It is uncommon for people to be searching for who founded Big Brother Naija, the owner of Big Brother Naija, the organizer of Big Brother Naija, or the brain behind the show?
In today’s post, we’ll be bringing you every available information regarding the person behind Nigeria’s popular reality TV show – Big Brother Naija.
Formerly known as Big Brother Nigeria, the reality competition television series follows the same model as the original Big Brother. Every year, a certain amount of contestants are picked via audition and they live in an isolated house and compete for a large cash prize and other material prizes, at the end of the show. The housemates need to avoid being evicted from the house by viewers who vote for their favourite housemates to remain in the show.
Who Founded Big Brother Naija?
The Big Brother Naija show is not owned by an organization or individual. Instead, the reality TV show is owned by a group of corporate bodies. The Big Brother franchise was created by Jon de Mol Jr. of Endemol and its first show was broadcasted in the Netherlands. Since then, there have been over 350 seasons of Big Brother in over 50 franchise regions and countries. Since its inception, ownership of the franchise has changed hands three times.
Everything You Need to Know About Big Brother Naija
• The first Big Brother Naija (called Big Brother Nigeria) aired on DSTV channel 37 from March 5 to June 24, 2016, with no official known sponsor. On day 23 of the show, two contestants were introduced into the house. One of the most popular housemates of Season 1 is Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. The season 1 winner was 26-year-old Katung Aduwak who went home with prize money of $100,000. The runner-up was Francisca Owumi. The show featured 14 housemates and lasted for 92 days.
• Season 2 of the Big Brother Naija premiered on January 28, 2018, and was titled “See Gobe”. The show was hosted by popular season 1 housemate Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. On April 9, 2017, Efe Ejeba won the finals with 57.61% of the total vote. Efe went home with prize money of ₦25 million. The runner-up was Bisola Aiyeola. Season 2 featured 14 housemates and lasted for 77 days. The official sponsor of season 2 was Payporte.
• On January 28, 2018, season 3 of Big Brother Naija premiered. The show was titled “Double Wahala and on April 22, 2018, Miracle Igbokwe won the finals with 38.18% of the total vote. The prize money was ₦30 million and the runner-up was Cee-C Nwadiora. The season 3 featured a total of 20 housemates and lasted for 85 days. The show was sponsored by Payporte.
• Season 4 of Big Brother Naija was titled “Pepper Dem Gang” and premiered on June 30, 2019. The show featured a total of 26 housemates and lasted for 99 days. The final of the show was on September 27, 2019, and the winner was Mercy Eke while the runner-up was Mike Edwards. Mercy went home with prize money of ₦60 million. Season 4 was sponsored by BetNaija.
• Big Brother Naija season 5 premiered on July 19, 2020, and was titled “Lockdown”. The show featured a total of 20 housemates and lasted for 71 days. The final was on September 27, 2020, with Laycon Agbeleshe as the winner while Dorathy Bachor was the runner-up. The show prize money was ₦85 million and it was sponsored by Abeg – a peer-to-peer payment platform.
• Big Brother Naija season 6 is expected to premiere in July 2021 with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu returning as the host.