Big Brother: Channel 5 - CBB

Big Brother: Channel 5 poised to sign £200m deal

Big Brother could return in August at earliest – but not fronted by Cheryl Cole, as claimed in Richard Desmond's Daily Star.

Richard Desmond's Channel 5 is poised to sign a £200m five-year deal to bring back Big Brother following months of tortuous negotiations between his company and the programme's producer, Endemol.

There were hopes that the deal could have been announced this week, but last-minute legal wrangles continue to delay the announcement of a plan that has been mooted since Desmond bought the channel last summer.

Because of the time taken by the talks, the earliest Big Brother could come back on air is understood to be August. A three-week run of Celebrity Big Brother is expected to be followed by a run of Big Brother into the autumn and winter.

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31-Mar-2011 @ 19:17

That figure can't be anywhere near correct the last one was only £40m ish.

£40m/year x 5 = ...

Could it work over a non summer period? It would be nice to give it at least one try may Jan - March? maybe March - June.

As a BB fan the only good news in these plans is that Richard Desmond stands to lose £200m - that is massively overpriced.

I'd take their efforts more seriously if they weren't insisting on keeping Celeb BB as an annual thing too - if they really want to relaunch it concentrate on the main series, then if that is successful after 2-3 years thinki about a celeb one then.

The celebrity franchise is a lot stronger than Big Brother itself, if anything they would ditch normal BB if one had to go. Celebrity Big Brother is what the wider media wanted to continue, whilst they couldn't care less about Big Brother. My only concern is that they still want to air a celebrity and normal series this year, and then business as usual from January with a further celebrity series and regular series in the summer of 2012.

It would lose a certain appeal in the winter

Well that would be the first mistake making a show for the media rather than the fans. The core Big Brother concept is about unknowns being thrown into a house together - though I guess most of the "celebrities" C5 attract will be unknowns too.

Certainly looks like a 5+ year deal at that amount. And if they continue to get the ratings C4 were getting towards the end, I think they're figures Channel 5 would be very happy with.

Really can't see them getting over 2m though. It's previously been reported this contract will have a get out clause, and I think Richard Desmond will soon get a reality check that it's not the cash cow it once was - and that is what frustrates me. If I saw it having any long term future now I'd be happy enough for C5 to relaunch it (though preferbly hold off until 2012) - but chances are it's going to be axed again as quickly as it's revived, which could kill off the show forever. THe longer they wait to revive, the better chance it has of being a success.

The core Big Brother concept was thrown out the window when BB turned evil in 2004. And since then we've had some of the best BB series. The show has evolved and Celebrity Big Brother is regarded higher by both critics and the wider viewing public than the regular series. They might attract unknowns but so did Channel 4, and it didn't hinder the final series which was the most watched for years. It simply makes no sense whatsoever to launch with ordinary people. That is for the hardcore fans only.



I don't agree with this point either. It will probably have around 2m viewers as you say, which is very good for Channel 5. But as long as it is sustained well by Channel 5 then it will be OK. The reality TV bubble is slowly bursting making it harder for new shows to come through, whilst the main shows remain powerhouses (X Factor, BGT etc). So the longer they wait, the less chance it has of being a success imo.

You're also missing the point about the cash cow. It is a completely different issue on a Desmond owned Channel 5. Despite ratings dropping off towards the end, the web interest remained high and there is a lot of money to be made there, not forgetting Daily Star sales along with other opportunities across Desmond's similar media for the housemates. Big Brother on Channel 4 was just about the TV show and internet, but on Channel 5 its about a media assault and its an investment across all of Northern & Shell media. The extra media interest will only help too; previous series ratings suggest that as media interest wanes or increases, the ratings follow suit. He'll also find people like Josie to make Katie Price style documentaries about on Channel 5 and 5*.

Big Brother finished last year, does it really need to be bought back at all (and I say that as someone who was a fan of Series 1-3)