“Big Brother” Season 28 is off to a strong start, delivering the franchise’s biggest premiere audience in five years.
According to Nielsen Big Data + Panel, the July 9 premiere drew 3.88 million live-plus-same-day viewers. This marked the series’ most-watched season premiere since 2021, when 4.27 million viewers tuned into the show.
Premiere Ratings Climb Upward
The Season 28 debut was up 22 percent from last year’s premiere, which drew in 3.18 million viewers. It also increased 21 percent over “Big Brother” Season 27’s Thursday night average.
CBS also said the episode was the most-watched Thursday night “Big Brother” premiere in six years. This dates back to August 2020.
Social Media Sees Surge
The premiere also generated the franchise’s strongest social media performance since 2020.
According to CBS, the episode amassed 8.1 million social media views and 866,000 interactions. This made it the most-viewed and most-engaged season premiere across the show’s social media platforms in the last five years.
Historic Season Ahead
Season 28 launched with the new “Big Brother: Time Trip” twist. The season introduced 14 new houseguests alongside returning reality stars Angela Murray from “Big Brother 26,” Rachel Reilly, and “Survivor” alum Rick Devens.
The premiere’s biggest surprise came when Reilly was dramatically eliminated following a staged encounter with a velociraptor. This cleared the way for “Survivor 45” winner Dee Valladares to enter the game. Her arrival was officially revealed during Friday’s episode of “Big Brother: Unlocked.”
Season 28 also marks the largest programming slate in the show’s history. The new season features extended 90-minute Wednesday episodes and weekly installments of “Big Brother: Unlocked.” Later this summer, the long-running CBS reality competition is also expected to air its 1,000th original episode. This will make it the first primetime television series to reach the historic milestone.
