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02 To Sponsor Big Brother With Enhanced Interactivity

Channel 4 has secured 02 to sponsor the fourth series of Big Brother, which will start at the end of the month.
The new campaign will rely heavily on programme tie-ins and interactivity through MMS, SMS and mobile internet services. There will be a new media messaging facility, which will allow viewers to subscribe to MMS news updates, delivering pictures and content rich text to consumers.
Viewers will also be able to receive a 3D head of a housemate on their phone, accompanied with their sound bite. Those with advanced mobile phones will be able to download video clips showing the nominations, evictions or key movements from Big Brother and play video games. There will also be the usual range of SMS services to keep viewers in touch with the latest news and developments.
Cath Keers, marketing director of 02, commented: “We are focusing on the customer experience and paving the way for ground breaking entertainment interactive services, enabling viewers to interact in new and exciting ways”.
E4 will screen around the clock coverage direct from the house, seven days a week, along with Nominations Uncut, a new weekly nominations show where E4 viewers will be the first to see exclusive diary room footage of housemates discussing the reasons behind their nominations. It is hoped the new show will drive viewing figures at the digital entertainment channel.
Big Brother has been a huge ratings success for Channel 4 (see Big Brother’s Cross-Media Platforms Deliver Audience). The show also has positive commercial implications for mobile operators such as O2 as last year over 11 million people cast eviction votes during the first six weeks of the show (see Big Brother 3 Boosts June’s Text Message Total).
The ratings success of ITV’s recent foray into reality TV I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here suggests public interest in the format is still strong (see I’m A Celebrity Proves A Ratings Winner For ITV1).
However, the Big Brother phenomenon also has its fair share of critics. The official Vatican newspaper recently attacked the reality TV phenomenon as “useless” and “parasitical”. Last year’s series also provoked some of the most most vicious vilification ever seen of ordinary people at the hands of the tabloid press. The media frenzy and outpourings against contestants undoubtedly drummed up immense free publicity for the show, but critics argue the stakes are too high when people’s lives are at stake.
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com
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