Blog: Big brother

With Vivendi-backed Banijay on the verge of acquiring Endemol Shine this week, we are entering a new era of monetising fandom in the on-demand streaming era. Banijay is reportedly offering $2.2 billion to acquire the Disney/Apollo-owned production company famous for producing hits for two very different eras – the linear TV hit reality show Big Brother and the dystopian Sci-Fi streaming anthology hit Black Mirror.

Dutch production house Endemol is no longer going to be making cult reality TV show Big Brother for Viacom’s UK terrestrial channel, Channel 5. It announced that it was “disappointed not to reach an agreement with Channel 5”, following Channel 5’s admission to the BBC that “the forthcoming series of Big Brother will be the last – of either celebrity or civilian versions ­– on Channel 5”.