After five years absence from our screens, Big Brother will return in 2023 to its new home on ITV2 and ITVX. Along with sister show Love Island, it crowns ITV with two of the biggest reality shows in the UK. With its re-branded format, ITV will be hoping to awaken this sleeping giant.
The Doors are Back Open
Launched back in 2000 on Channel 4, before moving over to Channel 5 in 2011, Big Brother dominated for 18 years. Over the decades, Big Brother became one of biggest programmes on these channels after consistently performing well, attracting an average 9.7m viewers a year. However, in its final series, only 2.4m people watched, 62% lower than Love Island’s followship this year.
ITV's Big Move
Clearly, fans have been hankering for Big Brother’s return. After the announcement during the Love Island Final on ITV2, Twitter blew up with Big Brother trending No.1 in the UK, stealing the limelight from the final... But could all this excitement wear off?
It’s hard to say where ITV will take Big Brother. A re-brand was crucial but how much will the format change? The joys of Big Brother's greatest moments will certainly survive the show’s evolution, while many of us are still hungry for the drama that we loved.
The monumental factor for ITV is the introduction of ITVX, a new platform launching in November. Considerable content for Big Brother, aside from the daily shows, is rumoured to be scheduled for ITVX. This is where ITV are going to evaluate the early success or failure for their new projects. ITVX is aiming to provide content that would ‘especially engage with younger viewers' - the brainchild of Director of Reality Commissioning, Paul Mortimer. Such engagement would be essential for ITV to put this show back on the top block alongside Love Island.
A Vital Force
Along with ITV's other huge entertainment shows and Dramas, their acquisition of Big Brother is good news for everyone in advertising. The demand for advertisers to access Love Island is too vast to accommodate every brand. Big Brother’s return will provide clients with another chance to align with a mammoth reality show.
ITVX x Big Brother
It's an exciting time for TV with BB returning. The hype around the announcement is likely to ensure that Big Brother succeeds and can look forward to a prosperous future. For ITV and the ITVX product, this show will be the catalyst for its launch and will provide endless opportunities to show the public what their new product can offer.
