(Photo: CBS)
The Big Brother series debuted on CBS in 1997, and it’s unlikely that anyone involved with the show at the time could have anticipated that it would still be airing multiple times a week, nearly three decades later. How long will Big Brother continue to be a big success for the network? Could it be cancelled, or is it sure to be renewed for season 29? Stay tuned.
A reality competition series, the Big Brother TV show is hosted by Julie Chen Moonves and typically airs three nights a week — Wednesdays (veto), Thursdays (eviction), and Sundays. The 27th season cast includes a professional bull rider, event curator, marketing manager, AI consultant, aura painter, attorney, and a dungeon master, among others. This new group of houseguests is stepping into a summer where nothing is as it seems, where every twist rewrites the rules, and every turn conceals a hidden agenda. The Houseguests this time around are Adrian Rocha (23), Amy Bingham (43), Ashley Hollis (25), Ava Pearl (24), Cliffton “Will” Williams (50), Isaiah “Zae” Frederich (23), Jimmy Heagerty (25), Katherine Woodman (23), Keanu Soto (33), Kelley Jorgensen (29), Lauren Domingue (22), Mickey Lee (35), Morgan Pope (33), Rylie Jeffries (27), Vince Panaro (34), Zach Cornell (27), and returning player Rachel Reilly (40). The show follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with 94 HD cameras and 113 microphones, recording their every move 24 hours a day. Each week, one or more people are voted out of the house. In the end, only one will be awarded the grand prize of $750,000.
Nielsen Ratings
The Nielsen ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances of survival. This chart is updated as new ratings data becomes available.
10/1 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.
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For comparisons: On Wednesdays, season 26 of Big Brother on CBS averaged a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 2.80 million viewers. On Thursdays, season 26 averaged a 0.55 demo with 2.93 million and, on Sundays, the 26th season averaged a 0.49 demo with 2.62 million.
Note: These are the final national ratings, including all live+same day viewing and DVR playback (through 3:00 AM). While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled.
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What do you think? Do you like the Big Brother TV series on CBS? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a 28th season?
