Australian Ninja Warrior is the game changer that will rewrite the television rule book

THE massive success of Ninja Warrior is a game changer for the future of Australian free-to-air and will dramatically change what future audiences can expect to see.

MEDIA experts say the massive ratings for Australian Ninja Warrior are a game changer that is set to rewrite the rule book for the sort of TV shows that Channels 7, Nine and Ten commission in the future.

The monster 1.6 million viewers-plus across the five capital cities for last Sunday’s launch episode of Nine’s new sports game show was only achieved because a massive amount of males tuned in.

Hosts of Australian Ninja Warrior — Andrew Flintoff, Rebecca Maddern and Ben Fordham. Picture: Channel 9

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The program, hosted by Ben Fordham and Rebecca Maddern with Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, had a 50-50 split of male and female viewers.

A whopping 840,000 female viewers watched buff athletes tackle the challenging course that features obstacles including the Bridge of Blades, Double Tilt Ladder and Tyre Swing.

But 836,000 males also tuned in — a rarity at a time when commercial network programming is dominated by dating and cooking shows and female-driven dramas.

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Australian Ninja Warrior with contestants including Cairns tour guide James Boettcher, has been a smash hit across all demographics.

Australian Ninja Warrior’s popularity with kids was icing on the cake. An impressive 259,000 children under the age of 12 tuned in.

“We set out to create an inspirational program for the whole family to enjoy and we’re thrilled the country has embraced it,” Nine’s director of programming Hamish Turner, said.

“This week’s audience numbers have surpassed all expectations. Ninja Warrior demonstrates the tremendous power of free-to-air television to bring millions of Australians together in a shared experience.”

The Australian Ninja result comes as exclusive Fusion Strategy figures reveal that the Top 20 shows this year have an overall audience bias of 62 per cent female to 38 per cent male.

Jessica Marais drama Love Child’s audience is 71 per cent female.

That bias blows out to a whopping 71 per cent for Aussie drama Love Child and US drama This is Us. Wanted and 800 Words aren’t far behind on 66 per cent.

“The result for Australian Ninja Warrior is a wake-up call,” Fusion’s Steve Allen said.

“The commercial network programmers and program creators are conscious that too many shows don’t have enough male content or viewers.

“There is no way you can get a show to rate more than 1 million viewers if you are only attracting one half of the population.”

Ten’s This is Us with Justin Hartley has a huge female following.

So why are so many current shows on Seven, Nine and Ten aimed at women?

One reason is that women watch more television than men.

Also, advertisers target women because they are thought to make most of the purchasing decisions for families.

The “grocery buyers” category is one of the most sought-after by advertisers looking to sell everything from bread to soft drinks and cleaning products.

Working women have increased buying power and can be targeted for big ticket items such as motor vehicles.

“When clients and media agencies formulate their plans for the year they will put more money towards female-oriented shows,” Allen says.

“But men are important because there is still a range of big spending categories for them including alcohol, financial services and motor vehicles.”

True Story with Hamish & Andy — (L-R) Andy Lee, Craig McLachlan, Hamish Blake — has been a hit with men and women.

Another one of 2017’s biggest ratings hits, True Story with Hamish and Andy, which launched to more than 1.4 million viewers, has a 50-50 female male split.

Other shows that women and men love in pretty equal numbers are Have You Been Paying Attention? and Here Come the Habibs.

Here Come The Habibs is equally popular with men and women. Picture: News Corp

The Voice also had a better demographic balance and perhaps because it focused on couples Married at First Sight was also surprisingly popular with men.

Originally published as Australian Ninja Warrior is the game changer that will rewrite the television rule book