If a bachelor delivers his last rose but no one is looking, did it happen?
That’s the question on the lips of TV executives this morning after the finale of The Bachelors aired Sunday night to low ratings and a lackluster response on social media.
The conclusion of the Channel 10 show, starring Jed McIntosh, Felix Von Hofe and Thomas Malucelli as the three leads, had a five-city metropolitan audience of just 358,000 viewers, making it the least-watched finale in the history of Bachelor.
Channel 10 may be forced to scrap The Bachelor franchise after Sunday’s finale plummeted to record viewership ratings. (Pictured from left to right: Felix Von Hofe, Jed McIntosh and Thomas Malucelli)
That result represents a sharp 38.6 percent drop from the last Bachelor finale, which aired in 2021.
It also marks the end of a devastating ratings season for the beleaguered dating series, which averaged just 291,000 metropolitan viewers per episode.
The Bachelors also opened to its worst launch audience before the start of the ratings year on January 9: 309,000 metropolitan viewers.
The conclusion of the Channel 10 show, hosted by Osher Günsberg, had a metropolitan audience of just 358,000 viewers, making it the least-watched finale in Bachelor history.
This was 18,000 fewer viewers than the audience-hungry current affairs show The Project, which served as the lead-in.
At its 2018 heyday, The Bachelor show drew nearly a million metropolitan viewers per episode. This season saw episodes regularly drop below 300,000.
Meanwhile, critics have called for the series to be axed after Sunday’s finale, with many criticizing the producers for favoring drama over genuine love stories.
Meanwhile, critics have called for the series to be axed after Sunday’s finale, with many criticizing the producers for favoring drama over genuine love stories. (Pictured: Jed McIntosh)
‘It’s time to close shop after this season. I don’t need to state the obvious, but it was a total flop,” one complained.
Another agreed: ‘I’ve always loved this franchise, but this season was very bad. It’s time to retire it to the archives.
A third viewer added: “This was a terrible season. It was more about drama and less about love.
However, Channel 10 bosses revealed on Saturday that they were happy with the show’s performance due to its broadcast numbers.
‘Time to close the shop. I don’t need to state the obvious, but it was a total failure,” one complained, while another agreed: “This season was very bad. It’s time to retire it to the archives’
Daniel Monaghan, senior vice president of Paramount Australia and New Zealand, said tv tonight: ‘What really encourages us is our biggest start at 10Play.
‘The Bachelors is the number one commercial show on BVOD since its launch, growing by 100 million minutes watched.
“The Bachelors has proven its worth across all platforms by dominating younger demos on streaming, growing 55 percent with the addition of seven-day catch-up audiences, being the most-watched commercial BVOD show and stealing conversations across networks. social”.
Despite poor tube ratings overnight, Channel 10 bosses revealed on Saturday that they were happy with the show’s performance due to its broadcast numbers.
Monaghan went on to say that the network was happy with the show’s trend and with younger audience participation online.
Despite this positive PR spin, The Bachelors screened double episodes for a week this summer, leading to speculation that Channel 10 was trying to get through the season quickly to focus on other shows.
The primetime show once commanded nearly a million viewers a night when Nick ‘The Honey Badger’ Cummins drew a metropolitan audience of 940,000.
Daniel Monaghan, senior vice president of Paramount Australia and New Zealand, told TV Tonight: “What really encourages us is our biggest start at 10Play to date.”
The primetime show once commanded nearly a million viewers a night when Nick ‘The Honey Badger’ Cummins (pictured) drew a metropolitan audience of 940,000