Channel 4 boss Andy Duncan told the assembled throng at the Edinburgh TV festival that CBB was just taking a rest, but few would bet on it returning any time soon. And it was significant and symbolic that the announcement came at the same time as the main Big Brother format continued to struggle to pull up trees in its current run.
The presence of Jonathan Durden on this summer's show provided media folk with a temporary flicker of interest, but once the former Media Week columnist's ill-advised and mercifully short stint in the house ended, we watched the show meander on - and on - with diminishing viewing figures until it finally stuttered to a close last Friday.
The fact is, the format has had its day. What was once innovative has become tiresome; what was once pushing boundaries now looks like desperation. The only way to continue to engage audiences is to stretch the concept of the show to ridiculous lengths. And the unfortunate publicity that inevitably accompanies this stretching has tipped BB into negative equity with viewers, sponsors and advertisers alike.
Don't get me wrong, BB still delivers a seriously large audience to C4, and still pulls in masses of revenue that will be hard to replace. It provides endless material for other media outlets such as newspapers, magazines and websites, so there are also many other stakeholders pinning their hopes on its future prosperity. And C4 has a contract with programme-maker Endemol until 2010 that, at present, means the summer months are still more likely than not to feature our annual dose of BB.
But the simple fact is that BB is no longer "must see" TV for the masses. It's had its day in the sun. It's time to move on - time for Andy Duncan to be brave and task his programme-makers with delivering the next innovative format that will surprise and entertain us and drive mass audiences to C4 over the next five years. Like Duncan's trademark jeans and T-shirt, which were replaced by a smart shirt and jacket in Edinburgh, it's time to consign Big Brother to history.
- Steve Barrett is editor of Media Week
steve.barrett@haymarket.com.