London, UK – June 12th 2012 – Big Brother launched with a bang this week on Channel 5 and continues to offer its viewers new ways to vote and interact with the show. This series sees the launch of Voice Short Codes which allow viewers to vote using mobile phones, but with clear price transparency. The price transparency for mobile voting was a must for Big Brother due to their audience demographic and because it provides voters with real confidence.

Last year’s Big Brother was the first UK television show to offer Facebook as a voting mechanic and this will continue throughout 2012. The combination of voting on the same platform as the continuously updated editorial content gives users a seamless digital Big Brother experience, and complements phone voting which offers the immediacy which viewers demand.

Spoke (previously Telecom Express) manages all the Big Brother voting interactivity and has been a crucial partner in guiding Channel 5 through the launch of voting interactive technologies into the broadcast environment. Spoke have seamlessly integrated the technologies into their broadcast ‘Vote Command’ platform which allows production teams to maximise efficiencies when using multiple voting mechanics.

Emma Derrick, Head of Commercial Partnerships at Channel 5 says “We felt it was important to introduce Voice Short Codes for Big Brother to give our viewers pricing clarity. Spoke is a key partner of Channel Five and their Vote Command platform and vote management expertise is invaluable to us.”

Jane Thomas Head of Broadcast at Spoke says “Because of the exciting dynamic nature of Big Brother and all of the unique challenges the show brings, we’re delighted to be able to support Channel 5 and Endemol in making the process as seamless as possible. Our ‘Vote Command’ platform has also proved vital in allowing producers the flexibility they need when planning a show, by allowing us to effectively manage numerous voting mechanics to tight schedules.”