Big Brother Australia 2008, also known as Big Brother 8, was the eighth season of the Australian reality television series, Big Brother Australia to air on Network Ten. Episodes were broadcast on Network Ten and Ten HD in Australia. The first episode aired on 28 April 2008. Since then, there has been a total 20 housemates competing in the series. Halfway through the series, the prize money was revealed to be $250,000, the amount originally given in the earlier season of the series. This season introduced Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O as the new hosts and featured the return of an adult-themed weekly installment.
The season featured a new audition process similar to the format used in the earlier seasons, where people wishing to audition sent in a tape rather than attending cattle call audition sessions. For the first time in Big Brother Australia history, the public could vote which housemates they wanted to see in the House before the start of the season. The tagline in pre-season publicity was "I don't think so", based on the song by Kelis. The series lasted 85 days—a shorter run than preceding seasons—with the finale taking place on 21 July 2008.
The season rated poorly, leading to the cancellation of the series, announced 13 July 2008. Ten's chief programmer, David Mott, admitted the series had recently experienced "audience erosion" and widespread criticism of the new hosts. Mott reasoned that after so many seasons there were few new surprises in the format, leading to reduced viewing figures. Mott defended the new hosts saying that the ratings for eviction shows held up. The lowest-rating component of the season was the Big Mouth late night weekly panel show. Its audience slipped to the half-a-million mark and it was moved to a later time slot. However, a new series of Big Brother was subsequently announced in 2011.
Read more about Big Brother Australia 2008: Series, Housemates, Friday Night Live Themes and Winners, Reception, Weekly Summary and Highlights, Voting and Nominations Table
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