“The popularity of BBNaija abroad is enough for it to be considered as Nigeria’s most effective public relations campaign. This is because, for the duration of the show, international viewers are drawn in by the drama, while receiving exposure to local cultural elements. From music to lifestyle and the intersections between pop culture and other sectors, everything is laid bare”
– theconversation.com
In the Beginning
BBNaijais the Nigerian version of the reality TV series created by John de Mol Jr’s Endemol, a Dutch TV network. The Big Brother franchise named after George Orwell’s “Big Brother” was first broadcast in the Netherlands in 1999 with a record 4 million out of 15 million Dutch people watching the final episode on 30th December 1999. The production format was soon sold across different countries where it has been adapted to local cultural norms and production codes with varying degrees of success. However, the theme of the show still relates to the Orwellian influence of mass surveillance, and “Big Brother’s” absolute power.
In Africa, the franchise started with Big Brother Africa, based in South Africa with the participants coming from different African countries. Along the line, Big Brother spread slowly, across Africa, with Angola-Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, and more recently Cameroon having their respective Big Brother reality TV shows. Big Brother Nigeria started in 2006 and took a long break before rebranding itself as Big Brother Naija in 2017 and becoming a massive hit among television viewers in Nigeria and beyond.
Twice as Tall: How Big Brother Naija outcompeted Big Brother Africa
Big Brother Africa first premiered in 2003 and was a bit different from iterations of Big Brother around the world given that housemates in Big Brother Africa were invited from different African countries. Ideally, this setup made the show quite popular within and even outside the 14 participating countries. However, in the later years of the show, like the last season, it faced several challenges, such as a fire incident and lack of sponsorship, which ultimately led to its abandonment.
Big Brother Africa was the cradle of the reality TV show in the continent, such that when it took a hiatus in 2003, Big Brother Nigeria debuted in 2006 to fill the void. When Big Brother Africa resumed in 2007, Big Brother Nigeria took a walk. Big Brother Africa eventually got cancelled for good in 2014. Although, in 2017, the franchise would return to the continent in the form of Big Brother Naija: See Gobe, laying the foundation for what, according to pan-African broadcasting company MultiChoice, would become the “most-watched reality TV show in Africa.”
What made Big Brother Naija bigger?
Big Brother Africa was the biblical John the Baptist for Big BrotherNaija. Its past success was dependent on several factors that have become immense today: the audience population, internet, and people with access to satellite television. Big Brother Naija gained prominence based on the success of the previous Big Brother Africa, such that when it was reintroduced, the increased number of DSTv subscribers and social media access, there was already an awareness of what the show was about.
Increased Internet access and Multichoice subscribers
The total number of Nigerian DSTV subscribers at the time of the finalBig Brother Africa show was just over 8 million subscribers. In contrast, upon the premiere of Big Brother Naija:See Gobe, the subscriber base had increased by 3.8 million to bring the number of potential viewers to 11.9 million. This was done due to efforts by MultiChoice (DSTV’s parent company), which provided a cheaper alternative via GoTV (with access to BBNaija channel), and several promotions and campaigns.
With the huge increase in Internet penetration and Satellite TV that can be accessed via smartphones, the reach of Big Brother Naija is beyond Nigeria. Viewers within and outside Nigeria watch the show via Satellite TV, and for people in countries where MultiChoice does not operate , they can watch via the online streaming platform, Showmax, MultiChoice’s response to Netflix’s rapidly growing market share in Africa.
BigBrother Africa debuted during the early days of Internet penetration (cybercafe period) in Nigeria, with a fewer number of subscribers. Big Brother Naija, on the other hand, returned to meet a welcoming population armed with the amplifying power of social media, as well as a 90% increase in the number of Nigerians with internet access since Big Brother Nigeria’s initial debut. The increase in the number of Nigerians with access to the internet is quite significant as Nigeria account for 30% of the population of Sub-Saharan Africans with internet access.
Less competition
The timing of Big Brother Nigeria’s homecoming is quite auspicious as the number of Reality TV shows in the country has declined. Big Brother Africa had to compete for the viewing time of its largest audience (Nigeria) with Gulder Ultimate Search, Project Fame, Nigerian Idol, among other shows. Most of these shows were broadcast on Domestic TV stations. However, at the moment, in the absence of reality TV shows of similar standing, Big Brother Naija stands quite tall and is amplified by the strength of over 28 million active social media users, according to Statista.
BBA leaning on BBN
Big Brother Nigeria created a lot of innovations for the Big Brother brand. “BBN gave the franchise a blueprint on how to connect and appeal to Africans at large,” says Walt Banger who was one of the Directors of Big Brother Nigeria and the Voice of the reality show. “I know that the style of BBA borrowed a lot from BBN after we aired. Before then BBA was very similar to the European Big Brother” he further states.
The most significant innovation from Big Brother Nigeria were the weekly eviction parties which featured performances from Nigerian music stars. Prior to that, there were no eviction parties in Big Brother Africa.
Poor Country, Big Market
“…a large market of poor people doesn’t have money, but you know what they have in abundance? Time. If you want to make money making people richer – convert their time to money and take a cut” – Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (Co-founder of Andela and Flutterwave Inc).
Nigeria is seen as a large market due to its massive population. Additionally, the very large number of unemployed Nigerians is also a critical factor in the popularity of the show. The show’s target audience (18-45-year-olds) who are the majority of Nigeria’s labour force are mostly unemployed and underemployed. In 2006, during the early stages of Big Brother Africa and Big Brother Nigeria, the national unemployment rate was just above 5%. However, this number has more than doubled since then; upon the return of Big Brother Naija in 2017, the unemployment rate had skyrocketed to 14.5%, which led to an increase in the number of people who want to participate as well as those interested in the show. Today, unemployed and underemployed Nigerians are over 50% of the working population.
Unemployment and underemployment have driven much of Nigerian youths into improving their standard of living in any way they can, from those engaging in cybercrime to the legitimate entrepreneurs, in addition to the creatives and others who see Big Brother as a platform to stardom and a better standard of living.