Meanwhile, media agencies must grapple with how to target the audience Big Brother delivers in abundance. They are calling on C4 to keep them in the loop on its new programming plans. Endemol must generate new income while continuing to service the debt its owners took on to buy it for ¤3.4bn in 2007. Tim Hincks, Endemol UK chief executive, insists it is diversified enough to withstand the loss of Channel 4's cash.
Views from TV sector and media agencies...
Julian Bellamy, Head of Channel 4
We will not seek a like-for-like replacement. The idea we could find something so big is fanciful. We want to use the cash in drama and we will do more comedy. If we were purely commercial we would still run it - it is still making a profit.
Chris Hayward, Head of Investment, ZenithOptimedia
It will not easily be replaced, but I would not underestimate Channel 4's creative capacity to do so. I suggest Channel 4 shares its ideas with advertising agencies as soon as possible to keep them reassured.
Tim Hincks, Chief executive, Endemol UK
Will we be damaged by C4's decision? Don't forget we make quite a few shows in the UK - 74 shows on air in the last year alone to be precise. Do we think Big Brother has a life beyond 2010 in the UK? Definitely.
Chris Locke, UK trading director, Starcom MediaVest Group
Big Brother's ratings are still relatively huge and it's a very cost-effective show. But Channel 4 relied on it too much to drive its annual figures. Now it needs to come up with something that will find that word-of-mouth moment and get the ad money in the market, otherwise someone else will.
Simon Shaps, former director of TV, ITV
Channel 4 has made the right decision and this gives it a great creative opportunity. It will be interesting to see if Endemol can create a second life for Big Brother by hosting it on platforms outside of television.
David Elstein, former chief executive, Five
Big Brother has shifted from being a Channel 4 asset to at best a non-liability. The show has pretty much run its course creatively. Big Brother is now probably too costly for Five and too time-consuming for ITV1. It might work well on Sky 1/2/3, but I suspect Sky will think twice about taking another terrestrial cast-off.
Paul Rowlinson, investment director, AV media, Mindshare
Big Brother delivers big audiences, but it doesn't fit with how Channel 4 wants to be perceived in future. It has gone from a social experiment to a reality toilet. Channel 4 will be hard pushed to replace its audience. It needs to find a balance between mass appeal and a more focused profile in line with its remit.
Milestones in the nine-year history of Big Brother
July 2000
Channel 4 airs the first series of Big Brother
March 2001
First series of Celebrity Big Brother aired in aid of Comic relief
Summer 2002
Big Brother's third series averages 5.8 million viewers per show, with the final attracting 10 million viewers
June 2004
Producers come under fire after a drunken fight erupted in the house. Ofcom upheld 55 complaints
August 2006
Watchdog lcstis fined Channel 4 £50,000 for misleading phone voters by allowing evicted contestants back into the house
November 2006
Channel 4 strikes three-year renewal contract with Endemol for a reported £180m to take deal up to 2010
January 2007
Jade Goody prompts race row after her bullying of Shilpa Shetty in Celebrity Big Brother
June 2009
Tenth series of Big Brother sees average ratings at all-time low of two million
August 2009
Channel 4 announces it is to axe the show after the 11th series next year
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