There are twenty editions of one of the most successful shows in television history and still today a touchstone of everything that the subgenre reality has given later. In hits like ‘The island of temptations‘We can detect the DNA of ‘Big Brother’, but the father of the format is not doing well at all. at some very low audiences In its new edition there is a rebellion from the public, who are asking for changes on social networks.
#Zeppelinifyouarenominated: The followers of reality They have expressed with that hashtag their frustration with Zeppelin TV, the producer of the program, accusing it of denaturalizing the essence of the program. Through it they have recovered moments that consider memorable of old editions. The most visible complaint came through an open letterwhich summed up the widespread feeling: “What we currently see on screen is no longer Big Brother. It is another program, with its name, but without its essence.”
What are they complaining about? Among other protestsare the elimination of iconic moments from the program such as the interview with those expelled or their farewell to the rest of their colleagues from the studio. And the incorporation of mechanics foreign to the original format is rejected (“birdhouses” and “oasis” where contestants are isolated, “applicant” systems that delay entry to the house), all imported from ‘Secret Story’, the reality show that Zeppelin produced in 2021.
Low audiences. The audience figures for the twentieth edition have established unprecedented negative marks for the format. In mid-November 2025, the program reached a all-time low of 11.3% of share with just 636,000 viewers. He format decline It is devastating: in 2002 the premiere of the third season registered a 38.7% share, but the premiere of ‘GH19’ in September 2024 barely reached 17.4% with 1 million viewers. But it is the latest edition that is being made historic lows in spectatorseven infecting ‘Temptation Island’. The reality show has been relegated to fifth position in its time slot.
All over the world. The Spanish debacle is part of an international collapse of this format created in Holland 25 years ago. In the United Kingdom, the launch of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ in April 2025 had almost a million viewers less than the previous year. The 2024 British edition of anonymous contestants also set its own negative record with the worst inaugural data in history of the program. In the US in 2025, it has suffered a spectacular fall too. The diagnosis is universal: the format has exhausted its capacity to surprise.
Mediaset in trouble. The failure of ‘Big Brother 20’ is part of a broader corporate debacle. In August 2025, Telecinco registered an 8% screen share, its worst month in 35 years of history. The advertising hemorrhage is equally alarming: revenue plummeted from 450 million euros in 2019 to 316 million in the first half of 2025, a drop of 9.4% according to Infoadex data.
The bleeding has forced the closure of production companies such as Fénix Media, responsible for ‘Socialité’, which has started a complete ERE. All of this has ended up precipitating a fall in five points of share in five years while Antena 3 accumulates 13 consecutive months as leader.
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