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If Channel 10 bought back BBAU...

As I said before it’s clear that BB doesn’t have the bandwidth to support pumping out even just one or two minute clips of extra footage from the house. Given that any likely revival is going to be pinching every penny a more cost effective approach is simply throwing up a 24/7 feed and letting fans do the work of snipping worth while clips and reposting them. As long as they aren’t monetizing or rebroadcasting extended versions of the feed there shouldn’t be a need for relentless crackdowns.

Also another thing to consider is just how much as site like this contributed to BB’s success in the pre social media era… The sense of community that surrounds the live feed is what’s kept BBUS/CAN so popular all these years.
 
Gayspie said:
Couldnt a compromise between live feeds (which can be legally problematic hence require the employment of censors around the clock) and no live feeds (which can leave us in the lurch) be some form of live updates (like the odd Facebook Live video or Insta Photo or Twitter tweet) from official social media pages which can then be shared by followers to generate interest?
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I feel 'live' feeds could still be fine if they increased the delay a bit. Even if the feeds are delayed by 2 hours in order to allow anything too inappropriate or legally questionable to be edited out of the camera switched to another room would still be better than no feed at all.
 
I think 15 minutes is fine - if you're not catching something in a few minutes you're not going to catch it in two hours. Indeed a longer delay with a more rigorous censoring process will only increase costs and make it unviable.

For me 24/7 live should be the non-negotiable but in reality if it's a limited live streaming window - say 2-3 hours on 10Play after the daily show - it's a start. Sadly I think producers now are probably happy to have us see the HMs in the evening in their downtime (which is probably the feeds we want to see anyway) but not so much the format points (i.e. tasks) live during the day.
 
Brekkie said:
For me 24/7 live should be the non-negotiable but in reality if it's a limited live streaming window - say 2-3 hours on 10Play after the daily show - it's a start. Sadly I think producers now are probably happy to have us see the HMs in the evening in their downtime (which is probably the feeds we want to see anyway) but not so much the format points (i.e. tasks) live during the day.
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Unless they had an Uplate show, they could run the live streams 7am-11pm, it doesn't have to be 24 hours. They wouldn't be trying to keep them awake and plying them with alcohol like they used to, anyway. Even on Uplate it wasn't uncommon for them to have all gone to bed. Save a few $ on staffing during the dogwatch shift. I wouldn't like just a couple of hours in the evening AU time, (but only because that doesn't suit me). It was always good being able to tune in any time you wanted when it was at its peak.
 
timmy said:
Unless they had an Uplate show, they could run the live streams 7am-11pm, it doesn't have to be 24 hours. They wouldn't be trying to keep them awake and plying them with alcohol like they used to, anyway. Even on Uplate it wasn't uncommon for them to have all gone to bed. Save a few $ on staffing during the dogwatch shift. I wouldn't like just a couple of hours in the evening AU time, (but only because that doesn't suit me). It was always good being able to tune in any time you wanted when it was at its peak.
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I remember in 2008 being allowed to log into view the BBAU live feeds for five minutes from the school computer as a reward for good behavior in primary school.
 
Brekkie said:
That was always the problem with BBAU - ridiculous a teacher would think it appropriate for a primary school audience.
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the viewing was under direct supervision of a teachers aide who had her finger near the computer off button ready to push it the millisecond the housemates started behaving badly.
 
OK, rough outline of what I would do. An eight week run (though the final tips it into 9 weeks). Essentially Sunday-Friday on Ten, with shows capped at 90 minutes except eviction night. I am using the Ten template as the spine but is a concession to the competitive format of Seven.

Weekly schedule:
  • Sunday 6.30-7.30 Daily Show, 7 30-8.30 Live Eviction
  • Monday 7.30-8.40 Daily Show Inc Nominations Challenge
  • Tuesday 7.30-8.40 Daily Show Inc Nominations
  • Wednesday/Thursday 7.30-8.30 Daily Show Inc Weekly Task
  • Friday 7.30 Daily Show 8.00-9.00 Friday Night Live

2-3 hours of Live streaming would follow on 10Play after each show. Ideally 24/7 streaming would also be on Paramount+.

Weekly Structure:

The noms Challenge on Monday would see one winner who wins Immunity and the right to nominate one person. Regular Nominations on Tuesday then add at least two more nominees. Production wise probably best for the challenge and nominations to be recorded earlier in the day but the challenge winner nominating and the final nominees being announced can be live elements at the end of the show.

Some form of Weekly Task is the hook for the Wed/Thu Daily show. A shorter daily show on Friday to make way for the biggest concession to the Ten era in resurrecting Friday Night Live - I hated it myself but I think young fans of BB have fonder memories of it. It'll be kept to an hour. Will be more fun than game critical with the winner getting a sponsor prize, an advantage in the upcoming noms challenge, the ability to give someone a disadvantage in that and access to the Rewards Room. Unlike the original run the format of the Rewards Room would change weekly, so could be choosing a few HMs for a party, one for a weekend in a private suite or access passes to say a games room or spa room etc.

A return to Live audience evictions on Sunday - contemplating having viewers save nominees and the bottom two then face a house vote but actually think a straight viewer eviction is for the best to put the public back in control. Probably revive the combined Save / Evict system.


Series Structure:

The show would launch on a Sunday with "Big Brother: Welcome Home" with a similar structure to the Ten era, so recorded the night before. The weekly format then kicks in immediately. The theme of Big Brother returning home would be the basis of pre-series promotion.

Evictions are mostly singles but doubles in Week 4 and 7. The final week has an additional double on the Tuesday after a final challenge on the Monday which gives the winner full control of nominations. There is then a double on the Sunday with three in the final on Monday. That's 16 HMs in total across the series - which inevitably would include Intruders.


So nothing too controversial there - and it's trying to balance recapturing the golden age with the needs of the current age - and it's much more about what I think BBAU needs rather than what I want. I'm not 100% sure it would succeed but at least it would be Big Brother.
 
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BBBA - Peter Abbott Interview

Behind Big Brother Australia - Podcast
on.soundcloud.com on.soundcloud.com

Just listened to this interview again… I’ve got to say I think Peter understood BB and the social experiment aspect of the show on a different level than most. He seems to have had a very keen eye for what should/could be.

I think Alex saw himself as a worthy successor but was too focused on stunts and gimmicks than experimentation and picking up on subtle things that could potentially led to something down the road. I’d be interested to know if he actually had ideas Nine had shot down that went beyond the flashy game show aesthetic he claims to have been bound by.

As for how brining up this interview ties in to the theme of this thread… Peter brings up near the end of the interview when talking about BB Uplate comes up that he refers to as a “piece of dogma in the Endemol world” that “more is more” that I think really needs to be at the heart of any revival. To quote him again BB’s universal selling point is that it’s a “24 hour experience” so any opportunity they have to give fans “more” is an opportunity that should within reason/budget should be taken. Viewer fatigue aside I think format drift is really what’s killed the show. I think there’s a direct correlation between how they’ve tried to make BB like other shows in the genre or the way it became almost a parody of itself and the loss in viewership over the years. Exploiting what makes BB different is what’s going to save the format from permanent extinction.

More is more also needs to apply to advertising and promotion of the show… The success of any future revival needs to exploit any and every opportunity for promotion beyond simply running ads on TV/social media. Think Barbie movie level promotion.

@Zcsund1234 I think made a really good point in the BBUK rewatch thread about BBAU’s first season having been more polished in comparison to BBUK’s which I think speaks to BBAU’s current position quite well… Following ITV’s excellent albeit unpolished lead is not only a smart decision but learning from their mistakes will lead to a much better finished product.

As for whether Peter could be convinced to return? Being a man in his 60’s I don’t think he’d be a good fit nor do I think he would want to return full-time. I do however think he could potentially return to consult/assist in finding new talent that could fill key production roles. The success of any revival is hanging on the show going back to basics so if bringing Peter onboard in some capacity involves writing him a blank cheque it would be money well spent IMO.
 
Brekkie said:
OK, rough outline of what I would do. An eight week run (though the final tips it into 9 weeks). Essentially Sunday-Friday on Ten, with shows capped at 90 minutes. I am using the Ten template as the spine but is a concession to the competitive format of Seven.

Weekly schedule:
  • Sunday 6.30-7.30 Daily Show, 7 30-8.30 Live Eviction
  • Monday 7.30-8.40 Daily Show Inc Nominations Challenge
  • Tuesday 7.30-8.40 Daily Show Inc Nominations
  • Wednesday/Thursday 7.30-8.30 Daily Show Inc Weekly Task
  • Friday 7.30 Daily Show 8.00-9.00 Friday Night Live

2-3 hours of Live streaming would follow on 10Play after each show. Ideally 24/7 streaming would also be on Paramount+.

Weekly Structure:

The noms Challenge on Monday would see one winner who wins Immunity and the right to nominate one person. Regular Nominations on Tuesday then add at least two more nominees. Production wise probably best for the challenge and nominations to be recorded earlier in the day but the challenge winner nominating and the final nominees being announced can be live elements at the end of the show.

Some form of Weekly Task is the hook for the Wed/Thu Daily show. A shorter daily show on Friday to make way for the biggest concession to the Ten era in resurrecting Friday Night Live - I hated it myself but I think young fans of BB have fonder memories of it. It'll be kept to an hour. Will be more fun than game critical with the winner getting a sponsor prize, an advantage in the upcoming noms challenge, the ability to give someone a disadvantage in that and access to the Rewards Room. Unlike the original run the format of the Rewards Room would change weekly, so could be choosing a few HMs for a party, one for a weekend in a private suite or access passes to say a games room or spa room etc.

A return to Live audience evictions on Sunday - contemplating having viewers save nominees and the bottom two then face a house vote but actually think a straight viewer eviction is for the best to put the public back in control. Probably revive the combined Save / Evict system.


Series Structure:

The show would launch on a Sunday with a similar structure to the Ten era, so recorded the night before. The weekly format then kicks in immediately.

Evictions are mostly singles but doubles in Week 4 and 7. The final week has an additional double on the Tuesday after a final challenge on the Monday which gives the winner full control of nominations. There is then a double on the Sunday with three in the final on Monday. That's 16 HMs in total across the series - which inevitably would include Intruders.


So nothing too controversial there - and it's trying to balance recapturing the golden age with the needs of the current age - and it's much more about what I think BBAU needs rather than what I want. I'm not 100% sure it would succeed but at least it would be Big Brother.
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I like it although I’d keep the nomination challenge to the 3 point twist. Being able to nominate directly is too much power beyond a one off type of scenario… I’d also have the first round be straight forward and simple nominations. Introduce the nominations twist for week two. If by chance the holder of the power is evicted they’ll award the power to a person of their choosing on their way out.

Adding to this I’d also bring back Uncut… It’s seems to be the only thing 7 got right. The revival for BB15 seems to have had the perfect mix of traditional “uncut” style content and footage that didn’t make the main edit. It also showed that it could be revived with absolutely zero controversy.
 
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Brekkie said:
Oh yes, I meant to add in Uncut. Would keep it on 10Play to try and avoid any trouble.
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It will no doubt be seen as mildly controversial simply due to it’s history but I’m doubtful even if it did air on broadcast TV the errors in judgement production made leading to the original cancellation aren’t likely in today’s climate.

Strict protocols around consent/consensual touching, reasonable monitoring of alcohol consumption, and keeping the shows mandate to unfiltered content from the house rather than just nudity/sexual conversations would go a long way.

While making it a streaming exclusive isn’t a bad idea I could also see it airing in a “late night” slot on a secondary channel. A limited live feed/Uplate could also probably find a home on one of those channels as well
 
Along with some of my earlier comments I’d also like the show to be seen as a bit edgy… Flirting controversy by casting BBAU’s first official transgender HM or even better HM’s, increasing representation for BIPOC and other LGBTQI+ people, and anything else that could lead to the show being labeled “woke”.
 
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Kingston said:
Along with some of my earlier comments I’d also like the show to be seen as a bit edgy… Flirting controversy by casting BBAU’s first official transgender HM or even better HM’s, increasing representation for BIPOC and other LGBTQI+ people, and anything else that could lead to the show being labeled “woke”.
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Casting the exact opposite from the last season on Seven. 100%. If anyone's going to be the token anything in future, let's hope it's the token influencer.
 
Kingston said:
Aside from Gayspie (just like the Uncut controversy) those that will scream the loudest about the show going woke have never watched it and likely never would.
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ikr? It's like people who criticise Star Trek for "going woke", like it hasn't been groundbreaking since the 1960s in that respect.
 
timmy said:
ikr? It's like people who criticise Star Trek for "going woke", like it hasn't been groundbreaking since the 1960s in that respect.
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It’s the people who talk about wokeness like it’s a plague on society rather than treating people with the respect they deserve/elevating voices that have historically been sidelined in favour of a majority.
 
Just to add I'd likely launch it off the back of Masterchef to headline Q3. Yes, that means up against The Block but that's better than against MAFS. Q4 makes BB feel like an afterthought. It's unlikely they'd move Masterchef to restore it to its traditional Q2 slot, and that's too close to Survivor and I'm a Celeb anyway.
 
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