Big Brother Ratings WoesBig Brother 8 - UK is over, but the ratings woes have viewers and network execs wondering if the show will return for a 9th season whereas the US version gets breath of fresh life
The show may be over with winner Brian Belo announced last week but following last year's racial row victimizing Bollywood housemate Shilpa Shetty, we have yet another Big Brother racial row, this time involving the season's first male housemate.
'Big Brother' is at the centre of another racism row after it was revealed finalist Ziggy used the word "n****r".
The former boyband singer, who finished fourth, raised a glass to his fellow finalists last Thursday and said: "Thanks, my trigger n****r."
An apology was later offered by Ziggy who insisted the remark was taken from a song and he meant no harm. "I apologised to Big Brother. It was lyrics from a song and never my intention to cause offence to anybody."
Earlier this year, 'Big Brother' bosses came under fire after it was claimed they covered up the racial bullying of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty by Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara in the celebrity version of the show.
Meanwhile, the show is in trouble ratings wise and may not return next season. Viewing figures have been the show's worst ever, averaging only 3.8 million.
The brand has continued to go downhill since 2002, when 5.8 million marvelled at pearls of wisdom from Essex girl Jade Goody, who thought 'East Angular' was abroad, according to the Telegraph.
Betting on the show has continued to be one of the bright spots. Millions of dollars is believed to have come in this season at establishments such as Virgin Bets (a Gambling911.com sponsor), Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill.
Bookmakers William Hill made out big on the finale of Big Brother, having accepted a £50,000 wager for the twins to win Big Brother at odds of 1/5, which will win the customer £10,000 should they become the first double act to win Big Brother, according to Readabet.
The twins of course lost.
The Wager matched the largest ever Big Brother bet of £50,000 placed by the same Birmingham based client on Charley getting evicted in July.
"We have taken some whopping wagers on Big Brother, but none bigger than this. Big Brother is the only programme he bets on and millions will be won and lost on Friday night. We will be cheering on Liam as he is the only chance of ducking a biggest ever reality TV payout," William Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams told Readabet.
In the US, quite the opposite situation may be occurring with its own Big Brother brand.
CBS' "Big Brother" tied its highest ratings so far this season in the adults 18-49 demographic in Thursday's primetime.
The preliminary ratings from Nielsen Media Research are particularly unreliable with football-related pre-emptions on CBS and NBC in about 15% of the U.S. But CBS probably won the night in both viewership and the adults 18-49 demographic, with the other networks further behind. Final results may be released later Friday, and things may change.
Tuesday shows are typically the highest rated among the three episodes every week, with Thursday in second and Sunday, a competitive night in television, in last among all three recap shows. Ratings records were broken throughout the month of August, a powerful sign of the show's success this season.
CBS started with a "Big Brother" that averaged 9.4 million viewers and a 3.2 rating.
The US version has enjoyed some fascinating controversy over the summer that helped provide a much needed jolt to the show. A Big Brother banner flyover and shocking remarks made by Amber (pictured left) regarding Jewish people only helped the raise the show's profile.
Odds On: Who will be the winner of the CBS "reality" show Big Brother 8? Any wagers placed after results have become public will be deemed No Action. Max. $50. All bets can be placed here
Daniele
5/2
Dick
7/1
Eric
3/1
Jameka
4/1
Jessica
5/2
Zach
9/1
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Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com
Originally published September 3, 2007 12:21 pm ET
