After running for three seasons and often finding itself at the center of controversy, the digital spin-off of controversial reality show Bigg Boss has now been scrapped, bringing an end to the show’s OTT-only format.
Bigg Boss OTT scrapped after three seasons
Even as Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India continues to expand the Bigg Boss universe with multiple regional editions, the franchise is poised to grow further with a new language version slated to launch this year. Amid this expansion, however, Bigg Boss OTT is being discontinued.
In an interview with SCREENthe show’s creator, Rishi Negi, opened up about the decision to do away with Bigg Boss OTT.
Confirming the news about Bigg Boss OTT being ‘indefinitely scrapped’, Rishi said, “With the Hindi version, we have gone digital first last year. In effect, that becomes the property which first runs on. JioHotstar and then comes on TV, and I think that’s the cycle that will be followed. In all other languages, we run a simulcast, but I believe there is a very large market at the OTT and TV level. The audience is very diverse, and they love watching the show on TV. My mother only watches Bigg Boss on TV. There is a large audience that watches on appointment time, and both get us a different set of audiences.”
Last week, Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar announced that Bigg Boss will soon expand with new editions in Bhojpuri and Punjabi languages. They are also planning to launch a Bengali version this year.
On this, Rishi said, “Currently, we are producing Bigg Boss in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi. We are expanding it this year, and in 2026, we are going to add Bigg Boss Bangla to the kitty.”
About Bigg Boss OTT
The digital version of Bigg Boss was launched in 2021. The first season was hosted by Karan Johar, with Divya Aggarwal emerging as the winner. Salman Khan hosted Season 2, which Elvish Yadav won.
Last year, Anil Kapoor made his debut as host in the digital world when he took over hosting duties from actor Salman Khan for the third season of Bigg Boss OTT. The show premiered on June 21. JioCinema’s Bigg Boss OTT 3 has topped the list of the most-watched Indian unscripted shows in the first half of 2024. Within three weeks, the third season has garnered over 17 million viewers.
The show featured Ranvir Shorey, Lovekesh Kataria, Sana Sultan, Sana Makbul, Sai Ketan Rao, Shivani Kumari, Vishal Pandey, Naezy, Armaan Malik, and Kritika Malik. Sana emerged as the winner of the season.
