Pam leaves and Big Brother faces the axe
Australian show struggling for ratings in 8th season
Last Updated: Monday, July 14, 2008 | 11:20 AM ET
CBC News
A visit from Canadian star Pamela Anderson wasn't enough to save the Australian version of the controversial reality TV show Big Brother.
The show, which former Australian prime minister John Howard once recommended cancelling, will be axed at the end of this season.
Australia's Channel 10 commercial network said Monday it was cutting the show because of declining ratings.
A visit last week from Anderson helped the show get a ratings boost, but viewers tuned out again as soon as she left, according to media reports.
Australia's Big Brother has struggled since its original host, Gretel Killeen, was replaced with radio DJs Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O'Neil.
"I think the potential for surprise and novelty has gone and with the cast of people chosen they really have exhausted the possibilities for depth and emotion," said media commentator Vincent O'Donnell.
The Big Brother concept, franchised to networks around the world by Netherlands-based Endemol, has often been criticized for fostering bad behaviour among contestants.
The series follows a group of strangers who live together and compete for cash prizes.
Alleged assault shown on internet
Former Australian PM Howard criticized the show in 2006 after an alleged sexual assault involving two male residents and a female resident was shown online. He called the airing of the incident indecent and recommended cancelling the show.
Later that year, Australian broadcasting rules were changed to force live webcasts to adhere to the same standards as other TV shows.
But Big Brother was again in trouble last year, after a housemate's father died and the show didn't tell her and after an incident in which contestants threw things at the Mexican flag.
At the same time, viewership is half what it was when the show began eight seasons ago, according to Channel 10.
"We are immensely proud of the show and the incredible success it has enjoyed," Channel 10 programming head David Mott said. "We're ending the season on a high."
Many of today's reality shows were based on the Big Brother format, he said.
Endemol, which has exported the show to 40 countries, said the show may return to Australia after a hiatus. Versions in Poland, the U.S. and Germany were revived after being off-air for a few years because of viewer fatigue.
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