Mexican Big Brother beats ad boycott

Big Brother has been a worldwide hit

Mexico has become the latest country to fall under the Big Brother spell, despite a boycott by advertisers.

The reality TV show, which sees contestants locked up inside a house with cameras filming their every move 24 hours a day, is giving Mexico its first taste of reality TV.

The programme is getting more than 17% of the audience share, making it a big hit on TV station Televisa.

But its vice president Jose Baston said advertisers have given it a wide berth because they objected to the format.

He said: "Big Brother will be good business, if not as good as expected, because of some social rejection ahead of time."

Future

Mr Baston said Televisa was able to persuade at least one unnamed big advertiser who was part of the original boycott to buy time during Big Brother.

He added that Big Brother had set the stage for success for future reality shows in Mexico and "what we can't do with Big Brother we'll do in the future".

Televisa has the licence to produce a Survivor show in Mexico, similar to the series that has been a hit in the US.

Mr Baston said Televisa has not decided when it will start producing a Survivor show, and how exactly it would be designed for Mexican audiences.

It is not the first time that the Big Brother has run into trouble.

Greek authorities temporarily cancelled the show, and its rival, Bar, for breaching obscenity laws.

Brian Dowling won last year's Big Brother in the UK

The programmes returned after just one night off air.

Big Brother was first developed for Dutch TV in 1999 and became an instant success.

It has been one of the biggest shows over the last two summers in the UK.

More than seven million people tuned in to see Brian Dowling win the £70,000 first prize in 2001, and 10 million saw Craig Phillips win the first UK series in 2000.

Details of the third series were announced on Thursday when 12 contestants, instead of the usual 10, will be locked away for up to three months over the summer.

This year's house features a heated outdoor swimming pool and more space, however producers are promising to get tougher with contestants.

New rules will include a "three strikes and you're out" policy for contestants who disobey Big Brother.