‘A gamble that hasn’t paid off’: Why MKR: The Rivals premiere suffered record low ratings as it prepares to struggle against Channel Nine’s juggernaut Married At First Sight
My Kitchen Rules: The Rivals premiered on Sunday night to record low ratings.
And now industry experts are weighing in on the future of the show as it prepares to go head-to-head with rating winner Married At First Sight.
Former Channel 10 executive Rob McKnight told News.com.au that the revamped show with a new competitive format ‘hasn’t paid off’ for Channel Seven, but also had the challenge of going head-to-head with the Australian Open finale.
‘A gamble that hasn’t paid off’: Industry experts weigh in on struggling show MKR: The Rivals as it prepares to battle MAFS (pictured left to right, Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge)
‘It was always a risk to put the launch of MKR up against the tennis, and it’s a gamble which hasn’t paid off,’ he said.
But for MKR, which debut to a low 498,000 metro viewers, the real competition starts tonight with MAFS returning to screens.
David Knox of TV Tonight told News.com.au that he doesn’t think the cooking show has any hope of taking on the dating show.
Ratings giant: MKR: The Rivals will go head-to-head with Married At First Sight which returns to screens tonight (Pictured Vanessa Romito)
‘It’s no longer a fight to be number one, MAFS will win that brawl,’ he said.
He also believes it is more likely MKR and Australian Survivor: All Stars, which also returns tonight, will ‘battle’ it out for second place.
But it’ll be a tall order for the battling show to rate against Survivor, which is bringing back some of the show’s most popular past contestants.
Returning: MKR will also compete against Australian Survivor: All Stars which is bringing back some of the shows most popular contestants including Brooke Jowett (pictured)
MKR: The Rivals features five ‘champion’ couples from past seasons going head-to-head with five new teams, with Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge as team captains.
Sunday’s ratings show a decline of 318,000 viewers from 2019’s season premiere.
MKR was no match for Nine’s coverage of the Australian Open’s Men’s Final, which drew an impressive 1.52 million metro viewers.
New format: MKR: The Rivals sees five ‘champion’ couples from past seasons going head to head with five new teams, with Manu Feildel (pictured centre) and Colin Fassnidge as team captains
It also ranked below the finale of Channel 10’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (884,000) and The Sunday Project (508,000).
MKR was famously crushed in the ratings last year by Married At First Sight.
Channel 7 has been contacted for comment.
Ratings flop: Newly revamped MKR failed to win over audiences and premiered to a record low 498,000 metro viewers (Pictured Sophia and Romel)