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Can Nine & TEN compete against My Kitchen Rules?

Unless numbers improve dramatically, a few tough questions will need to be asked...

2013-02-07_2238We’re not even in official survey and already many words have been exchanged over the might of Seven’s My Kitchen Rules and whether rival networks have a hope in hell.

So here’s a few more.

It was only twelve months ago that MKR was attracting bumper ratings while Nine had Excess Baggage and TEN had The Biggest Loser. In that fight it was the show with the point of difference (food not dieting) that won the battle. So using that theory it should be The Block that is out front in 2013. But since when was television predictable?

Seven has now enjoyed three nights over 2 million viewers. Nobody expected MKR to increase its lead when The Block entered the fray, let alone by such a big margin. Thank the “Spice Girls’, Seven’s editors and marketers for that lift. Viewers stuck with the gameplay through this week until their ultimate elimination. It became a three-night narrative.

Masterchef: The Professionals has sunk from 1.12m to 553,000. Worse was to come for Glee, down to 377,000. The good news is there are still 1.12m who show us they are connected to the show, just maybe not as it airs Live. As Reality Ravings blog detailed, even Julie Goodwin is watching MKR live (but insists she is still watching all of MasterChef too).

The Block‘s two episodes (it did not air on Wesnesday) have hovered around 950,000. Whilst it was only head to head for 30 minutes, it’s a disappointing number for such a huge investment.

None of these figures give the full picture in a fragmented landscape.

The Block did better business in the Demos, winning at 7pm. MasterChef has been lifting by around 70,000 – 90,000 from Timeshifted viewing for last week. But that’s a long way short of addressing the MKR juggernaut.

Nine will have its sights set on The Block‘s first room reveal. Who doesn’t love a TV makeover? Monday can’t come soon enough for Nine.

We are all smarter Programmers in hindsight. But unless numbers change dramatically, a few questions will need to be asked:
– was it wise of TEN to pit one cooking show against another?
– how can viewers reasonably commit to more than one stripped Reality show at once?
– are Encore episodes actually detrimental to Overnight figures? If there are more opportunities to sample a show, do viewers gravitate to the one that doesn’t replay?
– Casting, casting, casting. Are viewers leaning towards personality over talent, new faces over old?

And lastly, we are still in summer ratings. It hasn’t always been an even fight.

But none of that matters when the end game is to bond an audience to a product.

Right now perception is everything.

36 Responses

  1. @ David Knox February 10 2013 10-40 am.

    Up’m David because while your watching theirs, you may miss mine.
    But it is a bit ironic though, where a long comment, results in one of my shortest.

  2. Oh and I think the block all stars will be the biggest flop of the year….if its already lingering that low after just starting and with that price tag….it will be hard to beat especially if the ratings fall below 800,000

  3. I watched and enjoyed the block last year. It is good to get to know the new faces and watch the story lines. However, the challenges are so child like and boring its the only part of the show I don’t like. I don’t mind the premise of the actual challenges but surely they could be more relevant to “The Block”. When slated against MKR which is slick, entertaining, emotive…..it just doesn’t compete. It is a good show when not titled against A grade shows like MKR. It is a little like Australia Got Talent … on its own its watchable and probably enjoyable…but when there is an A grader next to it its a no brainer. Having said that im shocked how low its rating I would have expected at the very least 1.2-1.3 million….

    Such an expensive show to produce no doubt there is some very sore and troubled heads at Ch9.

  4. The Block – used to watch religiously when it was on once a week… but all those challenges and silliness they’ve added to stretch it out over the week doesnt’t appeal to me at all and arn’t done well imo… i just tune in and out on reveal nights and maybe catch another episode here or there

    MC – i was kinda interested in another season of MC cos i enjoyed the last one… but when i found out it professional contestants that put me off… nothing against the show, i havent seen it to judge whether its good or bad… it just didn’t appeal to me to watch people who are already succeeding in their field

    MKR – anyone who doesn’t know this is a soap opera, would have to be pretty thick… there is soooooo much of it that’s obviously staged and scripted

    for example those boys making the ravioli and almost running out of eggs… we only saw them break 4 eggs… are you telling me that when you’re part of a major television cooking show and you have to make a ‘runny egg’ ravioli for 12 people, where it is specifically tricky to crack the eggs right, that you wouldn’t buy more than 4 extra eggs?????

    i think it very common in the show when things are going “too well” for a couple, that there will be some sudden “almost run out of ingredients”
    or “lost ingredient” saga staged for drama

    i know in general 7 probably classify this as a “cooking” show… but i dont think that’s how they sell it… all the advertisements etc focus on the disasters and dramas and snidy remarks… so the audience knows exactly what they’re tuning in to see

    but its made well… it’s addictive… that’s why it’s winning… and will continue too

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