BIZ BUZZ: Big Brother house for sale

A big piece of Philippine television history is being put on the selling block by the Lopez family’s ABS-CBN Corp.

We’re talking about the iconic yellow and blue Pinoy Big Brother house across the ABS-CBN headquarters in Quezon City.

The two-decade old “Bahay ni Kuya” served as the launchpad for some of the country’s biggest stars and was a memorable venue for its countless fans on their TV screens and those who visited it in person.

That era is coming to an end as a new property listing by brokerage firm Santos Knight Frank showed the 2,838.9-square meter property containing the two-story house, swimming pool, and adjacent 1,400 sqm covered court/concert area is up for sale.

The house itself has 1,300 sqm of floor area with rooms, storage, landscaping and fence, and “multiple water tanks”.

While the broker was tight lipped about the price, nearby land estimates value the property at around P600 million. In fact, Santos Knight Frank says the property is ideal for “either a residential or commercial redevelopment”.

Of course, wealthy fans of the show and even speculators are free to take a look, considering those other potential plans of ABS-CBN to redevelop part of its compound to generate income after the past administration killed its broadcast franchise.

Fans knew big changes were coming when the show’s director, Lauren Dyogi, revealed early this year that part of the house in an adjacent property was being demolished after the lease was not renewed.

With the main house now being sold, does this mean Pinoy Big Brother itself is coming to an end? The answer is a definitive “no”. ABS-CBN still holds the franchise to the show so fans can await the return of Big Brother in a new location. Until then, abangan!

– Miguel R. Camus