Channel 9’s ‘The Floor’ emerges as prime time success story

It’s notoriously hard to get people interested in a new broadcast show, but Nine’s latest gamble is paying off with mega ratings.

Is anyone else devouring Channel 9’s The Floor?

Judging by the ratings, Nine’s latest prime time gamble has paid off big time.

The new game quiz show hosted by Australian actor Rodger Corser has dominated in the prime time 7.30pm slot since its premiere on April 28, where it broke the record for a total national reach of 2.22 million viewers.

While it suffered a hefty drop on that figure for its second episode, it still maintained its stronghold over Seven’s Farmer Wants A Wife, pulling in 1.14 million total viewers for night two.

Rodger Corser hosts the popular Channel 9 program, "The Floor".

Farmer, which debuted strongly to 1.768 million viewers on April 21, has consistently lost the timeslot since The Floor came along. On Tuesday night this week, The Floor beat its opposition yet again with 2.018 million total viewers, while Farmer had 1.441 million. Meanwhile, long-running cooking show MasterChef pulled in 1.121 million on Channel 10.

The Floor is adapted from a Dutch game show format, which debuted in the Netherlands in 2023.

The premise follows 81 Aussies competing in trivia duels against the clock as they battle it out for a chance at $200,000, with various subjects ranging from historic landmarks, to household items and celebrity couples.

It also infuses a bit of cheeky drama, with cameras often panning to the diverse set of contestants as they make their own musings and observations about other players.

The contestants certainly bring the drama.

The game show is consistently winning its prime time slot.

As traditional TV battles to resonate in the streaming age, The Floor has, thus far, managed to pull off a surprise grip on households with its easy to play at home format. (This writer has - cringe - found herself running from the fridge to the couch to make it in time for the next round of questions).

“This is such a cool show,” one user wrote on Nine’s Facebook page.

“Personally loved it. Something for the whole family to watch,” another said.

“Love a good quiz show, especially something like this where we can play along at home,” a third wrote.

“My kids and I are loving this show. My 8 year old knew so many of the water creatures,” a fourth added.

Others had some constructive feedback, somewhat fairly pointing out how the scenes in between trivia duels are too drawn out.

“It’s a good show but could be so much better. It’s too slow,” one wrote.

“I was excited about this show but I’m finding it drawn out,” another said.

“It’s fun but gosh it drags on to find out who the winner is.”

The Floor’s ratings are no doubt welcomed news over at Nine HQ, as dozens of shows have been axed from free-to-air television over the past few years as networks struggle to entice viewers into both traditional and new series’.

The network sensationally didn’t renew the long-running game show Millionaire Hot Seat in 2023 (though that gamble has also paid off with Tipping Point dominating ratings), while Australian Ninja Warrior and My Mum, Your Dad were also put on ice.

Over at Ten, The Bachelor is being replaced by the new Golden Bachelor, helmed by Samantha Armytage, after years of declining ratings.

The Ten network also failed to revitalise Gladiators last year, after it first debuted in 1995 and became a household staple.

The Masked Singer, The Traitors, The Living Room and Studio 10 have also been cancelled in recent years.

Seven’s SAS Australia, which debuted to strong ratings back in 2020, was chopped in 2023, while several attempts to bring back the glory days of Big Brother domination have fallen flat, with the show last cancelled two years ago.

Originally published as Channel 9’s ‘The Floor’ emerges as prime time success story