MasterChef Australia judges quit Ten’s show, with network eyeing megastar replacements
MasterChef has delivered its lowest-ever finale ratings, amid reports Ten is luring culinary stars to replace the outgoing judges.
It was once a TV ratings juggernaut but it seems viewers are switching off MasterChef.
The reality series delivered its lowest-ever ratings for a finale, with last night’s episode well down compared to previous years.
MasterChef drew an average national audience of 831,000, with a peak of 992,000 viewers when the winner was announced on Ten last night.
This was well down on the 2018 ratings, which attracted an audience of 1.13 million nationally, and peaked at 1.32 million.
The ratings slump came after a week of turmoil for the Ten cooking series.
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They’re said to be courting big name stars to join MasterChef but Ten has played down reports that it has already replaced Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.
Addressing speculation that the network has already signed Curtis Stone, Maggie Beer and Poh Ling Yeow as MasterChef’s new judges, Ten said “no decision has been made”.
“Maggie, Curtis and Poh are loved members of the MasterChef family,” a Ten spokesperson said today.
“We are currently casting the judges for 2020 and no decision has been made”.
It came after MasterChef’s original judges Preston, Mehigan and Calombaris negotiated themselves out of a job on Ten.
Six months after starting negotiations for a new deal in which they reportedly demanded a 40 per cent pay increase and a slice of the international profits of the show, the trio are now believed to be eyeing a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix or Amazon Prime to get them back on the box.
Forming their own production company, GGM Pty Ltd and selling themselves to Ten as a package deal made talks “difficult,” Ten’s chief executive Paul Anderson told News Corp Australia — denying the network had sought to dump Calombaris after his wage theft shame.
Preston, Mehigan and especially Calombaris stayed off the radar and did not return calls when the news broke, but are understood to have wanted more time off to pursue other projects, while almost doubling their TV earnings, estimated currently at around $400,000 to $600,000 per judge each season.
Mr Anderson said the network was committed to “another 10 years of MasterChef, so we needed to look at this with a long-term outlook. We can’t be taking a one-year view on shows like this and paying over the odds”.
While thanking the judges for their work on the series, he said their departure was seen “as a real opportunity” to “refresh.”
This year’s ratings on the Logie-winning reality series “have been down after a really good year last year,” Mr Anderson said.
“What this does … is give us a real chance to make some changes and we’ve got some great ideas for next year.”
As Australia’s most popular cooking show crowned its latest winner, Larissa Takchi, the Ten boss confirmed it would now look to sign some of the show’s favourites, Curtis Stone, Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay as replacement judges.
He added: “there’s a long list of people who are keen to be part of the franchise, so we’ve got all that in our favour.”
While those names won’t come cheap, Mr Anderson said the network would not skimp in delivering the same quality production.
“This is a show that runs for the best part of four months of the year, it’s the backbone of our schedule. It’s not a show, you can tell by the production values, that has ever been done cheaply and won’t be done in the future,” he said.
While hard-balling Ten over their value to the show, Calombaris told News Corp earlier this year the recipe for its success was the talent of the contestants and loyalty of viewers.
“It’s not just about how the three of us perform at the top of the room, it’s our contestants, it’s the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes and the consumers, the people who watch the show. Without them, we’re nothing.”
Making separate statements on Instagram, the judges vowed to keep working together beyond MasterChef.
Mehigan said the contract dispute “was never about the money and never will be about the money” but rather having “more free time to explore our own creativity.”
“The opportunity to work with Matt and George has been a blessing and something I cherish. Working together will continue to be the most important thing for us ... the three musketeers.”
Calombaris added “the dates just didn’t align” for a new deal, while Preston said leaving was “with a heavy heart” because “we were really keen to continue but we were unable to agree to all terms for the new contract.”
He wished “the new judges all the best with the show we love so much.”
Endemol Shine, which produces a number of shows for Ten including Survivor and Gogglebox, has sold the Australian series of MasterChef to 36 markets, including India, Indonesia and the UK, but is unlikely to risk its relationship with Ten to keep working with Preston, Mehigan and Calombaris on the show overseas.
Meanwhile, a media report which was published midway through negotiations linking the trio to streaming services Netflix and Amazon was seen by Ten as a deliberate “plant” by their management to scare out a $1 million-plus payday.
The global TV platforms have made it clear they are keen to move into the competitive reality space and Preston, Mehigan and Calombaris would be hoping to find a similar format they could front for an international audience.
But industry insiders have warned the former judges they could burn their brand in the same way the one-time Top Gear hosts — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May — have tanked since moving to Amazon Prime.
What was your favourite MasterChef moment with Gary, George and Matt? Tell us below:
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Calombaris dumped after wages scandal
Originally published as MasterChef Australia judges quit Ten’s show, with network eyeing megastar replacements
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