Big Brother Naija Lockdown, which started airing on July 19, has broken a live-streaming record on Showmax, becoming the most-watched entertainment content on the platform.
If watched back-to-back, the collective number of hours of the show streamed this season would add up to almost 30 years worth of viewing. Interestingly, a significant portion of the viewing is happening outside of Nigeria.
Showmax was unveiled in Nigeria in July 2019, with Big Brother Naija Pepper Dem as the key launch pad. At the time, all eviction episodes were live-streamed and clips of the nomination shows were posted on Tuesdays. Comedians Basket Mouth and Bovi also took turns to host the Big Brother Naija Hot Room show.
However, this year, Showmax has taken a step further, live-streaming the show 24/7. And judging by the statistics, BBNaija fans have enthusiastically taken to watching it online, with viewing peaking at 7pm on Sundays during the eviction, which is considered most popular segment of the show.
While Nigeria accounts for almost 50% of the viewing hours, South Africans are also big fans of the show, with 30% of the viewing taking place in the rainbow country, and another 15% happening in Kenya. Nonetheless, other countries like Ghana, Botswana, Namibia and Uganda also record notable viewing traffic for BBNaija.
In a new development, and while capitalising on the success of BBNaija and the massive interest in the evictions, Showmax has added the Big Brother Naija Nomination Show. During the live eviction show, the contestants are called in by Big Brother to vote out two housemates. These Diary Room voting sessions, which aren’t seen in the course of the live stream, are now available for viewing every Monday evening on Showmax.
With six weeks to go until the grand finale of the show on September 27, which will also be live-streamed on Showmax, more viewing statistics are expected for the record.