Ten Fires Back Reports Of ‘Record Low Ratings’ For The Bachelor Family After Rumors The Dating Show May Return For Another Season
Channel 10 responded to reports this year that a season of The Bachelor – dubbed The Bachelors for its three presenters rather than a single plot – was a ratings failure.
A spokesperson for the network said the dating show was a huge digital hit for Ten, drawing impressive BVOD numbers despite failing to make a dent in the Metro ratings.
While the spokeswoman refused to get sucked into rumors a new season is starting production next month, she said The Bachelors was “the #1 show on BVOD while it’s running.”
It was also “the top entertainment program in primetime advertising demographics”.
In industry terms, BVOD refers to streaming video-on-demand platforms such as ABC iview, 7plus, 9Now, and — in the case of Channel 10 — 10 Play.
Channel 10 responded to reports this year that a season of The Bachelor – dubbed The Bachelors for its three presenters rather than a single plot – was a ratings failure. (Pictured from left to right: Felix von Hovey, Jed Mackintosh, and Thomas Mallochelli)
The spokeswoman concluded by saying that all programming decisions will be revealed at Ten’s Upfronts show later this year.
Strong backroom viewership came as no surprise to 10 executives as more viewers switched from live TV to on-demand services.
It came on the heels of rumors that Teen put out an ad for a production crew featuring red roses, the tell-tale sign of the Bachelor franchise.
According to TV analyst Rob McKnight this week, the network made an announcement for the crew to work on a “broadcast returning reality show.”
A spokesperson for the network said the dating show was a huge digital success for Ten, drawing impressive BVOD numbers despite failing to make a dent in the ratings for Metro.
(We were) sent a screenshot of an ad from Looking for a Crew for a ‘Full Wide Reality Dating Show’. And he said in an article published on his website: At the bottom of the post, there are two red roses on both sides Blackbox TV website.
McKnight speculated that it could be a spin-off from The Bachelor or just “misdirected” by the network.
Ten is said to be looking for co-producers based in Sydney to start at the end of April through June.
The Bachelor has struggled in recent years to build up a strong audience from live TV, with Theachelors launching in January to just 309,000 metro viewers.
The audience for the five-city Metro finale was only 358,000 viewers, making it the least-watched finale in The Bachelor’s history.
Back at its peak, The Bachelor was drawing nearly a million Metro viewers per episode.
Back at its peak, The Bachelor was drawing nearly a million Metro viewers per episode. (Pictured: 2018 Bachelorette Nick Cummins and finalists Brittany Hockley)
