[Beetlejuice]

I remember him saying they could have done the live feed but decided to spend the money on twitter and facebook because people had "moved on from watching people sleeping"

[GLENN BILL BB7]

Would everyone prefer BB if there was no nominations and everyone was just up every week but I think that would be too boring?

[Marsh.]

Another article in the run up the first January C5 CBB

Channel 5 is bringing back a limited amount of live feed for the new series of Celebrity Big Brother.

The reality show, which is based around the concept of 24-hour surveillance, did not feature any live feed during its first series on the network.

Despite protests from fans of the programme, Channel 5's controller Jeff Ford gave reasons including cost and a lack of significant interest from viewers as an explanation for the resource's axing. The broadcaster opted instead to focus more finances on social networking elements such as Facebook and Twitter pages.

No viewers. Waste of money.

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by GLENN BILL BB7

Would everyone prefer BB if there was no nominations and everyone was just up every week but I think that would be too boring?

Like I'm A Celeb?
It would be more of a popularity contest, that way.

But nominations is fundamental.

[Beetlejuice]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Anyway, found something...



http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s149/...pfV4cDhb6rNzOZ

Axed because of low figures, low figures means waste of cash so the money was placed elsewhere.

Pretty much the obvious.

No one denies less people watch it now. The point is can you keep the viewers you still have without it... And they are now losing them each year. And the complaint is the same every year. And Jeff Ford stated clearly they could have done the live feed but chose instead to put the money into things that have not worked.

And there is no reason it cannot be put on the website. FFS they give housemates in secret rooms a chance to watch it every bloody year. It's not as if there isn't a 24/7 feed going all the time.

And the benefit to the website it could bring could help with costs and possibly lead to a lot more people visiting the site.

[ThriceShy]

How about nominations for who they want to save and then the rest go up for the public vote.

I think that would be an interesting slant on it.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Beetlejuice

No one denies less people watch it now. The point is can you keep the viewers you still have without it... And they are now losing them each year.

Uh....

1) I provided those links because you said Jeff Ford said cost WASN'T the issue. Those articles quite clearly state it was the issue. It wasn't worth the money with no one watching it.

2) Of course they can keep hold of viewers without it, they've done it before. The entire show being bollocks is pushing the viewers away, not simply a lack of live feed, which when provided has shown doesn't attract many viewers at all.

And there is no reason it cannot be put on the website. FFS they give housemates in secret rooms a chance to watch it every bloody year. It's not as if there isn't a 24/7 feed going all the time.

Well unless you actually work for them at Elstree or are involved in commissioning at channel 5 then this doesn't really add much.
The housemates watching a screen in a secret room is not the same as broadcasting live footage over television or the internet.

Not to mention the feed for the housemates in a secret room does not require all of the filtering/monitoring/costs that a public feed would require. They don't just click a button and that's it forever.

[Jason.]

The reason why viewers are decreasing every year, particularly in the last two years is because of the decrease in quality of the show. The production is to blame for that.

BB14, despite being the highest rated civilian series has ironically damaged Big Brother, as it's pretty much set the stone for every future series that has come.

BB15 came along a year later, and set the stone for the last 2 CBB's as well.

[GLENN BILL BB7]

Originally Posted by BB6

Like I'm A Celeb?
It would be more of a popularity contest, that way.

But nominations is fundamental.

Yea it wouldn't be interesting as its a big part of the show.

They need it nowadays to constantly **** stir!

Also your spoiler always makes me LOL

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by GLENN BILL BB7

Yea it wouldn't be interesting as its a big part of the show.

They need it nowadays to constantly **** stir!

Also your spoiler always makes me LOL

Glad you noticed.

I had it as my sig, but the buzz kill mods made me resize it.

[Rob!]

Resizing Wolfy is between her and laws of physics

[Jay_Roberts441]

Would a mix of BBUK and BBCAN/BBUS formats work for BB16?

Say we (the public) vote for the 3 housemates to face an Immunity challenge and let the housemates decide on who is evicted out of the 2 that are left.

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by ThriceShy

How about nominations for who they want to save and then the rest go up for the public vote.

I think that would be an interesting slant on it.

They had something like that in BB6, where they nominated to save during a week. I think it was Kemal vs. Orlaith week.

Surprised they've never done that nowadays, considering all the nomination twists we get.

But knowing the current production, they'll completely mess with it, and butcher the whole purpose of it.

[Beetlejuice]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Uh....

1) I provided those links because you said Jeff Ford said cost WASN'T the issue. Those articles quite clearly state it was the issue. It wasn't worth the money with no one watching it.

People were watching it. Just less. But then less people would be watching it when you have less viewers in general. Ford clearly stated they could have done it but chose instead to put money into other things. Those other things failed miserably. And the lack of the live coverage has left fans disappointed with the show ever since and they have struggled to get involved in it.

2) Of course they can keep hold of viewers without it, they've done it before.

No, they haven't. The viewing figures have been going down every year with the one exception of BB14. The series with the extra coverage.

The entire show being bollocks is pushing the viewers away, not simply a lack of live feed, which when provided has shown doesn't attract many viewers at all.

And I must repeat the same argument again to you... The pointless twists, the desperate stunts, the reliance this year on past housemates. All the things that make the show bollocks comes from one simple problem... No one can get to know the housemates anymore and the show lacks all of the immediacy it once had. As a result they feel they have to constantly interfere with it to a point that is offputting.

[Beetlejuice]

Originally Posted by Jay_Roberts441

Would a mix of BBUK and BBCAN/BBUS formats work for BB16?

Yes, they have the live coverage.

[Marsh.]

The viewing figures have been going down every year

As they did on channel 4 with live feed. Tends to happen with shows, they decline in viewership.


Not to mention the feed for the housemates in a secret room does not require all of the filtering/monitoring/costs that a public feed would require. They don't just click a button and that's it forever.

Live feed does not get enough viewers to justify the cost.
BB14 had higher viewers but still nowhere near a justifiable rating for the live feed to be cost efficient or anywhere near the reason for an increase in ratings.
The ratings increase wasn't significant in anyway, it's tiny.

That's the last thing I'll say now as we're going in circles.

[GLENN BILL BB7]

Originally Posted by BB6

They had something like that in BB6, where they nominated to save during a week. I think it was Kemal vs. Orlaith week.

Surprised they've never done that nowadays, considering all the nomination twists we get.

But knowing the current production, they'll completely mess with it, and butcher the whole purpose of it.

Yea they should do this again for a change, I remember Makosi was being sneaky and didn't pick 'Her Best friend in the house' Kemal.

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by Beetlejuice

No, they haven't. The viewing figures have been going down every year with the one exception of BB14. The series with the extra coverage.

Incorrect.

BB12 averaged 1.55m, then BB13 came along and averaged 1.64m. That's a slight increase. Despite, the Olympics slashing the ratings.

BB13 would've done better than BB14, had the Olympics, and the fact that only 3 people watched Caroline's eviction not ruined it.

BB14 then averaged 1.9m. Which is another increase.
BB15 averaged 1.57m. A 0.3m decrease, but still higher than BB12. And a reasonable rating.

It's this year that the ratings are seriously plummeting, to the low end of 1m. And are not on par with the loyal 1.6m audience that were present in 2011-2014.

[ThriceShy]

You keep talking about live feed allowing us to get to know and care about the housemates, which is true, but why would we bother investing the time to do that when the production team can just pull a stunt like 4in4out and get rid of people that haven't even been nominated?

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by BB6

Incorrect.

BB12 averaged 1.55m, then BB13 came along and averaged 1.64m. That's a slight increase. Despite, the Olympics slashing the ratings.

BB13 would've done better than BB14, had the Olympics, and the fact that only 3 people watched Caroline's eviction not ruined it.

BB14 then averaged 1.9m. Which is another increase.
BB15 averaged 1.57m. A 0.3m decrease, but still higher than BB12. And a reasonable rating.

It's this year that the ratings are seriously plummeting, to the low end of 1m.

Interesting.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by ThriceShy

You keep talking about live feed allowing us to get to know and care about the housemates, which is true, but why would we bother investing the time to do that when the production team can just pull a stunt like 4in4out and get rid of people that haven't even been nominated?

Exactly. There's more pressing (and much less costly) problems with the show.

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by BB6

Incorrect.

BB12 averaged 1.55m, then BB13 came along and averaged 1.64m. That's a slight increase. Despite, the Olympics slashing the ratings.

BB13 would've done better than BB14, had the Olympics, and the fact that only 3 people watched Caroline's eviction not ruined it.

BB14 then averaged 1.9m. Which is another increase.
BB15 averaged 1.57m. A 0.3m decrease, but still higher than BB12. And a reasonable rating.

It's this year that the ratings are seriously plummeting, to the low end of 1m. And are not on par with the loyal 1.6m audience that were present in 2011-2014.

My point is that live feed is not the reason why the ratings are low.

After BB14, the ratings have declined. And rightly so too, as that format involving heavy twists and manipulation is what has tampered with the show.
BB15 did it much worse than BB14 did, and look how that turned out.

They've done even worse this year with 4in4out, and the fact that the extremely heavy use of manipulation the year before, has put people off.

[Beetlejuice]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Not to mention the feed for the housemates in a secret room does not require all of the filtering/monitoring/costs that a public feed would require. They don't just click a button and that's it forever.

Internet feed would require less regulation. And how bloody hard can it be to get a couple of people who know what they're doing to push a button when need be?

Live feed does not get enough viewers to justify the cost.

You keep saying this but (1) you have no idea how many viewers it gets (something that would be impossible to measure with the 24/7 feed anyway) and (2) you have no idea what the cost actually is. Another problem (3) is that there is the cost of not having it and the lack of immediacy and interest hardcore fans now feel as a result which ultimately damages the viability of the product as a whole.

BB14 had higher viewers but still nowhere near a justifiable rating for the live feed to be cost efficient or anywhere near the reason for an increase in ratings.

This is pure speculation on your part as you have no idea how much it costs nor can any of us know exactly what the reason for the ratings increase was. Furthermore, there are ways of cutting costs with other things to pay for the feed, and if need be you could have a subscription charge. Only this time, unlike with BB11, create a website and fill it with features that actually justify any charge.

The ratings increase wasn't significant in anyway, it's tiny.

It's significant by the standards of Channel 5.

That's the last thing I'll say now as we're going in circles.

We are, but it's clear that the vast majority of the complaints on forums, fan sites and on twitter are to do with the live feed the lack of which harms the show considerably regardless of how many viewing figures it gets at any particular time. A great website with that at the heart of it would help the show, it would get more people visiting the site, and it would earn them the good will of those who continue to watch but who had been ready to give up on it. Which I'm sure they will if next year carries on the same as before (if there even is a next year)

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Beetlejuice

Internet feed would require less regulation. And how bloody hard can it be to get a couple of people who know what they're doing to push a button when need be?

Because SHOCK HORROR, it requires more than pushing a button.

If only life was simple.

You keep saying this but (1) you have no idea how many viewers it gets (something that would be impossible to measure with the 24/7 feed anyway) and (2) you have no idea what the cost actually is. Another problem (3) is that there is the cost of not having it and the lack of immediacy and interest hardcore fans now feel as a result which ultimately damages the viability of the product as a whole.

Again, I don't need to know the cost or the viewers. The fact it was axed due to low figures tells me that. Why else was it not reinstated? As Jeff Ford said they felt the money would be better spent elsewhere as the viewers just weren't interested in live feed anymore.

You and a few others still being passionate about it doesn't change that fact.

but it's clear that the vast majority of the complaints on forums, fan sites and on twitter are to do with the live feed the lack of which harms the show considerably regardless of how many viewing figures it gets at any particular time.

Yes and, unfortunately, not enough of them are interested when it comes to live feed on the website. Thus it was axed.

[Beetlejuice]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Because SHOCK HORROR, it requires more than pushing a button.

It doesn't. You have the thing on a delay (30 minutes if need be) and you silence any problematic stuff. If it was any more problematic than that why would so many other countries have the live coverage including multiple feeds in some cases. All you need is one or two people who understand the legal issues and one person who knows how to cut anything that needs to be cut out.

Again, I don't need to know the cost or the viewers.

Yes, you do. If you're going to make a convincing case.

The fact it was axed due to low figures tells me that. Why else was it not reinstated? As Jeff Ford said they felt the money would be better spent elsewhere as the viewers just weren't interested in live feed anymore.

Yes and he proved himself an idiot on that. Jeff Ford consistently showed himself to not understand the show and what was most important to it. He believed the money was better spent on the twitter updates and facebook. That tells you everything you need to know about the fool.

You and a few others still being passionate about it doesn't change that fact.

It's the only thing people have complained about since it moved to Channel 5. So it's not just a few of us.

Yes and, unfortunately, not enough of them are interested when it comes to live feed on the website. Thus it was axed.

The 24/7 coverage has never been tried on the website. It had 2 hours at 7 pm on Channel 5 against soaps and it had 2 hours at midnight. The fact is with a 24/7 feed anyone who visits the site would be watching it at some point during the day and in doing so getting more involved with the characters and the show. As Phil Edgar Jones stated "I wonder if we'd had the live feed in there, would more people have got connected and passionate about it."

It is also important from a trust point of view. As the exec producer of BB Canada correctly pointed out... The Live feeds keep the show honest. And if any version of Big Brother has lost the trust of the viewers it must be this one.