BBC’s Fame Academy Suffers From Pop Stars Fatigue
The BBC1’s £4.5 million reality-style TV show, Fame Academy, appears to be failing to pull in the viewers.
According to unofficial overnight figures from BARB, last Friday’s episode of the programme attracted an audience of just 4.6 million viewers, just behind Gardeners World on BBC2. The update the following Tuesday shed a further million viewers, leading commentators to speculate over the future of the series.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Fame Academy is more than one single show, it is a cross-platform enterprise across the BBC channels and BBCi. It does not live or die by individual programmes, and we still feel strongly about its future success.”
The show is a mix of Big Brother, Pop Idol and Pop Stars, with 12 young hopefuls battling it out to become a pop star. The series is set in a £35 million mansion in North London, which has been converted into a Fame-style pop school.
The programme’s executive producer, Richard Hopkins, commented: “It’s going to be a ground breaking series and I know we will create some memorable moments.”
The series has been produced by Endemol, which was behind the highly successful Big Brother format. It has a large interactive aspect and BBCi is providing round-the-clock news updates and highlights packages across all three digital interactive TV platforms, as well as via the internet, SMS, WAP and PDA.
The show, which has been widely publicised, is seen as the cornerstone of BBC1’s autumn entertainment schedule. The knives have already been sharpened by some commentators, who have labelled the show “Lame Academy.” However, the programme may be boosted by the arrival of celebrity teachers and the run up to the Christmas period.
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk
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