Why Big Brother Fans Don't Get 24/7 Access, Even With Live-Feeds

Publish date: 2024-08-31

The Big Picture

Big Brother live-feeds are not actually 24/7, as they are turned off during live episodes and competitions.
Producers control the live-feeds and choose which conversations fans get to see, limiting full access.
Despite these limitations, the live-feeds are still exciting and unique, giving fans behind-the-scenes access not found in other shows.

What makes Big Brother unique from any other reality show is that fans get to watch the houseguests every move at all hours of the day thanks to the live feeds. The houseguests are filmed 24 hours a day and fans get to watch them even when the new episodes are not airing. The live feeds allow viewers to see even more gameplay and drama unfold inside the house than what is shown in the episodes. Although it is promoted as giving fans the ability to look inside the house 24/7, they are not actually getting full access into what's happening on the reality TV show.

Big Brother first premiered in 2000. Unlike any other reality show, a group of strangers moved into a house together in which they were completely cut off from the real world. The overall layout of the show was based on the concept that "Big Brother" is always watching. Therefore, the show allowed fans to have the opportunity to watch the houseguests whenever they wanted throughout the season with the help of the live-feeds.

Big Brother

TV-MAReality TV

Contestants must compete against each other for a chance to win $500,000 in a house wired with cameras and microphones, capturing their every move for a TV and Internet audience.

Release Date July 5, 2000 Creator John de Mol, Ron Diesel Cast Julie Chen Moonves , Clayton Halsey , Nicole Franzel , George Boswell , Daniele Donato , Janelle Pierzina Main Genre Reality TV Seasons 25 Studio CBS Expand

The Big Brother Live Feeds Aren't 24/7

Although the Big Brother live feeds give fans the impression that they have 24/7 access inside the famous house, they technically do not. While the live feeds are in fact on most of the time, there are certain occasions when producers turn them off. For example, the live feeds are never on when a live episode is airing. This is not that big of a deal because fans can see exactly what's happening during the episode. But this is not the only time the live feeds get turned off. Producers tend to turn off the live feeds while a majority of the competitions are taking place as well. The only time the live-feeds remain on during a competition is occasionally for the Head of Household competitions. Usually, this tends to happen with long, endurance competitions that start during the live episode. The most common Head of Household competition that fans get to watch on the live feeds is the famous wall comp.

'Big Brother's' Janelle Pierzina May Be Done With Reality TV

'Big Brother's Janelle Pierzina is considering retiring from reality television following her latest stint competing on 'The Traitors' Season 2.

Competitions are not the only time producers turn off the live feeds. Fans also lose access inside the house when the nomination and Power of Veto ceremonies are taking place. It is assumed that this is because production is guiding the houseguests through the ceremonies over the loudspeakers inside the house. Additionally, the live feeds will be cut off from time to time if the houseguests begin breaking the rules. Due to copyright and, sometimes, privacy reasons, the players are not allowed to sing or talk about certain topics. Therefore, the live feeds will temporarily cut out when this occurs as well.

Live Feeds Might Miss Gameplay Conversation in the 'Big Brother' House

The live feeds temporarily being turned off is not the only reason viewers don't have full access to watch the houseguests' every move. The Big Brother producers have a lot of control over the live feeds. They monitor the live feeds 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In doing so, they not only have the power to temporarily turn the live feeds off, but they can also choose which conversations the viewers get to see. When watching the live feeds, fans only get the option to view four different cameras at a time. Typically, two cameras are focused on one room while the other two are on another room. Therefore, out of all the rooms inside the Big Brother house, fans can only see two rooms at a time, which are determined by the producers. Therefore, the live feeds may show some of the houseguests cooking in the kitchen while an important game-play conversation is taking place in the Head of Household room. Essentially, the producers get to pick and choose which conversations the live-feed viewers get to be a fly on the wall for. Because of this control the producers have over the live-feeds, what fans actually get to see is limited.

One of the best parts of being a Big Brother fan is getting to watch the live feeds all season long. Unfortunately, while fans are under the impression that they are getting full access inside the house 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they really are not. Despite the inevitable control the producers hold over the live feeds, they are still exciting to watch. Even with the producers' influence, the Big Brother live feeds are still what makes the show so unique and stand out from all the other reality shows currently on air.Big Brother fans not only get three brand-new episodes a week throughout the entire season, but they also get to watch the live feeds nearly whenever they'd like. There is no other show that allows fans this kind of behind-the-scenes access. Because of this, fans can look past the few flaws of the Big Brother live feeds as they continue to get excited to watch them every season. It will not be long until a group of brand-new houseguests move into the famous house for yet another season of Big Brother this summer.

Previous seasons of Big Brother are available for streaming on Paramount+. Watch on Paramount+