CBS announced it will broadcast its first celebrity edition of reality hit Big Brother. The special winter edition will feature multiple episodes per week during a concentrated run and include the series’ signature Head of Household and Power of Veto competitions and live evictions. Julie Chen will host.
CBS All Access, the CBS Television Network’s subscription video on demand and live-streaming service, will again share all the action from inside the house with its 24/7 live feed. Also, Pop TV will provide fans the exclusive live television broadcast of Big Brother: After Dark, an unfiltered late-night feed from inside the house. Additional details regarding scheduling and casting will be announced at a later date. The celebrity edition of the series is in addition to Big Brother’s milestone 20th season that will be broadcast in summer 2018.
“Big Brother has been dominating pop culture throughout its 19 seasons, and it is exciting to grow the franchise with the first-ever celebrity edition in the U.S.,” said executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan. “Celebrities will be under the watchful eye of the Big Brother cameras, facing the classic game elements, and of course new twists in this special winter event.”
One of television’s biggest reality franchises, Big Brother has been a summer staple on the Network since 2000. This year’s edition continues to be one of the summer television’s biggest hits, with all three weekly broadcasts ranking among the summer’s top 5 broadcasts in A18-34, A18-49 and A25-54 while averaging 7.35 million viewers.
This season’s numbers have increased online as well, with full episode streams on CBS All Access up nearly 20% over last summer. The 24/7 live feeds are also up, year to year. According to Nielsen social, Big Brother has ranked as the #1 most social series on broadcast television since its June premiere across Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, Pop TV’s broadcast of Big Brother: After Dark is out-delivering the past two seasons by double digits among viewers and key demos.
Big Brother follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with 87 HD cameras and more than 100 microphones, recording their every move 24 hours a day. Big Brother is produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan for Fly on the Wall Entertainment, in association with Endemol Shine North America.
