Big Brother 9, also known as Big Brother: 'Til Death Do You Part, is the ninth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. Big Brother 9 is the first season of the series to air in the Winter time period, due to a writer's strike. The series premiered on CBS on February 12, 2008 and lasted eleven weeks until the live finale on April 27, 2008. The ninth season saw a decrease in ratings when compared to past editions of the series. The season premiered to a total of 7.33 million viewers, the lowest premiere numbers for any season at the time. Overall, the series averaged 6.56 million viewers, making it the lowest rated season of the series at the time. Big Brother 9 was the first season to cast a total of 16 HouseGuests, in which it became a permanent change to the format in season 14 and subsequent seasons. The series ended after 81 days, in which HouseGuest Adam Jasinski was crowned the winner, and Ryan Quicksall the runner-up. Production Development Following the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the trade magazine Variety reported that CBS, in response, was considering airing a winter edition of Big Brother, and that the network started cast auditions. Several sites speculated that the winter edition could have been an American version of Celebrity Big Brother but this was untrue as CBS released a statement that the next edition of Big Brother would be a regular season following the format of past editions. The season was announced on November 15, 2007 with open casting calls being held from November 17, 2007 to December 8, 2007. The finalists for the season were chosen on December 27, 2007. Prizes The HouseGuests compete for a grand prize of $500,000 and a runner-up prize of $50,000. In addition to the grand prize and the runner-up prize, various smaller prizes were offered throughout the game, a majority during Power of Veto competitions or Luxury competitions. In week one, during the Power Couple competition "Falling for You"; Jen & Parker won $10,000. During the Power of Veto competition "Color of Veto" on Day 30; Adam won a motorcycle and Ryan won $10,000. On Day 43 during a Luxury competition, Chelsia, Joshuah, Sharon and Sheila won an advanced screening of