Stars light up Blighty's 'Bro'
Endemol topper predicts rush of celeb reality shows
Despite a news glut that included a sex scandal involving another British MP, seven daily papers had "Big Brother" on their front pages. Even the staid Financial Times joined in.
Peter Bazalgette, chief creative officer of Endemol, which owns the format, predicts that the series is a clue to the next big trend in international TV: Celebrity-led reality.
"This was the most brilliantly cast 'Celebrity Big Brother' so far," opines Bazalgette. "I think this success, combined with hits like (BBC format) 'Dancing With the Stars' in the U.S. for ABC, suggests that we are going to see a lot more celebrity-led reality TV this year."
In the U.S. cablers like VH1 have come up with "Surreal Life" and "Celebrity Fitness Club," but so far American networks have been slow to jump on the bandwagon.
"Just as the U.S. was slightly behind the curve on reality shows to start with and took a while to catch up with entertainment lifestyle shows, I think they're a bit behind the curve on celebrity-led reality TV," Bazalgette says.
"I confidently predict that celebrity reality entertainment shows will be big in the world this year and they will be much bigger in the States, and I confidently predict that Endemol will be producing some of these shows."
Series seven of "Big Brother" will bow in the U.S. on CBS this summer, but North American webs have so far resisted a celebrity version.
ABC's version of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," tanked a few years back.
Yet in other territories, including Mexico, "Big Brother VIP" has taken off.
What may well concentrate broadcasters' minds is the potential revenue such fare creates for Internet-based advertising and other new media applications.
www.Channel4.com received almost 100 million page impressions on the "Celebrity Big Brother" site during its 23-day run.
Another unique selling point of celebrity reality TV, Bazalgette claims, is that audiences bond more quickly with the contestants because they already know them.
In the U.K., George Galloway -- founder of the left-wing Respect party who was once called before the U.S. Senate over his alleged role in a United Nations scandal -- helped to revitalize the fourth series of "Celebrity Big Brother."
The show featured, among others, U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman, ex-"Baywatch" star Traci Bingham and disgraced British TV presenter Michael Barrymore. Year-to-year ratings overall surged by 11%.
It is hard to overstate the impact of the program on the British psyche.
Galloway's involvement -- in one scene he donned a jump suit and pretended to be a cat that needed fondling -- ensured media coverage way beyond the usual tabloid saturation.
"We learned last year that if you put a person in the house that resonates with the middle classes (in 2005 it was feminist writer Germaine Greer) the broadsheet media is fascinated too," adds Bazalgette.
The irony of this winter's British "Celebrity Big Brother" was that the eventual winner, Chantelle Houghton, was a fake celebrity deliberately included to add another dimension.
It's no surprise that this wannabe's affair with fellow housemate, pop star Samuel Preston, is already dominating the tabloids.
