Channel 7’s move to save ratings disaster

Channel 7 has made a move in a bid to improve ratings for the latest series of Big Brother.

Channel 7 is changing Big Brother’s timeslot in the hopes of drawing in more viewers, with the latest series failing to pull in a huge audience.

The show launched earlier this week and failed to hit even 300,000 viewers nationwide.

Ratings for the show have since dropped to as low as 214,000 and it’s prompted Channel 7 to find ways to bring in more viewers.

This year's series of Big Brother has failed to entice viewers. Picture: Channel 7

As a result, it’s been revealed the broadcaster has decided to move Big Brother to a later timeslot from next week, according to TVBlackBox.

The show, which had been airing at 7.30pm in the evenings will now air an hour later, starting from next Monday.

Filling Big Brother’s former timeslot on Monday will be triple episodes of Home & Away from 7pm, double episodes of Highway Patrol on Tuesday, and A Year On planet Earth on Wednesday night.

Earlier this year, it was forced to bump Blow Up Australia after just episodes to 7Flix, while other shows including Million Dollar Island and We Interrupt this Broadcast, both failed to catch-on with viewers and won’t be returning in 2024.

Big Brother has moved timeslots following a less than ideal ratings start. Picture from Channel 7.

Channel 7 told news.com.au that it’s not “unusual” for shows to switch timeslots, and revealed some of its flagship shows have increased their viewership this year.

“It is not unusual for a TV network to change the timeslot of shows. Seven has seen very strong results from many of its 7.30pm shows this year, which clearly resonated with viewers on Seven and 7plus,” said a spokesperson. “Dancing With The Stars, SAS Australia, Farmer Wants A Wife and My Kitchen Rules all increased their audiences year on year. No other network has achieve that this year.”

Big Brother has undergone a huge amount of changes in recent years, and it’s left some viewers upset about the future of the franchise the love.

Following this year’s launch, fans rushed to social media to lash out at the series for feeling like a Love Island “copycat”.

“Why didn’t they just rebrand the show instead? This is like Love Island meets MAFS #BBAU,” tweeted one upset viewer.

A another fan agreed, hitting out at Channel 7: “Seven really wanted the rights to Love Island but they’re already taken by 9 so they took beloved Big Brother and ruined it #BBAU”.

Others felt the same, with many also criticising Channel 7 for “ruining” the show by turning it into a “wannabe Love Island”. One viewer ranted: “The best thing about the original #BBAU was the diverse cast: age, race, interests,” while another said: “Don’t think anyone wanted a Love Island/Big Brother mashup #BBAU.”

Originally published as Channel 7’s move to save ratings disaster