode let the killing of the show begin

[Jake.]

[Iceman]

Do you have anything positive to say? Most people enjoyed the launch.

[Niamh.]

Don't be such a pessimist

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBB

2.6 million viewers at its peak tuned in too watch the launch of big brother 12, now were out of celeb mode let the killing of the show begin

[armand.kay]

I dont mind because it wasent realy like a launch it was a day after the finnal so im thinking of this searis and cbb as one big series od big brother !

[Jake.]

Shame as it derves much more last night was brilliant

[Black Dagger]

This... the minute the ratings go to about 1.3m then I think C5 will start panicking and improving for the January series.

It was a great launch, looks like a great set of HM's and I think the ratings will stick at about 2m (hopefully)

[joeysteele]

2.6 million is a good result, I feared down to 1.6 million could happen, in fact all but half a million have stayed with it for the launch. Good result to me.

Naturally would like to to be higher but that's hardly devastating or even really bad news.

[Jake.]

^^ agreed and i think that because it carried on a day after the celeb one it wasnt as big a deal as normal. I think that the ratings will stick

[Jarrod]

I've posted this. But it's a good result considering the series is back to back.

[CaudleHalbard]

Realistically BB12 was always going to be an anticlimax coming so soon after CBB8. Big mistake on C5's part. The should have left at least a fortnight's gap.

The lineup is pretty dire as well. I can see this series dipping below the million mark by the time we get to it's weary end!

[Tom4784]

It's to be expected, I don't think normal BB will survive after next year they'll cancel it and just keep the celeb version I think, although a million nightly would still be a triumph for C5.

[daniel-lewis-1985]

Ooh thats bad

[JohnnyBB]

ill tell you now im not even expecting it too stick in its millions at some point were gonna hit our 900k and it'll be a first! allright anything over million is blooody good considering its wasent a celeb episode.

[Shaun]

I don't think there was enough advertising - I'd imagine if you asked Joe Public about Big Brother right now they'd still think Jedward and Kerry were in there. Plus starting a series 1 day after the last one is a shocking decision in terms of trying to build a buzz.

[CaudleHalbard]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

It's to be expected, I don't think normal BB will survive after next year they'll cancel it and just keep the celeb version I think

I think you are right. We are watching 'normal' BB in its death throws! In a celeb conscious society we would rather watch even Z-listers than ordinary members of the public.

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

It's to be expected, I don't think normal BB will survive after next year they'll cancel it and just keep the celeb version I think, although a million nightly would still be a triumph for C5.

I am with you too on that one, in fact I think you may be spot on.

[MeMyselfAndI]

I loved the launch and ahwell.
I think it will always get over 1.5m. The episodes will be like between 1.5m-2m i think, which is still good .

[Vladimir]

It's a shame, because the launch was really good.

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

It's to be expected, I don't think normal BB will survive after next year they'll cancel it and just keep the celeb version I think, although a million nightly would still be a triumph for C5.

That's a disgrace if they were to do that - get rid of the original format and just have celebrities, they'd run out of British Celebrities.

That would actually be a joke if that were to happen though - Celebrity BB is merely a spin off, this is the real deal.

It's all down to them rushing it.

I would of prefered them to just leave Big Brother until next year, no January Series either.

Just start BB12 in June and end it in August.

Because CBB8 was fantastic and they could of just left it at that for this year, it ended on such a high note.

[Pronshi]

i just hope this year is like bb1 (ratings wise)
starts low and continues to rise and rise.
*fingers crossed*

really 2.6?
i find that hard to believe
however it did launch the day after CBB8 so what did u expect lol

[CaudleHalbard]

Fewer viewers is likely to lead to less voting and ultimately less advertising revenue. The latter is why ratings are so important. Endemol is already a loss-making operation. BB12 could be what digs its grave!

[Jarrod]

You lot think it was bad?

Big Brother came third in its slot between 9.30-10pm, with BBC1 and ITV1 tying at 4.0m viewers for Would I Lie To You? and Red or Black. In the 10pm hour Channel 5 was the second most popular channel, marginally behind BBC1 which had 2.8m during the hour.

Immediately before last night’s launch, Channel 5′s airing of Celebrity Big Brother: The Winner’s Story averaged 1.1m (4.6%) between 9pm and 9.30pm.

Big Brother managed to beat competition from Channel 4, with the former Big Brother broadcaster averaging only 1.4m (6%) for the Million Pound Drop Live. Big Brother also averaged more than BBC2 between 9.30-11pm, although BBC2 did sneak ahead for half an hour at 10pm with 3.2m (14%) for QI.

It beat Channel 4.