Live streaming version of Big Brother in Sept.

I was considering dropping my live feeds shortly because of the long blockages when they do the comps and the half of the day when they are all still sleeping but after reading this I'll keep the live feeds because it sounds like the streaming season will try some new things. If they work out it could mean that CBS would try the concept on more shows , either established ones or brand new. Either way it could mean that they could be more focused and "edgy", by reducing the mass market audience who can cause a show to be 'watered down' to avoid offending the weak of heart. That doesn't mean that I expect CBS to challenge HBO or Showtime in that regard, but if you see the Euro and S. America versions of Big Brother, even the excerpts on YouTube, you realize that the American version is a rather pale version in comparison. Streaming may improve that.




Tuesday, August 16, 2016
'Big Brother' Producers Discuss New Details About Upcoming Streaming Season

Derek Stauffer
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

Details are finally beginning to emerge about the upcoming streaming season of Big Brother. Zap2it sat down with two producers of Big Brother and they offered a clearer picture of what fans can expect from the new chapter of the reality franchise. The one thing that is abundantly obvious now is the CBS All Access version of Big Brother will be very different from the main summertime iterations. Fans should definitely start considering them to be two separate versions.


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Julie Chen is the Host ... Kind Of

It has been speculated that because of the streaming aspect of CBS All-Access' version of Big Brother host Julie Chen would not be involved. That is not the case. Chen confirmed on her own Twitter account that she will still be hosting Big Brother on its streaming home. The role that Chen plays will not be the same, however, producers caution.

Marc DeBevoise, the CBS Interactive president, said, "The show's a little different, so the role isn't exactly the same. But (Julie Chen) will have her lead role in the show ... she's going to be the main person."

A New Way of Watching

As for what that new role might be, there were some hints at the format. The CBS All Access version is going to be a lot more reliant on the live feeds than the televised version of Big Brother.

"It's interesting because it's going to be such a different -- it's still Big Brother but it's live -- the competitions won't be as big and all of that that we do because that's just the way it's going to play out. Competitions can possibly play out longer, people will be able to see everything, it won't be blocked," Alison Grodner, Big Brother co-executive producer, explained.

Big Brother All Access is still looking for a way to balance bringing on broadcast watchers with packaged episodes and appealing to live feed watchers. Rich Meehan, co-executive producer, explained, "We're working on trying to come up with something so the All Access people that watch the feeds, they can do what they love, but if you're a broadcast watcher, there will be things for you to watch as well, so we're still trying to crack what that is, but we want to be able to appeal to the full audience. We want to create times and schedules so if people just want to pop on for a key event, they can do that."

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Grodner explained that there needs to be a way to catch up viewers who have only watched the broadcast version of Big Brother before now. Yet she says, "The feeds are now primary. It's a whole new way of looking at it. We're really looking forward to it 'cause it really isn't being done anywhere. It's a bold experiment by CBS and it's the perfect show to do it with."

This means that the feeds and how much they are accessed will have to be changed. "I think that with a lot of the feeds now, there's a lot of long blocks (when they're down) for our competitions, you see a lot of people asleep -- there will be a reason for people to be awake, how about that?" Grodner said.

This would fit with the rumors that the streaming version of Big Brother is planned to be much shorter, much more fast-paced and overall paced differently. It's a smart move since the televised version is designed to last all summer. Big Brother All Access needs to grab people's attention quickly.

Returning Players?

There might be one constant coming from the television version of Big Brother to the digital iteration, however. Grodner and Meehan teased that they might be incorporating returning players to the season.

"We're in the thick of re-imagining [the show], so we haven't gotten to the point of 'should we bring back people yet?'" Meehan explained. Allison Grodner added, "It could happen, you never know ... (but) there's some legends that maybe you save for summer Big Brother in the future, seeing as we just got picked up for two more (seasons)."

But what do you think? Are you interested in this "experiment"? Will you be watching? Are you just going to stick to the summer version of Big Brother? What do you want to see out of the online-only season?