Some viewers might have been worried enough to call the police after the near rioting on Big Brother, but most were glued to their computer screens as the reality show rang up its best internet figures yet.
While Channel 4 showed edited highlights of the now infamous fight on its one-hour 10pm show last night, fans turned to the internet as the news of the riot broke in the hope of seeing how the drama kicked off.
This year, for the first time, Channel 4 is offering Big Brother fans "exclusive" online footage for a monthly fee of £4.95.
Web-based firm Hitwise said the official Big Brother site had a record number of hits yesterday, vaulting it into its top 20 list of most visited sites for the first time.
"Yesterday the Big Brother site was the 17th most visited website in the UK - its previous highest rank for this series was the day of the first eviction when it ranked 33rd," said a Hitwise spokeswoman.
"Visits to the site have tripled since Big Brother 5 began, and have more than doubled since its previous peak - when Kitten was evicted," she added.
The amount of time fans spent on the site also rocketed, suggesting that many fans were trying to access the live video feed.
The Big Brother website had an average session duration of 12 minutes and 24 seconds, the highest on the show so far and nearly two minutes longer than the highest recorded session last year.
Last year the Big Brother site lost half its users during the first week. Yesterday it pulled in a 0.56% share of all internet usage, marginally behind the BBC's online news, which drew 0.61%. MSN UK, the number one ranked site, had a 5.3% share.
But fans wanting to see a no-holds-barred replay of the showdown will have been disappointed.
A Big Brother spokeswoman said the broadband footage was similar to the "live" feed shown on E4, which was cut as the fight started to escalate.
"If anything, the broadband footage is even more edited," she said.
The near riot has come at a pivotal time for the show, which was being widely written off before its start three weeks ago.
Viewing figures for last night's show peaked with 7 million viewers, the highest since the show began.
Renewed viewer interest is expected to make Big Brother 5 the most lucrative series yet for Channel 4 and producer Endemol.
Advertising slots during the show are fetching up to four times their average selling prices.
In addition to the exclusive internet footage, Big Brother fans can sign up for text message updates - six to 12 a week at 25p a go and live pictures at 50p each for a similar number of updates.
Fans with video-enabled handsets can pay £1 a day or £70 for the entire 10-week series.
While Channel 4 showed edited highlights of the now infamous fight on its one-hour 10pm show last night, fans turned to the internet as the news of the riot broke in the hope of seeing how the drama kicked off.
This year, for the first time, Channel 4 is offering Big Brother fans "exclusive" online footage for a monthly fee of £4.95.
Web-based firm Hitwise said the official Big Brother site had a record number of hits yesterday, vaulting it into its top 20 list of most visited sites for the first time.
"Yesterday the Big Brother site was the 17th most visited website in the UK - its previous highest rank for this series was the day of the first eviction when it ranked 33rd," said a Hitwise spokeswoman.
"Visits to the site have tripled since Big Brother 5 began, and have more than doubled since its previous peak - when Kitten was evicted," she added.
The amount of time fans spent on the site also rocketed, suggesting that many fans were trying to access the live video feed.
The Big Brother website had an average session duration of 12 minutes and 24 seconds, the highest on the show so far and nearly two minutes longer than the highest recorded session last year.
Last year the Big Brother site lost half its users during the first week. Yesterday it pulled in a 0.56% share of all internet usage, marginally behind the BBC's online news, which drew 0.61%. MSN UK, the number one ranked site, had a 5.3% share.
But fans wanting to see a no-holds-barred replay of the showdown will have been disappointed.
A Big Brother spokeswoman said the broadband footage was similar to the "live" feed shown on E4, which was cut as the fight started to escalate.
"If anything, the broadband footage is even more edited," she said.
The near riot has come at a pivotal time for the show, which was being widely written off before its start three weeks ago.
Viewing figures for last night's show peaked with 7 million viewers, the highest since the show began.
Renewed viewer interest is expected to make Big Brother 5 the most lucrative series yet for Channel 4 and producer Endemol.
Advertising slots during the show are fetching up to four times their average selling prices.
In addition to the exclusive internet footage, Big Brother fans can sign up for text message updates - six to 12 a week at 25p a go and live pictures at 50p each for a similar number of updates.
Fans with video-enabled handsets can pay £1 a day or £70 for the entire 10-week series.
