Channel 7 in damage control as MKR flops against Nine’s MAFS

This year’s Married At First Sight has been a gold mine for Channel Nine but a disaster for Seven. Former ratings juggernaut My Kitchen Rules has failed to make an impact — and executives are concerned.

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It’s been a gold mine for Nine and a disaster for Channel 7.

But with the fifth season of Married At First Sight finally winding up Monday night, the full impact of its damage to this year’s limp season of My Kitchen Rules is unfolding for all to see and the word out of the Eveleigh studios is … very, very bad.

According to sources close to Seven’s programming and sales department, the atmosphere is grim as the network faces the very real possibility that its most successful show for a decade has finally run out of steam.

My Kitchen Rules had enjoyed ratings success for the last 10 years but Married At First Sight conquered this year.

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Not only was it beaten across the board by MAFS this season, MKR has shed around half its usual viewing audience with a paltry average of just 800,000.

MAFS, comparatively, averages 1.6 million.

The decimation is a double blow for Seven which has invested heavily in food programming and even launched its own digital food channel last October.

“It’s nothing short of a disaster,” said one TV source, who claims Seven executives were scrambling for ways to lure back viewers this season, even re-editing MKR footage to emphasise interpersonal relationships. (It was a tactic that didn’t work.)

Colourful characters like Cyrell have made this MAFS season interesting to watch.

Controversial contestants such as Martha and Jess have angered viewers. Picture: Nigel Wright

It’s understood Seven bosses were also less than impressed at MKR judge Pete Evans’ decision to align himself with the anti-vaxxer movement.

“There’s some genuine concern about what happens from here. MKR was their golden goose for many, many years and without its revenue stream the network needs to either find a ‘lightning in a bottle’ idea like MAFS or figure out a way to get MKR back on track,” the source said.

Seven did not respond to Confidential’s email on Saturday.

Originally published as Channel 7 in damage control as MKR flops against Nine’s MAFS