Big Brother UK Moves Auditions Online

Posted on December 3, 2006

The UK's Channel 4 is moving the auditions for Big Brother UK online to its e4.com website in a move to make e4.com a major online media player.

Wannabe Petes or Nikkis will be able to upload a video clip to the channel's revived website E4.com, giving reasons as to why they should star in the eighth season of 'Big Brother'. The auditions, which will be rated by other users and studied by producers Endemol and Channel 4 commissioning editors, with at least one online applicant guaranteed a place in the 'Big Brother' house.
The 'Big Brother' feature follows a similar path to YouTube and MySpace by offering users the chance to become instant celebrities with their homemade videos, which they can post on E4.com.
Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4, said: "E4 already has a powerful connection with younger audiences and looms large in their media consumption habits.
"These viewers are the first generation to grow up with the internet and they are driving the phenomenal growth of social networking online and of user generated content as a mainstream entertainment medium. We think it's a perfect platform to launch this initiative and propel Channel 4 into one of digital media's fastest growing market places."

The article also says people will be able to create their own webpages on E4.com which is another sign the site is transforming into a media and social networking hub. e4.com's Big Brother website can be found here. In the U.S., the CW Network, a tv network targeting young viewers, has a video mixer feature called CW Lab but nothing resembling a social network yet.