Audience interest fading in 'Big Brother'

'Big Brother' launched with 5.4 million UK viewers - a smaller audience than last year.

In 2007, 6.1 million tuned in to the start of the Channel 4 show.

A peak of 6.1 million watched at 10pm yesterday but that was down on the eight million peak of 2007.

Last night's show did attract the same share of TV viewers as the launch of last year's series, which was deemed a flop by critics, with 25% of the available audience.

Of the 16- to 34-year-old audience favoured by advertisers, 41% of those watching TV at the time tuned into Big Brother.

Channel 4 commissioning editor for 'Big Brother' Angela Jain said: "This is a strong start for Big Brother 9 and it's fantastic that over a quarter of everyone watching TV last night tuned in to see the launch.

"We remain as committed as ever to making this year's series the most entertaining yet."

In 2006, the launch of the seventh series reached dizzy heights with seven million viewers and a 31% share.

Almost 400,000 tuned into live streaming from the house on E4.