Big Brother 13

I've got a future vision now of circa 2017, when The X Factor is starting its newest series on Channel 5, now presented by Shayne Ward and an identical thread reaction to this one!

I watched almost very episode avidly from BB1 to BB8 (2007 - the twins, Brian, Ziggy/Chantelle etc) and then haven't seen any since. A few people I knew followed BB9 but then BB10 came and went with absolutely no one I knew even noticing/caring.

It's going to end up like Top of the Pops, Last of the Summer Wine, and Doctor Who in the 1980s - watched by fewer and fewer audiences until it quietly ends one year, save for a few "Oh, was it still going?" tweets. For those who still love it - great - for those who don't, it's not too hard to ignore it until it goes away

I don't think Channel 5 have driven it into the ground. If anything, I think they've reinvigorated it. It attracts a decent audience for them, and they've done something new with it. Twitter still explodes when it's on and a lot of people talk about it. It has its audience.

I doubt that - Simon Cowell has stated that if ratings fall further he will end the show on a high instead of continuing its decline. Take it with a pinch of salt of course but he is no idiot when it comes to format brands and public perception.

And even if he doesn't do that, I doubt he'd take the show from the ITV network, the UK's biggest network of commercial stations, to Channel 5.

Speaking of audience last night's show managed to pretty much half the audience it had on the launch show to just 1.4m.

A few interesting comments on DS about how they've managed to sign several product placement deals including with Morrisons who will provide the shopping which will only be Morrisons branded food and drink. No more Tesco boxes with a label stuck over it! The food will also be delivered in Morrisons carrier bags.

The hair dye that sponsors the series will also be available for the housemates to use as well as Right Guard deodorant and some brand of toothpaste that I've never heard of. I think it's fair to say that C5 and Big Brother have certainly been making the most use out of product placement, far more than any other show or channel.

It's the ideal show for product placement. What better way to use it than a show that is essentially about living? That could be why Channel 5 seem pretty complacent with the viewing figures. Even though they do seem poor they are still alright for Channel 5 and it does seem to have a very robust core audience. If the product placement deals work for them then I expect them to next year roll it out to the electricals in the house and maybe even furniture.

If they bring PP into furniture they might as well change the house to an Ikea store... now there's a thought!

Product placement can be used very effectively - but PP is still only worth anything if people actually watch the show. Companies won't be lining up to be on board if less than 1m are watching the series.

I've kind of accepted now the show has moved on and no longer even cares about trying to recapture it's original audience. many of whom stuck with the show throughout it's lows until BB10 (and axing the live feed) really cut the ratings down to size. BB11 was a revival in terms of the creativity of the show but C5 have basically taken Big Brother down pretty much the complete opposite route to what I believe they should have done and IMO I'm still not convinced it's a good buy for C5 (their US dramas can rate better), but now no longer particularly care how much they screw it up as it's not really on my radar now.

You could say that about any advertising in shows with less than 1 million viewers.

Haven't watched a single show since its move to C5 except the first launch show and I just basically thought "You know what? I can't be bothered anymore" and switched it off. Plus the editing is different from the raw feel it used to have - you may as well call it 'The Only Way Is Big Brother' and be done with it.

However, as I'm no longer a viewer, everytime I see random headlines like "Shock as Bianca trips over Kevin's foot" it annoys me immensly and I therefore propose that all Big Brother related material is abolished!

Worth noting that for the first time ever tonight, a Big Brother eviction show will be coming indoors because of a severe weather warning:

Well... BB5 used BBLB's studio, or shared a studio for evictions, plus until C5 they were nearly always indoors...

Maybe they don't count C4 as part of BB history and think BB is a fresh and exciting new format that's only be on air for one year?