The aim of the Big Brother UK website was to provide a mass audience Internet event. The site rant in parallel to the Channel 4 / Endemol Entertainment UK TV programme. This example of parallel broadcasting, provided 24-hour live coverage for 64 days via video streams for the duration of the Big Brother event. The website provided a 24-hour news service covering events inside the Big Brother house, as they happened. Viewers were also able to chat to other Big Brother fans, take part in votes, download screensavers or purchase merchandise from the site. The website audience grew steadily throughout the event and users were spending an above average 17/18 minutes on the site per visit. A choice of six cameras to access, the opportunity to email the residents of the house and a 24-hour news service provided a genuinely interactive experience. On Thursday, 17 August 2000, the day that 'Nasty' Nick Bateman left the Big Brother house, the Big Brother webiste served over 7.6 million page impressions (around 228 million hits), 1.5 million individual users accessed the site, and up to three million Real Networks streams were served in 24 hours. These figures make it one of Europe's biggest ever web events. Victoria Real is developing the Big Brother website for 2001, which promises to be an even bigger event than 2000, utilising multi-platform devices.