By Sonya Rabbitte, 27 July 2001 13:20
NEWS A Devon pig farmer is to give Channel 4 TV show Big Brother a run for its money with the launch of a rival reality TV project called Pig Brother. Exeter pig farmer Andrew Freemantle is to broadcast the antics of his pigs in a live, round-the-clock webcast at pigbrother.uk.com. In traditional Big Brother fashion the pigs' numbers will be whittled down as viewers are invited to vote to eliminate their least favourite pig. But instead of 15 minutes of fame, evicted pigs can expect a fast exit to the abattoir, with the eventual lucky winner being given the chance to remain on the farm and breed. Freemantle has already raised £2,000 to fund the project and hopes to have the cameras rolling soon. But for now UK viewers are still hooked on the Channel 4 version, with Big brother being hailed as a multimedia success. Over 8.4m votes have been cast so far, with 35 per cent of those being made over interactive TV handsets. Channel 4 expects ten million viewers to have voted by the end of tomorrow night's final. Advertising revenue from tonight's show is expected to hit the £1.6m mark, with profits from the premium rate phone line divided between Channel 4 and digital TV providers after five pence from every call has been donated to charity.
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