LoVe IsLaNd

'cost £12m' Mark SweneyFriday September 29, 2006

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1883381,00.html

Love Island: lost out to Big Brother in the battle for 16- to 34-year olds

ITV's summer reality flop Love Island is estimated to have cost £12m to produce, twice as much as the show it was designed to torpedo, Big Brother.

Flights, hotels and fees associated with using an exotic location in the South Pacific, not to mention crew and entourage reported to be in the hundreds, contributed to the sky-high production cost of the series, according to industry insiders.

By contrast the relatively cheap London location of Big Brother, and crew and staff numbers thought to be around a more modest 60, meant that Channel 4's most recent series cost around £6m.
According to figures from media agency Initiative, the latest series of Big Brother attracted an average adult audience of 4.2 million across the series. ITV managed around 2.14 million adult viewers.

In terms of the most significant audience for both shows, 16- to 34-year-olds, Love Island averaged 736,000 viewers and a 16.6% viewing share.

In contrast, Big Brother averaged 1.96 million 16- to 34-year-old viewers and a 41% share.
However, one head of TV at a media buying agency came to the show's defence, saying that investment in Love Island was necessary to help bolster the programming schedule over the difficult summer period.

A second TV director added that the generally later start time of 10pm for the ITV show also skewed a direct comparison with Big Brother as the Channel 4 programme aired largely at 9pm.
The Big Brother franchise has become a major investment over the years for Channel 4 as it expands platforms and the technological sophistication behind each series.

The first series of the show is thought to have cost the broadcaster just £2m, according to a source.

Summary and my comments : This article just says that Love island has made twice as much as it was targetted to and even so they have reached its target audience more than big brother has. ( 16 to 34 yearl olds). i think that reality tv on a whole is doing really well, people nowadays want to see the truth (even though shows as these are still mediated) Love island not only provides a interesting story line it also has a amazing set based in a hot..tropical island which also attracts audiences.