[Sticks]

This has been posted on the C4 Talk4 forum in the Big Brother thread


For the first two series of Big Brother, the live video feeds were provided free of charge on the web by third parties at no cost to Channel 4. The success of the show has meant that the cost of providing such a service has escalated to the extent that this year this was not an option. Without partners, Channel 4 cannot afford to offer live streaming of Big Brother 3 on the internet free of charge.

Viewers will be able to access free live streaming for the first two weeks following sign-up to the live web service and will also get free live streaming on Channel 4 on Friday and Saturday nights.

We are sorry if our decision to charge for live web streaming has disappointed viewers. But having recently posted our first annual loss in a decade, we must ensure we can continue to pay for all the other valued programmes and services provided by the main Channel 4 service at no cost to viewers.