THis
edition of M-Net ’ s
BIG BROTHER AFRICA will
launch just days after the
newest World Cup
Champions are crowned,
and with the golden prize of
USD 200
000 once again up
for grabs, a breathtaking
new game will be well and
truly on! And this time, Big
Brother fans in over 40
countries across the
continent are going to get a
show that ’ s more edgy,
more tactically challenging
and more intensely
strategic than ever before.
So says M-Net Africa
Managing Director Biola
Alabi who was delighted to
make the news official.
“ What a great moment this
is - to bring back a show
that our audience loves for
an incredible 5
th
time. We
wanted season 4 (Big
Brother Revolution) to be
special but it exceeded our
hopes. With the volume of
interaction the show
received from fans, it was
clear that season 5 was
definitely on the cards. So
we ’ ve been developing
what we believe will be
thrilling new format
changes. ”
Now, with the news out in
the open, M-Net has
confirmed that the latest BIG
BROTHER
AFRICA will begin
on July 18, and will be
screened live 24/7 for 91
days. And breaking with
tradition, M-Net has
announced it won ’ t be
calling for entries for the
new show.
The company has revealed
that having run the series
4 times previously, they ’ re
now head-hunting
contestants from a
database of previous
entries submitted for the
show. ” We want to invest
more broadly in season 5
and having already been
introduced to a world of
interesting characters from
previous searches, there ’ s
limited value in spending
extensively in another
search for contestants, ”
says Alabi.She goes on to
say, “ We ’ ll still be looking
for entertaining persons
with a sense of humor, a
love of adventure and the
ability to enjoy the very
exciting Big Brother
experience. In the past
we ’ ve spent widely to find
contestants in 14 countries.
This year, we ’ re using
these funds to develop a
gutsy new series,
recreating the house in a
very different way and
focusing on putting new
technology into place. ”
One technological change
already in place is that this
year DStv channel 198 will
feature two television
feeds so audiences can
choose to move from one
BIG BROTHER feed to
another. At any one time
there will be two streams of
video and audio coming out
of the house and audiences
can simply pick the one that
they wish to watch.And with
the rules governing
conspiracy and alliance
about to be given a radical
new perspective, audiences
will
definitely want to follow
the action closely!
More good news from BIG
BROTHER AFRICA is that
charming Nigerian
television and radio star
I.K. Osakioduwa, whose
easy humor and
professional style are well
known, will return to the BIG
BROTHER
stage for a
second time. The star,
whose credits include
Comedy Club and Studio 53,
is a familiar face to DStv
viewers and a longtime fan
of the Big Brother series.
Asked why he thinks
audiences relate so well to
BIG BROTHER AFRICA, I.K.
says, “ It ’ s all reality.
That ’ s what makes it so
interesting. People like to
see the way that other
people handle real life
situations. And Big Brother
always does his part to
keep the activities and
surprises in the house
fresh. ”
Meanwhile this year
contestants will once again
be drawn from 14 countries
- Angola, Botswana, Ghana,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia,
Nigeria, South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. BIG BROTHER
AFRICA season five will be
produced by Endemol and
filmed on location in
Johannesburg. This year,
the house will feature 53
cameras and 100
microphones ensuring that,
as always, Big Brother is
always watching!
And season five will
maintain some of the key
characteristics that makes
BIG BROTHER AFRICA so
popular - the ability for
audiences to send their
text and web messages
direct to DStv channel 198
and see their thoughts and
opinions on air. PLUS
there ’ s the fact that
ultimate power of who is
evicted from the house and
who remains is firmly in the
hands of the voting public!