Big Brother’s Cross-Media Platforms Deliver Audience
Online and broadcast platforms complimented each other in building up audience figures for Big Brother 2002, according to the latest research from Nielsen/NetRatings.
Data shows that peaks in television viewing coincide with peaks in daily internet traffic, suggesting that those logging onto the web, would also tune into the television programme. Both platforms achieved record audiences, according to Channel 4, in terms of TV viewing, this year’s Big Brother has been the most popular yet (see Big Brother Website Proves More Popular Than Ever). It was also the most successful series ever in terms of internet viewers, with a unique audience of 1.7 million for the channel4.com website. 1.4 million of which visited channel4.com/bigbrother in July 2002.
Tim Roe, senior analyst at Nielsen/Net Ratings, commented: “Rather than detracting from the TV viewing figures, our research shows how fans were spending time during the day on the internet seeking out latest news and events in the house, then watching the programme at home on TV. For advertisers it’s a case study in how to get your message across using media that can compliment, not compete, with each other.”
Nielsen/NetRatings analysis of the demographics of the online audience also revealed some interesting trends. Analysis of the sites six most popular pages showed women aged 18-24 were the most active audience group on the web. Although they made up a relatively small number of individuals in the audience at 98,000 people, they amassed nearly 26 million page views.
Big Brother 2002 also employed interactive television and SMS voting successfully, with over 11 million people casting eviction votes during the first six weeks of the show (see Big Brother 3 Boosts June’s Text Message Total).
Mark Brandon, head of interactive at Channel 4, said: “This year we worked particularly hard to ensure our content offerings maximised the intrinsic strengths of each platform and research shows our audience responded particularly well to the inter-relationship between the TV and the internet.”
Nielsen Media Research: 01344 627 553 www.nielsenmedia.com
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