August 2, 2001

2:43 PM

25,000people have subscribed to CBS' Big Brother live video stream. Triumph of "compelling" web content or fall of civilization? The article also says that 300,000 people have subscribed to GoldPass which is about $3,000,000...
posted by owillis (9 comments total)

Compelling web content has a long way to go, but this is a promsing step forward.

Not only would I pay $10/month for really good content online, but I'd love to be able to publish my own content to a greater audience and get some portion of the pie.
posted by jragon at 3:10 PM on August 2, 2001

I'll admit that I am watching this show, but I refuse to pay for it. Instead, I read the live feed updates on www.jokersupdates.com . One of the biggest complaints I have read about the live feeds is the constant switch to the front of the house when a banner is about to fly by or when the housepets start mentioning outside folks' names. Last year the feed was free and was quite fun to watch; plus, you got to see the housepets do their weekly challenge real time instead of just on TV. Now, they switch to the front of the house for stuff like that.
posted by Raymond Marble at 3:15 PM on August 2, 2001

Please mark fall of civilization as my vote.
posted by revbrian at 3:16 PM on August 2, 2001

If people are willing to pay for this crap, imagine how much money you could make selling good content?

I know, same as always, nothing.
posted by mathowie at 3:44 PM on August 2, 2001

Does anyone audit these claims?
posted by fleener at 3:59 PM on August 2, 2001

Those numbers aren't telling the whole story. As a fan of the show, I often catch up with events at the BB2 forum at The TV Clubhouse, which has its own live feed report.

At the time BB2 started up, Real was offering a special offer targeted to Major League Baseball fans -- $8.95 total for three months of Gold Pass. You have unsubscribe at the end of the trial if you don't want to continue to be charged.

Some BB2 fan found the offer elsewhere on Real's site and passed it all around the show's online communities. I would be surprised if a majority of those subscribers didn't do so through the 'MLB' trial offer.

Ah, the power of sharing information...
posted by Dirjy at 4:29 PM on August 2, 2001

I've been getting "Bunny's" summaries over at the bigbrotherfanclub.com. They're very good if Big Brother is something you're interested in.

One thing I've wondered is why they haven't done the feed as a pay-per-view. If they get 25,000 buys off the Internet with crappy quality, imagine what they could get with cable and great quality. I'm not so sure if I buy the Internet as a medium to distribute video. At least not now.
posted by iscavenger at 9:15 PM on August 2, 2001

I don't find the live feed all that interesting. Last year, it was pretty boring -- for the most part, they were sitting around talking about their hair, looking at birds, or cooking. I think what they show on tv during the hour-long segments is all you need to see. (Maybe not "need," but you know what I mean.) You get the highlights and don't have to sit through the boring stuff.

So maybe with the live feed you get to actually see the people in the house having sex rather than just talking about it on tv. Like there aren't a million places on the internet where you can see stuff like that.
posted by amyscoop at 8:02 AM on August 3, 2001

I think what they show on tv during the hour-long segments is all you need to see. (Maybe not "need," but you know what I mean.) You get the highlights and don't have to sit through the boring stuff.

True, you don't have to sit through the boring stuff, but you get to see the real action when it happens. Like that b*tch Shannon who got kicked out last week. If you watched just the TV show, you might actually believe her facade of being happy-go-lucky and misunderstood. If you watch the feeds or at least read the updates you'd see what an unrepentant egomaniac she is, convinced the rest of the world is jealous that we're not her. Sheesh.
posted by dnash at 8:09 AM on August 3, 2001