Media Analysis: Big Brother, little interest

figures for the eighth series indicating that the highly prized audience
of 16- to 34-year-olds is switching off, Big Brother looks to be losing
its appeal.

The show's audiences have been described as 'disappointing' by media
buyers and its share of viewers in the key 16- to 34-year-old
demographic has fallen 22% on last year. Combined with the fallout from
the Celebrity Big Brother race row, the show's position as Channel 4's
flagship cash cow is in serious danger.

'Everyone knows Channel 4 will eventually have to wean itself off Big
Brother,' says Grant Millar, joint managing director of Vizeum. 'It is
an amazing phenomenon that crosses all platforms, but it is inevitable
that it will lose its appeal.'

Big Brother-bashing has become an annual event in the media calendar and
the fact that commentators were forecasting its demise soon after the
third series should not be ignored. Yet, while the show is gleefully
controversial, criticism actually drives viewing, delivering a vital
audience to its advertisers.

Earlier this month, Channel 4 deputy chairman Lord Puttnam declared that
he was 'not proud' of Big Brother. Speaking at the Hay-On-Wye Festival
he said: 'Big Brother accounts for 15% of the total revenue that keeps
Channel 4 afloat - you have got to go some to replace that, but of
course we will do at some point.'

Media agencies suggest that Channel 4's reliance on Big Brother is even
greater, with some hinting that it accounts for up to 20% of its annual
revenue. The broadcaster's decision to safeguard its deal with Endemol
for a further three years at an annual cost of up to £40m is
further testament to its importance.

But Nick Harper, director of Monkey Communications, says that Big
Brother is losing its appeal with both advertisers and audience. 'People
just don't have the time to invest in keeping up with Big Brother on TV
when they can read about it in Heat and watch any scandal unfold on
YouTube,' he says.

This view is echoed by Matt Waller, TV manager at Starcom, who believes
the show has lost some of its appeal. 'There are peaks when scandals
hit, but consumers dip in and out of it,' he says.

Many agency players believe that Channel 4 has become too reliant on Big
Brother as an ad proposition, with investment restricting the
exploration of new formats. 'Because Big Brother takes up so much of the
schedules, there is little choice for advertisers,' says Mike Beecroft,
TV group account director at Mediaedge:cia.

Channel 4 has tried to invigorate the show with psychology format Big
Brother on the Couch and a move out of its poorly performing Saturday
night slot. However, agencies say Big Brother spin-off shows on E4 have
failed to make it into the top-15 multichannel shows in past weeks. One
E4 repeat of Big Brother on the Couch was beaten by a BBC4 documentary
about the Women's Institute.

Jim McDonald, head of broadcast at Media Planning Group, says that while
the show remains a 'huge property' for Channel 4, retaining interest is
challenging. 'There comes a point when whatever it does has been done
before and there are no more taboos left to break,' he says.

The fact that ITV's Britain's Got Talent has trumped Big Brother in the
ratings coupled with former Big Brother sponsor Carphone Warehouse's
alignment with The X Factor could be evidence of a broader move. While
there have been glib statements about a shift toward genuine talent
rather than brazen fame-seeking, the reasons are clear to advertisers.
As one media buyer puts it: 'No one is going to get fired for booking a
spot in The X Factor, with its solid Saturday-night entertainment
value.'

In stark contrast, some argue that Big Brother has more of the freak
show about it, and as Harper suggests: 'It has become increasingly
obvious that Big Brother has become all about getting a ticket to
fame.'

Big Brother was always touted as a 'social experiment' and a mirror of
society. It could be that the young audience Channel 4 craves is turning
its back on the show simply because they don't like what they see.

DATA FILE - AVERAGE VIEWING FIGURES



All individuals 16-34s

000s Share (%) 000s Share (%)



2006 series 4435 19.8 1926 38.3

2007 series* 3668 16.9 1407 29.9

Change -767 -3.0 -519 -8.4

% change -17.3 -15.0 -26.9 -22.0



* Note: shows to 24/6/07