I think you might be right, It's had a great run really on 5 anchoring their schedules effectively and providing consistently great ratings but it does seem to be coming to end if it's life span- They've gotten their value from it though and made 4 look a bit foolish for dropping it so mission accomplished.

If they want to prolong it a bit, I'd seek to cut back on the series once they've seen this contract through and cancel the summer CBB and civilian one- Emma has a break in Jan from filming for the voice, and it might up the cast star power a bit. I think they've also tried a bit too hard over the years with the 'biggest twist ever' etc... The most successful reality shows seem to stick to the same old comfy slippers technique that people look forward to and you could definitely boost it a bit with this imo

The 16-34s are a fickle demographic. They can soon change their habits and move onto something else. Unless it holds up much better here than it does amongst other age groups, which is the reverse of what you'd expect, it's no reason to keep it around if the Total People figures slide dramatically.

The key from C5's point-of-view is they have proven they can have a hit entertainment show on the channel. And one that is stripped no less. So it can be done.


Oh dear. You seem to be intent on pushing my buttons, but I've been here since day 1 and have encountered much better WUMs than yourself in that time. Must try harder !


Big Brother launch shows have been dull for an awfully long time, I don't know why you expected anything different tonight.

If they could keep the full list of names from being leaked then that might heighten interest somewhat, but that would mean less press coverage in the run up which could be detrimental in that respect.

Bit on the Side was appalling - the panellists didn't even know the "celebrities" names.

Bad night for CBB.

When Honey G is your big name something's gone wrong.

I think the live feed for Big Brother is good though tonight. I think it'll be a good one.

No I am not a WUM. I am so Sorry. Oh dear. I really respect your opinions here Dancc. Please accept my apology. I knew my post might have been interpreted the way you have reacted to it. I feel terrible now.

Absolutely. I think you could only reflect positively on it.

There could be other openings for them in entertainment anyway. Four has massively overspent on Bake Off I think it's fair to say, which will put real strain on their budget over the next few years and BBC One and ITV seem devoid of ideas at the moment, relying on yet more shiny floor talent shows. If Five are ever going to get lucky with a big new format of their very own, this could be the right time to take a bit of a gamble on something and see what happens.

Ironic that civilian BB was cut short, IMO a brilliant series, to make room for a terrible CBB.

Forget about it. I already have.

(sorry H if you thought my response was overly snappy: I *am* exceptionally tired this evening)

i agree maybe a comedy entertainment show similar to The Friday Night Project or Lip Sync Battle.

No worries. You are passionate about Ch5 and CBB and when the channel you support make a mess of what you were hoping they would do well with, its frustrating.

What if C5 got it's act together with sister Viacom channel Logo and launched RuPaul's Drag Race: UK That would be a massive risk. But I would love to see it happen.

Run it for 8-12 weeks at Friday's 9-10 and air Untucked at 10:30-11 and have a companion chat show Spilling the Tea each Tuesday/Wednesday at 9-10.

It could be a smash for them.

Some users on twitter are reporting CBB launched last night with 3.2million and a peak of 3.6.

It's the sort of show that would go on 5 Star and not the main channel i feel.

Overnights.tv ‏@overnightstv 2m2 minutes ago
#celebritybigbrother launched on C5 to audience of 2.3m/11.9% - down 500k on 2016 launch @endemolshine @CalumBest http://www.overnights.tv

Where I expected it. Way down on last winter and similar to last summer.

That's Pretty low for a launch. I can't see this series rating that high. It will rate like a summer series. I think tonight could be under 2m which will be shocking for a winter series. I enjoyed it last night though.

From rzt.

BBC One
EastEnders: 7.35m (34.2%)
Holby City: 4.82m (22.3%)
Silent Witness: 6.19m (26.6%)

ITV Inc +1
Tipping Point: 2.58m (23.6%)
The Chase: 3.75m (24.6%)
Emmerdale: 6.57m (31.7%)
Paul O'Grady For The Love of Dogs Special: 3.00m (13.9%)
Robson Crusoe: 1.86m (8.0%)

Channel 5 inc +1
Celebrity Big Brother: 2.32m (11.9%)
* peak: 2.55m (11.3%) at 21.45

That's a bit low.

I wonder if the awful manipulation and Bear winning turned people off.


Look at the EastEnders rating holding well.

Not great when you consider the winter one normally does much better than the summer one.

But after the last CBB I'm really not surprised.

Overnights.tv ‏@overnightstv 50s51 seconds ago
BBC2 became #Revolting at 10pm, and the new satirical comedy sketch show drew 786.3k/4.5% @HatTrickProd @JolyonRubs http://www.overnights.tv

BBC2 (Top 3: 7pm-11.10pm):
Yellowstone: 2.26m (9.7%)
The Great Interior Design Challenge: 2.04m (9.4%)
Rick Stein's Long Weekends (R): 1.92m (9.1%)

Pleased to see EE above 7m still. They need a big story now to launch to keep viewers. That Lucy storyline did wonders for ratings.

Hmm not sure why the winter series has suddenly dropped around a million viewers for the launch in 2 years. I think this series will rate similar to the last winter series overall.

Channel 4 (Top 3: 7pm-11.55pm) (exc. +1):
How to Lose Weight Well: 1.83m (8.5%)
24 Hours in A&E: 1.48m (6.4%)
Channel 4 News: 0.63m (3.0%)