The Block AXED: Curtain falls on franchise after winning team’s renovation made a record-low profit

Fans of Channel Nine’s The Block are anxious about the shows future after it was recently announced its New Zealand counterpart won’t be returning in 2023.

The season finale of The Block New Zealand made headlines in October after the winning team’s renovation made a record-low profit at auction.

Winning couple Chloe Hes and Ben Speedy were shocked to discover that months of gruelling effort had earned them a dismal profit of just NZ$4,000 (AU$3,046).

The difficult market conditions led to producers across the ditch to make the heartbreaking decision to not screen the show next year.

‘We’ve made the tough but necessary decision to postpone The Block NZ until 2024 due to the challenging housing market,’ they said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Aussie fans are worried this doesn’t bode well for the Australian version, especially after its auction day finale saw some teams struggle to sell their house.

The season finale of The Block New Zealand raised eyebrows in October after the winning team’s renovation made a record-low profit at auction

‘The Block has maybe had its day…the Aussie season was a disaster too,’ wrote one fan on Instagram.

And next year’s season of The Block could be a financial disaster for Channel Nine, a property expert has warned.

Buyer’s advocate Frank Valentic fears the network paid too much for a row of five houses in Melbourne’s Bayside that will be renovated on the show in 2023.

Producers across the ditch recently made the heartbreaking call to not screen the show next year

A company owned by Nine spent $14.3million in total on the homes in Hampton East, which equates to about $2.86million for each property. 

Mr Valentic said this puts the producers and teams ‘$7million behind the eight-ball from day dot’, adding: ‘The Block has paid a premium there, double what we would expect the properties to be worth. It could be financially the worst series yet.’ 

However, Channel Nine quashed rumours the renovation show was struggling and cited its record ratings as proof of its success.

‘The Block was the second most-watched reality series of 2022, and more than 2.6 million Aussies tuned in to see our winners crowned,’ a spokesperson told Yahoo.

Local fans are worried this doesn’t bode well for the Aussie version, especially after its auction day finale saw some teams struggle to sell their house