Big Brother II held its own against Big Brother I

"The Big Brother II audience profile was similar to the average M-Net subscriber, except that more viewers were women, and Afrikaans-speaking," says Executive Project Manager & Head of New Media Oracle Innovision, Tracey Hawkridge. She says the comparative figures for the launch night of Big Brother 1 and Big Brother 2 were 21.1 ARs vs 22 ARs, measured against the M-Net subscriber audience. "In the A Inc Adults category, Big Brother I achieved 12 ARs, but Big Brother II bettered this result with 17 ARs."

Hawkridge points out that the Sunday eviction programme averages were close. 17.2 ARs were achieved by Big Brother I and 16.6 ARs for the sequel, measured against M-Net subscribers. In the A Inc Adults category, Big Brother I clocked up 11 ARs, as opposed to Big Brother II's 11.6 ARs. "And, as far as the finales were concerned, Big Brother I achieved 19.4 ARs against Big Brother II's 18.8 ARs amongst M-Net subscribers, but the average ratings in the final week of the series were higher for Big Brother II."

Since the launch of Big Brother II, Channel 37, DStv's 24-hour Big Brother channel was the most watched channel on the bouquet by Adult subscribers, with Thursday evenings, better known as the party evenings, chalking up the highest ratings.

Hawkridge goes on to elaborate on the deliverables regarding Big Brother II's 'Bigger, Better, Rougher, Tougher' theme. "The housemates initially numbered 10, with the inclusion of two Bushwhackers in the second week. This was a format 'shake-up' that generated a great deal of interest and excitement amongst viewers and housemates alike. Two feline 'housemates' were later thrown in for good measure. During the first week, housemates were deprived of luxury grocery items and the house was minimalistic, to say the least."

"The pace was revved up in the second series with weekly nominations and evictions, whilst weekly tasks boosted the entertainment value of the show. A new concept saw the housemates being rewarded in the Virtual Vault."

Big Brother II brought more interactivity to fans than ever before, with SMS streaming on Channel 37, which amounted to 850 000 SMSes, Rant & Rave Lines and Spy Lines for each housemate - the latter enabling fans to call a telephone number, which allowed them to listen in on their chosen housemate's lapel microphone. 26 730 calls were generated on Interactive TV and another 4-million calls across all Big Brother II phone lines.

Big Brother II sponsor, Shoprite Checkers was delighted to find that the show provided a 92 per cent return on their investment. "The association with Checkers was exceptionally effective as the housemates and viewers interacted with the Checkers brand regularly especially on a Monday, when housemate ordered their groceries off a branded plasma screen and Tuesdays, when they unpacked their groceries from branded environmental paper bags," says Group Marketing Director, Brian Weyers. "The reality is that the Checkers bags formed part of the Big Brother II landscape, fortuitously being used daily to move things around the house."

Another sponsor, Reckitt Benckiser, who supplied the Big Brother II house with cleaning materials, ventured into sponsorships this year for the first time, and found that the medium delivers maximum exposure. They confirmed that they reaped the benefits of involvement on Big Brother II. This sentiment has been echoed by a number of other sponsors, whose exposure on the show far exceeded what they were contracted to.