0/5

Non-ratings? 2.09m for MKR. What non-ratings?

Update: More than two million Australians watch during non-ratings while Josh & Andi admit they asked to leave the show.

2013-04-04_1012They say it’s Easter non-ratings -but try telling that to more than two million Australians last night who watched My Kitchen Rules.

The Seven cook-off pulled 2.09m as WA “hipsters” Josh and Andi were sent home from the contest. But it wasn’t all bad news, as the couple also revealed a surprise.

“We really wanted to win today, but we made a decision that win or lose we were leaving the competition. We’ve got a baby on the way – it’s a big exciting time for us. It’s the end of one journey that was great, but the beginning of something else that’s going to be even better.”

The pair have also opted not to return for Sunday’s second-chance battle which sees four eliminated couples return for a place in the finals.

Seven’s decision to return MKR this week has paid off with Nine resting its key content until next week. It’s managed 1.9m or higher for all three nights, in a week in which advertisers and industry have deemed “non-ratings.”

As most observers know, while a Sunday on a long weekend is soft in numbers, the Monday night is huge as we all bed down for the working week.

This week My Kitchen Rules has enjoyed the lion’s share, and then some. Undoubtedly it’s going to need all the momentum it can muster as it takes on The Voice from Sunday.

If commercial networks are going to continue with key content in Easter next year, as two of three have this year, then it’s probably time to re-think this non-ratings business altogether.

Update: Meanwhile, Josh and Andi have raised questions about the transparency of the series, admitting they asked producers to leave the show.

“Josh was very worried about my health and the baby’s health,” Andi told Fairfax.

“Once we both made that decision to go, we went straight into the bosses and said ‘We’re having a baby, I’ve been pregnant for a little while and we don’t think it’s safe to continue’.”

“It was weird cooking knowing we were leaving.

“Even if we did beat them by one point I would have said as much as I’m honoured to win, we’re going home; it was scripted because of the pregnancy.”

23 Responses

  1. For all the people on twitter last night saying how it was rigged about Josh and Andi going because they wanted to keep the other 2 in for ratings, the show was filmed 6 mths ago.

    I do however agree that Pete and Manu basically gave the team away when they said its how there heritage cooked it.

    Funniest bit was when kerrie clapped when the results were announced and no one else did.

  2. Even if MKR goes down to the voice, the voice will not be getting my vote, heard via the grapevine how the voice is rigged, so will not be watching it, either play fair or don’t play at all.

  3. Did anyone notice that Manu gave away who was cooking what doing the so-called “blind tasting” on 3rd April? When judges complained about the heat in one of the dishes he went on to say how that was how things were cooked in the teams country of origin…. uh huh

  4. The Sunday ep of MKR does not look that appealing, i dont really care for any of the teams with a chance at returning, i liked angela and melina but it is at the point where i would rather see the show progress towards a winner than see them return. It will be The Voice for me, even if it is only so that i can be credibly critical of it the next morning. That said, if jessie & biswa were returning it would be MKR hands down appointment viewing, i’d predict 2mil+ against the voice. seems a massive missed opportunity that the spice girls are not included.

    With the Voice, i really hope they have improved the criticisms of last year. 15mins+ on a single audition for someone that isn’t interesting was excruciating. the ratings might not be as forgiving a 2nd time round if 9 takes it for granted.
    The other issue i had was the “I want to be known for my voice, not as a blind girl/barbie/bullied kid/ect.” then to be followed by a ten minute package that only enforces the thing they dont want to be known for, repeating it over & over.

  5. Hmmm….there really was nothing that great on last night night….and having said that…still did not tempt me to watch MKR….even the Mr & Mrs Murder ep. did not grab me…

  6. I think the screening of the terrible US version of The Voice before the Olympics last year has tarnished the brand and will impact on the ratings of this year’s series. Also the departure of Keith Urban will see the country music crowd tune out.

  7. I tuned out of MKR once the spice gals left. Does anyone know why they are not returning???

    As for The Voice being “pure”, as much as I enjoyed it – I recall several questionable decisions when the judges began picking their favorites over the better singers. I also tuned out of the Voice about the time the final rounds began.

  8. I completely agree that it’s time to “rethink this non-ratings business altogether”. In this day and age, we don’t need any “non-ratings periods”. The ratings should count all year round and networks should take public holidays into account and schedule their programs accordingly.
    If they need to have another way of measurement and comparison, just divide the year into quarters based on seasons. Then the networks could brag about having the top show of the summer, autumn, winter or spring.

  9. IMO Non Ratings for Easter is a joke. Really its 4 days of 2 weeks. Why have it at all. Seriously the figures coming out this week are pretty much the norm in the actual ratings period. I say scrap this 2 week non-ratings period. There is no need for it.

    As for MKR vs The Voice on Sunday i do think The Voice will win but MKR has a huge following. What ever show loses viewers on Sunday will obviously gain viewers when consolidated ratings come in. I do think MKR will impact The Voice. It is clash of the heavyweights. Plus who’s to say both won’t get 2m each night. There are enough viewers out there.

  10. I think a Celebrity MKR special later in the year would be a great idea – 5 celebrity couples/related pairs etc (think Olympic team-mates, Simone Warne and boyfriend etc). 5 instant restaurant episodes, 5 Kitchen HQ episodes.

    Keep is simple. I think this would rate really well.

  11. MKR seems to have been derailed this year as its changed from a cooking show to a soap opera. Yes it’s worked from an ‘event’ perspective but I dont see it being sustainable next year – it seems so ridiculously fake and pointless. I also think they’e stretched it out far too long – I would like to see just instant restaurant rounds rather than the Kitchen HQ stuff.
    Agree it won’t hit 1m against The Voice on Sunday, especially without the Spice Girls returning on Sunday.

  12. MKR will go down bigtime once The Voice returns! I tuned out from MKR once the bitching came out and saw how fake the show was. The Voice is pure and much more enjoyable! Big Mistake on Ch 7 but good to have competition though their ratings will start to drop dramatically with the all the good shows on Ch 9!

  13. “Non-Ratings” the term is a jurassic joke. Who cares about anomalies, surely the industry is a little more sophisticated than that. It is time tv execs joined the 21st century, they can price their advertising accordingly across the year. Lets face it with 2 mil last night, an advert was not exactly gonna be a freebie or cheap.

    NR is just an excuse to be lazy…..and some(most) of them know it

  14. Non-ratings has been debated by viewers for years now, and its about time it was actually looked into by the relevant agencies/companies. I completely understand non-ratings over public holidays, so perhaps make future non-ratings over Easter go from the Thursday before Good Friday till Easter Monday (instead of 2 weeks), and then perhaps from 23rd December till 2nd January (instead of 6 weeks). That’s my opinion anyway.

  15. “Build it, and they will come” … “Show it, and they will watch”. Scrap the non-ratings periods. Viewers are still watching. Advertisers are advertising. The Network TV audience and customers deserve more respect. So, well done Ch 7 and MKR. ‘Easter Holidays’ don’t seem to have hurt you, and Pay TV won’t be complaining about the numbers for GoT and TWD.

  16. what is the situation at OzTam? it seems no one makes any decisions ever. easter non-ratings are archaic, last explanation i heard was that non ratings are a way of eliminating anomalies in the calendar so that any yearly average figures are not skewed. but it has been clear for years that the easter period does not create much, if any, of an anomaly. easter sunday is low rating. thats about the end of it. definitely not a reason to take 2 weeks off. it is so anti-competitive and a detriment to the industry.

  17. MKR will absolutely flop on Sunday. I can’t see it getting past the magic million. Like it not, The Voice will pass the 2 million mark on Sunday. As for The Biggest Loser, I think the name sums that up.

Leave a Reply