‘Big Brother’ the reason why ‘Bigg Boss 17’ is not airing in UK?

By Johar Deep, Correspondent

14 October 2023

Salman Khan in 'Bigg Boss 17'

After BizAsiaLive.com exclusively broke the news about ‘Bigg Boss 17’ not airing in the UK, speculation has been rife about what exactly happened.

Colors UK is hugely dependent on ‘Bigg Boss’ as its most lucrative property, which garners hundreds of thousands of pounds from advertising and sponsorship. The gaping hole in its schedule is no doubt a huge loss for the broadcaster.

However, sources close to BizAsiaLive.com have revealed that the launch of the original ‘Big Brother’ series in the UK is the reason for ‘Bigg Boss 17’ not being broadcast in the UK territory. ‘Big Brother’, which returned on UK screens after a five-year hiatus, was launched with much fanfare on ITV earlier this month. It is said they did not want any other similar format of the show to impact the viewership and revenue of the ‘Big Brother’. It is worth stating that ‘Big Brother’ now in its 20th season, launched back in 2000 after having local successes in the Netherlands and Germany. It was picked up by India broadcaster Sony TV in 2006.

The omission of ‘Bigg Boss 17’ will be a huge loss for UK viewers and the broadcaster, Colors UK. It remains to be seen if the rights debacle will be an ongoing issue for Colors UK.