A U.S. edition of Big Brother was a ratings disappointment last summer, but CBS plans to air a new edition. De Mol spends one week a month in Los Angeles, trying to build Endemol into a Hollywood player. The collapse of the telecom sector makes it harder to squeeze synergies between telephones and TV via the Net. De Mol insists the tie-ins are working. Big Brother shows are available 24 hours a day on satellite TV and on the Internet.
Viewers get to vote weekly on eliminating one of the contestants.
More than 1 million people have visited the Loft Story Web site since the end of April, a juicy advertising opportunity. Expect Endemol to begin pushing more Big Brother takeoffs. Already, Endemol has begun testing new formats in the same genre such as Big Diet and Starmaker , challenging contestants to lose weight or choosing one to become a pop star. It splits up couples and tests their commitment to each other by showing scenes of their partner in compromising positions. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.