Twenty years nang kabahagi ng Pinoy televiewers ang reality TV show na Pinoy Big Brother ng ABS-CBN.
Nagsimulang umere ang unang season nito noong August 21, 2005.
To date, mayroon na itong 18 seasons.
Nakapanayam ng ANC host na si Rico Hizon sa programang Beyond the Exchange ang executive producer ng PBB na si Lauren Dyogi.
Ang panayam ay ini-upload sa YouTube channel ng ANC 24/7 ngayong August 9, 2025.
Dito ibinahagi ni Direk Lauren ang mga pinagdaanan at tagumpay ng reality TV show.
Sinabi ni Rico kay Direk Lauren na maraming katanungan para sa kanya mula sa outside world.
Natatawang sagot ni Direk Lauren, “I’ve been in the outside world for the longest time.”
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DIREK LAUREN DYOGI DENIES HE IS BIG BROTHER
Ayon sa TV host, na-interview na rin niya si Kuya o ang Big Brother sa Bahay ni Kuya: “When I interviewed Kuya, when the interview came out, a lot of questions, maybe more than 8,200.
“Is Direk Lauren Dyogi Big Brother? Is he Kuya? Everybody wants to find out if you are the voice behind Kuya.”
Ani Direk Lauren: “Ano’ng sabi ni Kuya? Ano’ng sagot ni Kuya?”
Pakli ni Rico, “Wala naman siyang sinabi sa akin, pero there’s a lot of speculations, hindi ba, on social media.”
Diretsahang tanong ng TV host: “Ikaw ba talaga?"
Paliwanag ni Direk Lauren: “Ever since, they’ve associated me with being Big Brother because I was the original producer naman talaga of Big Brother.
“But I cannot be… and they say my voice is the same as Kuya. But I cannot be in the house 24/7, so it cannot be me.”
Binanggit din niyang may mga pagkakataon na habang umeere ang PBB ay nasa ibang bansa siya para sa ibang proyekto at programa ng ABS-CBN.
Dagdag pa niya: “People will say coz it’s AI [artificial intelligence], this is blah-blah-blah.
“Wala kang isagot na tama.”
Paglilinaw ni Rico, “Okay, so it came direct from Direk Lauren, he is not Big Brother.”
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DIREK LAUREN DYOGI on PBB DEVELOPing A NEW AUDIENCE
Naitanong din ng TV host kung bakit ang PBB ang isa sa most popular and most-watched reality TV programs sa Pilipinas.
Susog ni Direk Lauren: “And we are celebrating our 20th [anniversary] this August.
“Even our format owners are happy that we were able to sustain a format like Big Brother for 20 years in spite of all what happened with us—with the non-renewal of the franchise and at the same time with the pandemic. Tayo, we were able to produce it consistently.”
Pero bakit nga ba?
Paliwanag ni Direk Lauren: “I think there’s a new audience na na-develop for… at saka yung nature natin na, di ba, tsismoso tayo?
“Marites tayo. Gusto nating nalalaman yung mga buhay-buhay ng mga tao.
"And I think nagkataon na yung format ay… hindi siya nagkataon… siguro it’s really appropriate na yung hinahanap ngayon ng mga manonood natin is authenticity.
“And the concept of Big Brother is really bringing out the real, the true, and the authentic self of every housemate that’s inside.”
Pagbibigay-diin niya: “So, I think key for Big Brother is the housemates, the set of housemates.
“Kasi yung bahay naman, puwedeng ilipat ko iyan and kung saan. Di ba nagkaroon na rin kami ng mga pagkakataon na inilabas namin ang mga housemates to another, to a remote place, pero sinusundan talaga yung housemates, e.
“So, critical talaga yung casting sa amin.
“So, I think if you continuously have very interesting people to watch, the format will continue and continue to thrive on either free TV and definitely on digital.”
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DIREK LAUREN DYOGI: PBB IS VERY STRONG ONLINE
Binanggit din ni Rico na sa loob ng nakalipas na 20 years ay nag-evolve na ang PBB.
Kung ang key platform ay TV noong nagsimula ang reality show noong 2005, sa ngayon, may social media na.
Pero paglilinaw ni Direk Lauren: “We’re still on free TV, with our recent partnership with GMA-7. But yes, agree, very strong online.”
Kinumusta naman ng TV host ang collaboration sa pagitan ng Kapamilya at Kapuso networks.
Ani Direk Lauren: “We started this actually during the pandemic that we were starting to have partners to keep the format afloat.
“And we have the live streaming platform at the time that we partnered with, so that we can put it on air, because we have limitations on financial resources, and at the same time, we didn’t have a strong platform.
“So, sinubukan nating gawin ito on digital. Doon nagsimula iyon.
“Eventually nalaman nating puwede palang mag-partner, and then we’ve been having a collaboration naman with GMA.
“Not only… this is actually parang the third collaboration already, from Showtime to a teleserye we did and now we have Big Brother.
“And it proved to be very strong even on their platform.”
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CASTING IS KEY FOR BIG BROTHER
Ibinahagi rin ni Direk Lauren ang challenges bago sila makabuo ng cast na magiging housemates sa Bahay ni Kuya.
Aniya, “Casting is key for Big Brother.
“We take a lot of effort and time and energy and resources in doing auditions.
“For a regular season, we do national auditions, we do international auditions. It has evolved from on ground to online submission of entries.
“For celebrity editions, there’s a thorough immersion, thorough interview, background check, all the tests that we do before we come out with a final list of housemates.
“So, malaking parte ng PBB yung search for the right mix of housemates.”
Pasubali ni Direk Lauren: “There’s no 100 percent proof that who we cast would be a perfect mix.
“We can just work on gut feel, what we’ve known through decades that we’ve been doing Big Brother, what may work on TV.
“But then again, when they live together, hindi natin alam ano talaga yung mangyayari.”
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