[Rob!]

I am really not as fussed about the live feed as I should be. I think the fact that the main show doesn't even get that many viewers anymore tells it's own story. Even if they brought back a 24hr feed I doubt the viewers would come flocking back.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Jordan.

No shade but I'm surprised you aren't in favour of the producers having full editorial control considering they use it in favour of their chosen 'entertaining' characters.

No, it's a fair point and one I don't disagree with. The problem is with their inconsistency. Do I like it when they rig and manipulate the show to protect the entertaining housemates because the public can't be trusted? Yes, of course. Do I like it when they try and cover things up like people leaving the house for photoshoots, rehearsals, task teams going in and directing the housemates? No.

And I certainly don't like things like ****inafreezer gate being covered up either, and not really because I think it protects Jay, moreso because dare I say it would've been ****ing hilarious television?

The way I see it is this. If all we have to go off is their edit, then fine, that's what people should be judging off and if they decide to manipulate things along the way, then so long as it's for the benefit of the series I don't mind. But I would most definitely prefer to have live feed at our disposal given the choice because it makes the show more honest, more interesting and more reactive. BBUK at the minute is almost akin to your run-of-the-mill trashy MTV reality show. I enjoy it for what it is - a bog standard show which runs 48 minutes a night, but not nearly as much as far superior versions of the show like in Canada where they understand what Big Brother actually is and care about its fans. That I can get far more invested in.

[Samm]

Originally Posted by Jack_

It has absolutely nothing to do with ratings or cost, and people need to stop swallowing their bull****.

It has everything to do with editorial control, which they would lose if they provided a 24/7 feed. I didn't and don't expect it to return ever again, and whilst I think it desperately should, I past the point of caring a long time ago. What I could do without though is their lies which really are just insulting.

Why would they increase it for CBB then? I cba to find the thread but I think it was last year, someone sent an email to them and they replied saying it's because of the lack of interest which is true, a few hardcore fans watching it won't keep the money flowing.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Samm

Why would they increase it for CBB then? I cba to find the thread but I think it was last year, someone sent an email to them and they replied saying it's because of the lack of interest which is true, a few hardcore fans watching it won't keep the money flowing.

Because C5 are obsessed with Celebrity Big Brother. They have been since they acquired the show (it's well documented they never wanted the civilian version in the first place). I really don't know why people still can't see this when the signs have always been there. More promotion, more live feed, earlier scheduling, two series a year, series extensions, the list goes on.

Yes CBB is more popular now but that's only because that's what they deliberately set out to do, and it's why I find it so disheartening when long-term fans now say they prefer it too.

It has nothing to do with money. They are currently building the biggest extension to the Elstree house in its entire history! Of course money is not the issue. It is all about editorial control, they don't want to give it up.

[Jake.]

I agree with you to an extent but why would they give up more editorial control for CBB? CBB is where the money is now & it gets twice the amount of viewers as regular BB, with or without nightly live feed. They can edit CBB as much as they wish and people will still watch and vote.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Jake.

I agree with you to an extent but why would they give up more editorial control for CBB? CBB is where the money is now & it gets twice the amount of viewers as regular BB, with or without nightly live feed. They can edit CBB as much as they wish and people will still watch and vote.

I don't think providing an hour of live feed a night is giving up editorial control. It's still shambolic, my point is that they scrimp on the civilian feeds cause they cba to provide them and don't give a **** about it quite frankly, whereas for CBB it's their prize possession so the more they can milk it in the nightly schedule (without going the whole distance and providing a 24/7 feed) the better.

Plus as I said, the feed increases discussion and attention and thus only promotes CBB more. By giving viewers the extra feed for CBB and as such more content, is it any wonder they prefer it to the civilian version? All of it is deliberate and it always has been, they eventually just want to run two or God forbid three CBB's and forget the civilian version. It's always been the plan, and to be quite honest we may only be a year or so away from it coming to fruition. The fact that a lot of fans are complacent and falling into their trap isn't helping matters either.

[jonnyblack]

Tbh I think I might be done with BB now, if this turns out to be true. If they hadn't included that obvious sound bite in the advert I wouldn't be saying this, but it's the unnecessary trolling of fans that kept the series alive (and the production in employment!) for 16 years that's just a slap in the face. If live feed was never on the cards, don't bite the hand that feeds you! It's just unnecessary...

[RichardG]

Originally Posted by jonnyblack

Tbh I think I might be done with BB now, if this turns out to be true. If they hadn't included that obvious sound bite in the advert I wouldn't be saying this, but it's the unnecessary trolling of fans that kept the series alive (and the production in employment!) for 16 years that's just a slap in the face. If live feed was never on the cards, don't bite the hand that feeds you! It's just unnecessary...

I'd say it's much more likely that it was just an unfortunate coincidence that the whisper sounded like it was saying something about live feed as opposed to an intentional trolling of the fans...

[Jason.]

Meh, I've come to terms with the fact that we're never going to get live feed for BB again. It's been that way for 5 years so no point complaining now. And plus if it's another BB15/16 (which it will most likely be) then I really wouldn't want to watch any more than an hour per night tbh.

[jonnyblack]

Originally Posted by RichardG

I'd say it's much more likely that it was just an unfortunate coincidence that the whisper sounded like it was saying something about live feed as opposed to an intentional trolling of the fans...

Even if it wasn't originally intentional, that video will have been viewed internally many times before its release to the public. I don't believe that during that review period nobody noticed what it sounds like (regardless of what it's meant to say). The fact it was left in the end product is the issue. They knew the reaction it would generate - getting fans talking on Twitter, hoping to trend etc. It worked, people took notice all of a sudden. To the extent Rylan referenced the chatter on This Morning. I just think the powers that be should realise it's a very sensitive subject and not poke at it! If it's not coming back, make no reference to it at all. If that strategy had been used people would likely be sad it's not back but they'd have come to expect that's the outcome. It's the teasing of something never on the cards. Unnecessary.

[Greg!]

More people watch CBB so they invest in more live feed as more people will watch it. Less people watch normal BB so there's less live feed. It's as simple as that. Not everything is a conspiracy

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Greg!

More people watch CBB so they invest in more live feed as more people will watch it. Less people watch normal BB so there's less live feed. It's as simple as that. Not everything is a conspiracy

More people watch CBB because they promote and push it more, anyone that still can't see this five years into C5's tenure with the show is quite frankly deluded.

And someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the figures for both the civilian and CBB live feeds aren't entirely dissimilar. It has nothing to do with cost or ratings, or else why have they just spent God knows how much on the biggest extension to the house in its history?

[Greg!]

BB17 has been promoted just as much as the recent CBBs. More people watch CBB because more people are interested in celebs than normal people and it's usually better than the normal series

[jonnyblack]

I don't think there's a conspiracy. Just even include something that could antagonise fans. I don't doubt CBB is more popular etc. But regular BB can still be an enjoyable watch. Just sad to go into the launch with a bitter taste in the mouth. Like producers are laughing at us.

[Greg!]

The producers aren't laughing at anyone I think you're just paranoid. If more people watch (which is what they want to happen) then they will add more live feed

[LukeB]

It's so obvious C5 obsessed with CBB tbh, CBB gets the promo and civillian doesn't get any. Cbb gets more live feed as well. When CBB was starting the eye and start time was on the Birmingham New Street top screen outside(promotion screen)and i bet you the BB17 eye etc won't be there or infact any promotional boards.

And if they are putting celebs in civillian it just confirms it even more that they are obsessed with celebrities.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Greg!

BB17 has been promoted just as much as the recent CBBs. More people watch CBB because more people are interested in celebs than normal people and it's usually better than the normal series

It really hasn't I'll give them credit where it's due, they're paying for promoted posts on Twitter and Facebook but this is nothing on the kind of promotion CBB gets. Where's the billbords? Where's the ads on other channels? We'll see how it steps up in the next ten days but so far it has nothing on CBB's promotion. It may be sleek and good quality, but that doesn't mean it's being used sufficiently

It's better than the civilian series because they make it so! The evidence has been there right from the start, I don't know why people still refuse to believe C5 care way more about CBB than they do BB

[zakman440]

Let me break it down this way - lack of Live Feed is making the civilian show fail, and the civilian show is failing because of lack of Live Feed:

Lack of Live Feed is making the civilian show fail

The lack of a Live Feed is making the civilian show fail because we're spoon-fed a 45 minute highlights show. We can't form a true opinion on what happens in the house because we don't see everything that happens in the house - only what the producers want to see. You can't get fully invested in the show because it's being angled towards the casual viewer rather than the long-term viewer, hence why Celebrity Big Brother is still a success - you already have an idea of who the housemates are because their personalities are well known, plus it's a much shorter run.

In civilian Big Brother, we're expected to get to know a bunch of (mostly) unknown people whom we've (mostly) never heard of before for 3 months. Live Feed helps with that because we get to watch them 24/7 - we get to see everything. With the 45 minute highlights show, it's edited to favour one bunch of housemates and the others just get left behind, which isn't really fair. The Live Feed helps to supplement the edit and keep the show honest - and if a housemate really has been boring, they can't blame the edit because the evidence will be stacked against them.

The civilian show is failing because of lack of Live Feed

It's no coincidence that the highest rating series of civilian Big Brother on Channel 5 was the one that had the most Live Feed - Big Brother 14. It's also no coincidence that the countries who are still offering a Live Feed (the USA (both Big Brother USA and Gran Hermano US), Canada, Albania, Turkey etc) are still on the air and are thriving/showing no signs of slowing down. Meanwhile - Australia, the one country that went down the no Live Feed route taken by Channel 5, has been axed due to low ratings.

The Live Feed helps create a buzz around the show which ultimately leads to higher ratings. It's not a nice example, but take the Hazel and Daley incident from BB14. That unfolded on the Live Feed, which lead to more people talking about it on social media and the press running with the story as a result. Daley's ejection episode the next day was the most watched episode of civilian Big Brother on Channel 5 to date - and it was largely because of what unfolded the night before on the Live Feed.

Without that buzz and without being able to make that proper connection to the housemates, Channel 5 will continue to make terrible series like Big Brother 15 and Big Brother 16 with endless twists, producer manipulation and no sense of consistency, in order to give the show a minor ratings boost at times. The lack of a Live Feed is ultimately why the civilian version of the show is failing - they're sacrificing any success of the show for editorial control and countless twists.

(And let's face it, if they're advertising this series to be all change and they've spent all that money on a house extension, they might as well go all out as it's clearly not a matter of cost).

[Headie]

^Gurl there's no point preaching all that to us, you should email Ben Frow or whoever instead or else you're wasting your time

[billy123]

My interest is already at an all time low. This doesn't help at all.
I still have the sad record of having watched every single highlight show since it started.
C5 are knobheads i suspect the time to start watching it online after it airs minus the C5 adverts has arrived.
**** em.