983,000 metro viewers choose Holey Moley, compared to Amazing Race’s 501,000
Holey Moley’s first episode was the biggest launch on Seven in more than three years, attracting 983,000 metro viewers to easily dominate the primetime slot against the 781,000 metro viewers who watched the second part of Nine’s Married at First Sight reunion, and the premiere of The Amazing Race on Ten, which had 501,000 metro viewers.
The mega mini golf format also topped the key advertising demographics (16-39s, 18-49s, and 25-54s), followed by MAFS, while The Amazing Race – the 13th ranked show across the five capital cities last night, behind Home and Away, Four Corners, and The Chase – appeared in the fourth spot among 18-49s.
Holey Moley’s Rob Riggle
The result aligns with executive producer Andrew Backwell’s predictions. He told Mumbrella that “it’s going to launch well”, and director of programming Angus Ross said the network is “very happy” with the performance.
“The right mix of exceptional presenter talent, high production value and just a little bit of weirdness has provided Australians with a welcome addition to their evening viewing,” he said.
With the regions factored in, the brand new format had 1.519 million viewers, behind Seven News’ 6pm and 6:30pm bulletins, which secured more than a million metro viewers and soared to 1.603 million and 1.585 million nationally, respectively.
The MAFS reunion episodes aired Sunday night and last night
The MAFS special also jumped above the million mark nationally, with 1.057 million total viewers. The Amazing Race gained 177,000 regional viewers for a total of 678,000.
Nine’s program director, Hamish Turner, said the company is “thrilled” with the two part MAFS special, which ran on consecutive nights after the second part was first scheduled to air this Sunday, 7 February. The first part, which aired on Sunday, brought 866,000 metro viewers to Nine.
“Both episodes drew over 1 million nationally on linear overnights and now have 9Now audiences in excess of 250,000 for episode one,” Turner said.
“All this sets the stage for a big Q1 with the Australian Open starting Monday and audiences eagerly anticipating the brand new Season of MAFS which launches Monday 22 February.”
The Amazing Race’s first night was down 21% compared to the 635,000 metro viewers the launch drew in 2019.
“Look, I think The Amazing Race is such a unique format. I think it will appeal to such a broad cross section … I’m not too concerned about the sport or Holey Moley,” EP Cathie Scott told Mumbrella ahead of the launch.
The second season of The Amazing Race to air on Ten is once again hosted by Beau Ryan
But national sales director, Lisa Squillace, confirmed the network is “happy with the launch, particularly given the tough free-to-air competition”.
“The uptake of sponsorships has been extraordinary,” she added.
“We are thrilled to welcome Telstra, Subway, Disney+, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks and Tourism Australia as sponsors to The Amazing Race Australia this season, along with our broadcast partners A2 Milk and Ashley & Martin.
“The race taking part in Australia has allowed for seamless integration of these sponsors into the show and I can’t wait for our partners to see their brands come to life.”
And a Ten spokesperson added: “The Amazing Race Australia had a much younger audience than our competitors with 56% of viewers under 50. Our live stream audience was up an incredible 400%.”
Holey Moley pushed Seven just ahead of Nine to win the night on a network share (29.7% versus 28.5%) and channel share (22.9% versus 22.3%) basis. Ten had a 10.8% channel share and 17.9% network share, with 10 Bold once again the most-watched multi-channel with a 4.1% share.
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Brittney Rigby was Mumbrella's deputy managing editor - news and analysis. She left Mumbrella in April 2021.
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topics
Amazing Race
Andrew Backwell
Angus Ross
Cathie Scott
Hamish Turner
Holey Moley
Lisa Squillace
MAFS
MAFS reunion
Married at First Sight
The Amazing Race Australia
TV ratings
