Network Ten Announces Early Demise of “Adults Only” Big Brother

SYDNEY, June 23: Following
intense criticism from legislators, Australia’s Network Ten has pulled the plug
on Big Brother—Adults Only,
its late-night edition of the reality show.

TEN said the Big
Brother franchise overall has been
out-performing last year’s edition, and the axing of Adults Only does not affect the original show. In a statement,
TEN noted, “We are confident the show has complied with the Television Industry
Code of Practice, and we have met all our undertakings. However, questions
continue to be raised as to whether the show should be on air. We did not see
that situation changing, regardless of how we treated the program, and that
uncertainty was putting unfair pressure on our team. We have therefore decided
the responsible and practical thing to do was conclude the show a few weeks
early.”

The series averaged about
1 million viewers each week.