CBS's "Big Brother" is showing its age: 11 in all its adolescent horror.
That's right, the show's 11th(1) season is launching with a new multi-platform effort to boost ratings.
Among the initiatives, ccordin gto iTVt:
• "Big Brother" episodes will be simulcast on the CBS Mobile Channel, on FloTV's mobile TV service
• Viewers will be able to interact with and influence the show through text messaging
• A new mobile simulation game will allow viewers to compete in the "Big Brother" house as one of the past contestants, playing various mini-games for such show elements as Head of Household and Power of Veto
I have no idea what that last part means, and I'm sure I don't want to. As a side note, apparently whatever it is here in the US, "Big Brother" is a veritable phenomenon in Germany.
Then again, Germany made David Hasselfhoff a pop star.
The season premiere airs tonight (definitely no competition in the off season). As for the other elements, they include:
• A Twitter feed (@BigBrotherScoop) will provide real-time updates from what CBS calls a "production insider" during and between broadcasts
• Starting tomorrow, a second Twitter feed (@BigBrotherHoH) will give the contestant who has been selected as "Head of Household" for the week an opportunity to tweet daily messages directly to viewers
• Also starting July 10th, the broadband video show, "Inside Dish with Ross Mathews" (on theinsider.com), will launch weekly "Big Brother" segments
• An online contest called the "Big Brother Fantasy League" (cbs.com/bbfantasy) will allow viewers to compete for a grand prize of $1,000; each week, viewers will choose two active "Big Brother" contestants to be on their team, and will accrue points by correctly predicting those contestants' actions and the outcome of events on the show in general
There's more, but you can read all about it here. I watched about half an hour of one episode five years ago and I respectfully don't get it - though obviously millions do.
Can yet another season of "Survivor" be far behind?
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