Channel 4 to axe Big Brother after 11th series next year
Big Brother is to be axed after a final series next summer, Channel 4 said today.
The popularity of the reality show has plummeted, with viewing figures for the current series barely reaching two million.
At its peak in 2002, when Jade Goody was a contestant and Kate Lawler won, the programme was watched by eight million people and produced profits of £68 million a year for Channel 4.
Industry insiders say the show has been struggling to make money recently as audiences and advertising revenues have fallen away, particularly since the Shilpa Shetty race row on Celebrity Big Brother engulfed Channel 4 in 2007.
MP George Galloway sparked outrage when he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2006 and embarrassed himself by dancing like a robot in a red leotard alongside cross-dressing former pop star Pete Burns.
The broadcaster is locked into a three-year deal with producers Endemol, thought to cost around £180 million, but it has decided not to renew the contract after the show's 11th series. There will also be one more series of Celebrity Big Brother, early next year.
Channel 4's director of television Kevin Lygo said the decision not to recommission Big Brother was a creative rather than commercial one. He said it had reached a "natural end".
However, industry experts believe Big Brother is unlikely to disappear from British television screens, with another broadcaster expected to step in to pick up the rights from Endemol.
The decision to axe the show means Channel 4's original-drama budget will be boosted by £20 million. The broadcaster will have 200 peak hours to fill across Channel 4 and E4 from 2011 and said it has already begun reviewing its drama commissioning strategy.
Channel 4 is keen to deliver more "event dramas", such as The Devil's Whore and Red Riding. It has already commissioned a four-part serial from film director Shane Meadows.
A drama series about the life of the Queen is the highlight of Channel 4's autumn schedules. Five actresses including Emilia Fox and Samantha Bond will play the role during pivotal moments of her reign so far.
