Big Brother is gaining ground with audiences through BVOD with a 41% lift in Total TV viewing numbers for the season premiere.
The show, which returned to Aussie screens this month, attracted 274,000 viewers through its Linear broadcast, however, Seven Day Total TV numbers saw the episode lift to gain a total audience of 620,000.
Seven Network chief content officer, entertainment programming, Angus Ross, told Mediaweek the lift in total audience was reflective of the fact that programmers are focussing more and more on catch-up audiences.
Angus Ross
“The total television number for the first episode of the new season of Big Brother on 6 November proves what we have been saying for a long time: linear TV overnight audience numbers simply do not tell the full story of a program’s reach and engagement with viewers,” said Ross.
“The 41% jump in the launch episode’s audience to 620,000 – including 134,000 on 7plus – clearly demonstrates that Big Brother still connects with a significant number of people, no matter what screen they are watching on. This connection will continue to develop with the 7plus exclusive series, Big Brother Uncut.”
Shows like Big Brother performing well on catch-up are good news for advertisers as well, with Atomic 212° chairman, Barry O’Brien, telling Mediaweek that catch-up offers the opportunity for audiences to catch shows – and the ads that come along with them – whenever they have the time.
Barry O’Brien
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“The big increase for Big Brother shows the power of catch-up TV, particularly for programs targeted at younger viewers. They use catch-up TV to its full advantage,” said O’Brien.
“They can stay up to date with all the drama, happenings, evictions and events that Big Brother is generating when they want to, as opposed to committing to a certain time to watch when it’s on linear free-to-air TV.”
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Top Image: Big Brother host Sonia Kruger