Big Brother the TV show was also the TV event of Summer 2000 in the UK. Running for 9 weeks on Channel 4, with 24/7 webcam feeds from the house in Bow, East London, it grabbed the nation at a time when everyone was thirsty for reality TV and became Channel 4's most successful program ever. More members of the public voted for the series winner than did in the European elections that happened at about the same time, possibly showing that we don't care who runs the country as long as they keep us entertained.
A second series started 2 weeks ago, this time with live TV coverage for abour 16 hours a day on Channel 4's spin-off digital channel, E4; 4 seperate RealPlayer video feeds from the (refurbished) house; daily highlights on Channel 4 for half an hour, longer eveiction shows at the weekend, and repeats on T4 when they have nothing better to show. It's addictive/compulsive viewing....
Survivor also started running at the same time over here on ITV. It's already been rescheduled due to viewing figures way below what was predicted - It just seems the Brits have a differant taste in Reality TV to Americans. Apparently Loft Story is big in France at the moment as well, with a similar format but more sex.
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