The Bachelor 2021 winner announcement airs to lowest finale ratings ever

Last night’s Bachelor finale was a ratings fizzer - and one expert has revealed why this season was doomed from the start.

The Bachelor aired to its lowest finale audience in history on Thursday night, after a low-rating season that saw Ten speeding through the episodes in a race to the end.

Jimmy Nicholson’s quest for love came to a close with the hunky pilot choosing Holly over Brooke, who buckled over in tears in a heartbreaking display akin to Matty J’s rejection by Bachelorette Georgia Love in 2016.

Despite the dramatic scenes, just 629,000 metro viewers tuned in for the final winner reveal, down from 879,000 for the show’s seventh season last year.

The fall was even more steep compared to the show’s first seven seasons, which all drew well over 1 million viewers for the closing minutes of their finales.

The most successful Bachelor finale was in 2015, when almost 1.5m people tuned in to watch Sam Wood choose now-wife Snezana Wood.

JAMES WEIR RECAPS: Read all the recaps here

Brooke was devastated to be dumped by Jimmy in last night’s finale.

Last night was still by far the most-watched episode of this season, which dipped as low as 360,000 viewers for one previous episode and only cleared the 500,000 viewer mark for the first time on Wednesday.

Jimmy himself weighed in on the low ratings during an interview with news.com.au this morning, saying: “I must admit I didn’t know much about ratings, but it doesn’t bother me that much.

“I got a little bit down, I was like: ‘Oh no, people aren’t watching it’. I thought about the fans from that perspective, we wouldn’t wanna let them down, but at the end of the day we got what we wanted out of it and couldn’t be happier.”

Channel 10 thanked the other contestants for ‘bravely opening their hearts’.

So what went wrong with The Bachelor this year?

Industry expert and TV Tonight editor David Knox suggested to news.com.au that the Olympics played a huge role in why the season never took off for Ten. Those early episodes - which attracted the season’s lowest figures - saw Bach go head-to-head with Seven’s Olympics coverage.

“Jimmy Nicholson seemed like a perfectly nice guy, but when you’re competing against the Olympics you could be Prince Charming and still lose,” he said.

“Timing was not on his side, but even if 10 had held off, what was it going to screen? The test pattern or more Bull episodes?”

Bach star Jimmy told news.com.au today the ratings this season had got him down.

The show suffered low ratings all season, with Thursday’s finale bookending the smallest premiere audience in its history.

A little over halfway through the season, executives even made a drastic decision to air double episodes to fast-forward to the end.

Asked about the surprise format switch-up, Knox said: “In the biz it’s known as ‘burning off’, a programming move to get a sluggish season off the schedule as quickly as possible. It’s been tricky given Covid impacting productions, but 10 will do better with The Masked Singer, and hopefully Making It Australia.” A proven hit, The Masked Singer’s new season will premiere on the network on Monday September 13, with new crafting show Making It debuting two days later.

So is there still life in the Bachelor franchise?

David Knox said the ratings result this year could all be down to a “tired formula” - but that Ten’s next Bach-related offering could give some new life to the franchise.

“Both 2020 and 2021 seasons have under-performed and that’s despite lockdowns which should have worked in 10’s favour,” he said.

“It’s as if viewers have tired of the formula of catty girls and one bloke pretending to be torn, even if he’s chosen his favourite early on.

Brooke Blurton is Ten’s next Bachelorette.

“The Bachelorette is shaking things up with woman who is Indigenous and attracted to both sexes, so hopefully it’s genuine and not exploited as another reality twist. I’d be resting The Bachelor and look to bring it back when it has some new relevance.”

Bach universe alum Brooke Blurton, originally from Nick Cummins’ season, is this year’s Bachelorette. Channel 10 is yet to issue a premiere date for the season.

News.com.au also approached Ten today to ask about the future of the franchise. They had this to say:

“Love was definitely in the air this season. Audiences of The Bachelor Australia were loved up and engaged across all platforms, including BVOD and social media.

“Congratulations to Jimmy and Holly as they embark on their happily ever after. We wish them only love, laughter and happiness for their future. And, thank you to all the bachelorettes who bravely opened their hearts to finding love.”

Originally published as The Bachelor 2021 winner announcement airs to lowest finale ratings ever