[michael21]

it will still be 13 weeks of bb with the cleb bb 10 week is OK with me there a lot happen this year any way

[michael21]

this is what need to be confirm start date/time live feed yes/no

[michael21]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...?newsfeed=true

Channel 5 to air extra Celebrity Big Brother series
Broadcaster strikes deal with Endemol for second CBB outing this year

Richard Desmond's Channel 5 has struck a deal to screen an extra series of Celebrity Big Brother this year and secured a six-year contract to continue broadcasting highlights of England's home cricket Test matches.

Channel 5 struck a £40m two-year deal with Big Brother maker Endemol in 2011, taking over the franchise after a decade on Channel 4.

The deal included one series each of Celebrity Big Brother and the non-celebrity version each year.

Channel 5 aired its second series of CBB earlier this year and the current contract is due to expire following the return of Big Brother in the summer.

However, a new deal has been struck to secure one more CBB that will be aired in late summer. This will be achieved by shortening Big Brother from 14 weeks to 10 weeks three days, in order to carve out an extra run of the celebrity version. It is not clear whether Channel 5 will pay Endemol extra money for this.

Big Brother is a ratings banker for Channel 5, as it was previously for Channel 4, pulling in an audience of about 2 million viewers a night.

After a bumper TV ad sales year in 2011 thanks to the return of advertisers who had stopped using Channel 5, the broadcaster needs to maintain viewing levels across 2012 to fulfill its airtime deals with media buying agencies.

In addition the broadcaster is facing rivals delivering large audiences thanks to events such as the European football championships this summer.

Channel 5 has also struck a deal to renew its broadcast deal with the England & Wales Cricket Board.

The deal sees Channel 5 secure the exclusive TV rights to air highlights of all international home matches, including Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 games until 2017. This will include two Ashes clashes with Australia.

"Channel 5 is changing," said the Channel 5 commercial sales director, Nick Bampton. "Our new content and commercial strategies are paying off. And as we've demonstrated today, there's lots more to come."

4 week 3 days of cleb bb