TV Week
By Josef Adalian
CBS is teaming with Internet game supplier AirPlay to launch the first interactive game linked to “Big Brother.”
The “Big Brother Live TV Challenge” joins the annual array of multiplatform initiatives associated with the network’s 9-year-old reality show, including live streaming via RealNetworks and the unedited “Big Brother After Dark” on Showtime 2.
The AirPlay game will allow “Big Brother” junkies to compete against other fans in various live Internet and text messaging challenges tied to knowledge of past episodes and predictions of future events on the show.
AirPlay—which also has launched games tied to “Deal or No Deal,” the Emmys and sporting events—will keep track of how players fare throughout the season and award the game winner a trip to the “Brother” season finale.
“Big Brother Live TV Challenge” launches Sunday, the same night “Big Brother” begins its 10th edition.
CBS also is revamping its official “Big Brother” Web site, allowing users to more fully interact with each other via expanded message boards. Hardcore “Brother” fans looking to trade gossip about the show have tended to flock to Web sites not associated with CBS.
Other returning elements of CBS’ cross-platform approach to “Big Brother” include:
--Live, 24/7 streaming from inside the “Big Brother” house—a soundstage on the Radford lot in Studio City—will continue to be available via RealNetworks. Cost: $14.99 per month, which includes a subscription to Real’s “SuperPass” service.
--Showtime 2 will bring back its nightly airing of the “Brother” feed. It will air from midnight to 3 a.m., seven nights a week, for the duration of the show.
--CBSMobile.com will offer a package of services related to the show, including breaking news updates from inside the house, photos and videos.
--“House Calls,” the Monday-Friday Internet talk show devoted to “Big Brother,” returns to CBS.com Monday. It will air live at noon Pacific time and will be available for streaming on demand afterward.