[JohnnyBB]

Channel 5 has fought off interest from rival broadcasters to renew its deal to air Big Brother and its celebrity spin-off.

The broadcaster, which is close to being acquired by Viacom in a £450m deal, is set to strike a deal with Endemol to extend its rights to the entertainment format.

Director of programmes Ben Frow, speaking at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, said that he planned to renew the agreement, which is understood to expire at the end of the year.

This comes despite interest from ITV, which was reported to be looking at the international hit format for its female skewing network ITVBe earlier this year.

The former TV3 programme boss added that he would commission comedy for the channel for the first time in many years.

He said that it would potentially work with future sister-channel Comedy Central on shows.

“Comedy is something that we need to get our teeth into,” he said. “Channel 5 should be evolving and trying new things.”

Frow added that he would limit the number of benefits-themed shows going forward following recent C5 shows including Benefits Britain and forthcoming doc Gypsies On Benefits & Proud.


The channel’s relationship with GroupM Entertainment is also likely to continue. Frow said that working with the content arm of the advertising agency gave him an “additional budget” and that it allowed him to save cash for shows that would not work for GME.

“It does help me to manage the money,” he said. ​

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