Media Authorities Strike At Big Brother Croatia

Electronic Media Council has finally reached the decision in its disciplinary case against Big Brother Croatia. RTL Televizija is censured and ordered to reschedule all shows – they are not to be aired before 22:00 CET. Another, even more significant, change is related to the handling of housemates. They must be allowed "one hour of privacy" between 7 and 22 hours. The latter measure matches the decision brought by German media authorities in 2000, during the first season of Big Brother Germany.

If RTL Televizija sticks by this decision, this could have profound effect on the show. It would lose some of its audience (schoolchildren and teenagers), as well as advertising income. Re-runs of the show – usually aired around noon – would be either scrapped or heavily edited. Furthermore, the lack of microphones and cameras, only for an hour, would have major effects on nominations and inter-personal relationship.