The Block ratings plummet as viewers desert once-record-breaking reality show
Channel Nine’s flagship home improvement program The Block is losing the ratings war as frustrated viewers turn to competing reality shows.
The reality show, hosted by Scott Cam, has lost 20 per cent of its viewers in its current 19th season, losing the top spot to Seven’s My Kitchen Rules.
Meanwhile, the cooking show hosted by Manu Feildel attracted 622,000 viewers in the metro area on Friday, comfortably beating The Block’s relatively modest 526,000.
This number represents a little more than the half-million viewers or more that The Block attracted in 2018.
An industry insider said The Daily Telegraph these numbers didn’t bode well for Cam’s show.
Channel Nine’s flagship home improvement program The Block is losing the ratings war as frustrated viewers turn to competing reality shows. Pictured: Host Scott Cam
“The collapse of The Block is really bad news for Nine, as it was one of their biggest shows and the end of the year for them,” they said.
They added that dating show Married At First Sight was one of the few successful reality shows Nine still had, after a series of high-profile flops.
“This follows the failure of Rush, The Summit and Parental Guidance and the removal of Ninja Warrior. Nine is now just the MAFS network.
The Scott Cam-hosted reality show has lost 20 per cent of its viewers in its current 19th season, losing the top spot to Seven’s My Kitchen Rules. Pictured: Queensland candidate Leah
This comes amid reports that viewers have called this season of The Block “toxic” and “disturbing” due to the constant bickering and bullying between the Blockheads.
And the contestants are now unhappy with the way they were portrayed on the show, according to new reports.
Talk to Yahoo! Way of lifea source said several stars were left “devastated” by their on-screen montage, adding: “The ever-rising tension throughout the series has also shocked the contestants.”
Seven’s My Kitchen Rules attracted 622,000 viewers in the metro area on Friday, comfortably beating The Block’s relatively modest 526,000 viewers.
“What happened during filming doesn’t fit most of the contestants’ idea of who would be popular with viewers. I would say it’s almost the opposite,” they added.
The source warned that an “all-out war is brewing” between the contestants, many of whom were apparently chosen specifically to cause drama.
Meanwhile, dedicated viewers have complained that The Block has become a “downer” by focusing too much on “drama” and not enough on home renovations.
Taking to Reddit to air their grievances, viewers threw shade at the new episodes by calling them a “soap opera” and comparing them to MAFS.
The low audiences represent a little more than the half-million viewers or more that The Block attracted in 2018.
An industry insider told The Daily Telegraph the figures bode poorly for the renovation show: Pictured: Block judges Neale Whitaker, Darren Palmer, Shaynna Blaze and Marty Fox
