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Buzz Watch: Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2

Authored by Jay Baage on October 17, 2007 - 9:46am.
No other TV show ranks as high internationally in Yahoo searches as "Pinoy Big Brother," the Phillipine version of the reality TV franchise (the word Pinoy is a colloquial term for Filipino). When it premiered this week, buzz on an already strong presence rose an impressive 282%. Yahoo Buzz points out that the online popularity of Pinoy Big Brother is a welcome reminder for us that buzz isn't always sitting in our backyard. But there are more conclusions that can be drawn from the search stats.

Pinoy Big Brother has the same format as its US counterpart - twelve Philippine residents are forced to live with each other inside a house for about 100 days (extended to another 12 days for the first season due to inefficient scheduling of nomination and eviction of housemates in the first week).

The Big Brother concept is developed by the television production company Endemol, headquartered in the Netherlands. Endemol today has subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Poland, Netherlands, India, South Africa, Lebanon, Morocco and Australia among others.

Big Brother is alongside "Deal or No Deal" well-known, global Endemol brands. Global reality TV franchises provide interesting case studies for how to develop and manage media properties in an increasingly global environment.

A Google news search for “Big Brother” gave 19.574 hits with news ranging from Finland to Uganda (many related to the TV show, some relating to the character from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four that inspired the show).

One reason for the international popularity of “Pinoy Big Brother,” I guess, is that many people from the Philippines live in other countries and are familiar with the concept. Now they are excited about how it will play out in their home country. What is the natural way to find out? The Internet.

Also, the show emphasizes creating controversy (such as sex) as well as exploiting the potential psychological factors and showcasing human nature. Naturally, the contestants will do things that cause headlines and if all PR is good PR, then Big Brother certainly delivers.

The show also engages viewers in a way that few other television properties do. What is interesting is that in spite of the online buzz for “Pinoy Big Brother,” viewers can’t cast their votes online.

The elimination process in the show is the reverse of the original Dutch format. At the start of the elimination process, the "housemates" (as the contestants are referred to) vote for which two (sometimes more if there are ties) fellow housemates they should eliminate. Once these nominations are chosen, the viewer votes come into play. For a week viewers are asked to vote, via SMS or voice messaging through PLDT's hotline, for whoever they wanted to stay longer in the house. The housemate with the least viewer votes is eliminated.  

In any case, Pinoy Big Brother is a good example of why traditional television and cable networks need to move online. Television shows are increasingly global and there is a huge potential audience out there. Endemol and Big Brother have shown that if you have a good concept with interactive elements, it will work pretty much everywhere. These shows should also be available to watch from just about everywhere.

Joakim Baage

If you are interested in the globalization of television, make sure not to miss the panel “Global TV & the Emergence of Worldwide Content Distribution Networks” at our upcoming Future of Television Conference in NYC on Nov. 8-9.

Related Link:
Buzz Watch: Deal or No Deal Most Popular TV Show Online




Published in DMW Daily, October 17, 2007
tags: Internet | Video | Marketing | TV | Endemol | Pinoy Big Brother |



Comments

The past edition of Pinoy

Submitted by Jas (not verified) on October 18, 2007 - 12:38am.
The past edition of Pinoy Big Brother it's management could not deny na nagkaron ng favoritism kina Wendy Valdez & Rosita Baring. I hope hindi ito mauulit sa Celebrity Edition 2 because it seems very interesting ang personalities ng mga housemates ngayon.

Eithel Boba,i think is the

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on November 11, 2007 - 9:11pm.
Eithel Boba,i think is the most exciting one inside the BBH.I like her she does not have "kemi" sa katauhan niya.Si Muriel i started not to like her anymore is so "aywan"Baron, magbago ka na. sayang ka ang galing mo pa namang umarti.

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