Big Brother 18 is almost over, but hardcore Big Brother fans won’t have to wait long for the next season to start. Usually, Big Brother is a summer thing, like going to the beach or trying to peel off your sunburnt skin in chunks, but, this fall, you’ll be able to watch Big Brother as school starts and the leaves turn colors. But there’s a catch — it’s only available on CBS' digital platform. Can you watch Big Brother: Over The Top for free?
Sorry, kids — you can’t. If you cut your cords because cable was too expensive, well, you’ll still have to pay for this one. Big Brother: Over The Top is only airing on CBS All-Access, which is CBS’ streaming platform. For the commercial-free version, it costs $9.99 a month, and for the limited commercial version, CBS All-Access will set you back $5.99 a month. You can get a free trial for a week, but that’s definitely not enough to watch the whole season of Big Brother. If you watch a lot of CBS programming, it could be worth it — according to the CBS All-Access site, it offers over 8,500 episodes of CBS shows on demand, from soaps like The Young and the Restless to thrillers like Madam Secretary. There will also be other original content offered only on the app. You can stream CBS All-Access from any of your favorite devices, like a Roku or smart TV, too.
OK, so you have to pay for it if you want to watch Big Brother, but is it worth it? I think the format change makes sense, because so many people watch the Big Brother live feeds as it is — this all-streaming season of Big Brother is basically just the live feed on steroids.
According to Big Brother Network, Big Brother Over The Top will start Wednesday, Sept. 28. It will be online-only, as we knew, and eviction shows will air at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) every Wednesday night, so everyone is watching the same eviction show at once. Everything will be shown on the live feeds as it happens, with no blackouts. This means that Head of Household, Power of Veto, all of those competitions that we love so much will be live and uncut and virtually never ending. Oh, and don’t worry, fans — Zap2it reported that Julie Chen will still be involved with the show, though perhaps not in the same capacity.
While I am not an obsessive Big Brother fan, I can imagine how exciting this all could be to those who are. In fact, I think that CBS and Big Brother should issue some sort of warning — yes, you do have to go to work if Big Brother is still on; no, you cannot sue us if you get fired for watching Big Brother while at work and nothing else. This is unfettered, unending access to the Big Brother: Over The Top cast, and I bet that if enough people sign up for it, CBS will definitely do it again. With only a week to go until the premiere, we’ll see!
CBS With Limited Commercials, $6 Per Month, CBS; CBS Commercial Free, $10 Per Month, CBS
Images: Sonja Flemming/CBS; Giphy (2)
