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Nine bumps Excess Baggage to GO!

Nine blinks on celebrity weight loss show, sending it to GO! and replacing it with The Big Bang Theory.

Nine has pulled celebrity weight-loss show Excess Baggage from its primetime schedule, after disappointing ratings.

The show has been in a battle with TEN’s weight-loss show The Biggest Loser in the same timeslot, last night attracting just 610,000 viewers. TEN’s long-running show had 811,000 viewers.

The show will move to GO! from Monday, while The Big Bang Theory will air in its place.

“We have decided to move Excess Baggage to GO! at 6.30pm from Monday. Unfortunately the show has performed below expectations, so it is a move we believe will provide the best possible audience for the show,” says Andrew Backwell, Director of Nine Programming and Production.

Speculation the show would be pulled gathered over the weekend after the show sank to 555,000 viewers on Thursday.

In an interview with Nine’s Director of Television conducted early last week, Michael Healy said, “I think we’ve got a really strong cast both with the celebrities and the everyday-Australians, and I think it will resonate with the audience. It has great locations and the presenters with Kate and Christian are really strong. It’s a different take on weight loss, but we’re really proud of it and Fremantle has done a great job with the production.”

But Nine’s plans to draw viewers at 7pm were thwarted when TEN surprised the market by moving The Project to 6pm and The Biggest Loser to its former timeslot.

Retreating on one of its six big brand shows at 7pm before the start of ratings is a huge loss for Nine. Even Live from Planet Earth got to air in the ratings season.

But amid crippling debt by its parent company, Nine Entertainment Co., it is protecting the all-important survey numbers which begin on Sunday.

This post updates.

35 Responses

  1. @ Guy….Have to totally disagree….I personally have no interest what so ever in renovation shows…..
    I really like EB….much better than TBL which I could never get into….I did not like the 7PM start…kept forgetting to turn over straight away…..and I think all the repeats…folk just thought …Oh I will watch something else and catch this later….my opinion.

  2. It was bound to happen when they decided not to open with The Block or The Apprentice. 2 weight loss shows just don’t work and i don’t think TBL is going to benefit much either if the first weeks ratings are anything to go by. People just don’t want to watch shows about so called celebs losing weight. Cooking food and renovating is a lot more interesting.

  3. It a shame that EB are getting low numbers they should really put it later in the year but it flop and have anyone seen the promo of the voice youtube.com/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D0OTNbIHnP14&v=0OTNbIHnP14&gl=US

  4. “…so it is a move we believe will provide the best possible audience for the show,”

    No, it’s the move they believe will provide the best possible audience for the Nine Network. Bugger the show.

  5. That’s a shame cause I actually thought this was a better show than Biggest Looser (not that i watch either) and TEN had to sacrifice The Project to bad ratings in order to make room for TBL.

  6. Fremantle are saying they were very frustrated with Nine’s continuing editorial input and generally messing around with the show.

    Had Nine not messed with it so much then this show might have worked.

  7. I’d have thought it was more of a GEM show than on GO!.

    I’d also have tried re-cutting the episodes to fit either a fixed 30 minute slot or 2×1 hour weekly shows.

  8. “Unfortunately the show has performed below expectations, so it is a move we believe will provide the best possible audience for the show…”
    Wonder how many times Nine will use these words again in the coming year?

    TBBT – the geeks shall inherit the Earth!

  9. There is simply no room for a third weight loss reality tv show. And pitching it against TBL was a fatal mistake. And it won’t rate well anywhere else. Ch 9 should just cut their losses. Who is in charge of their programming anyway? A ten year old?

  10. LOL. Nine is too predictable. This why anyone thinking about watching any of Nine’s new shows just shouldn’t bother. After a few weeks they’ll be replaced with Big Bang Theory. Can’t trust Nine at all. At least Ten stuck with Renovators.

  11. Thing is TBBT(r) will outrate EB by a country mile and probably beat TBL. Which leaves a sour moral to the story. I guess 9 are fortunate they have such a viable plan B. ten are stuck with TBL.

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