Ultimate Tag bumped to 7flix after first week
Seven has moved Ultimate Tag to multi-channel 7flix just one week on from the new show’s launch, after it struggled to pull viewers away from flagship programming on other free-to-air networks.
The format launched last Sunday night to 447,000 metro viewers in its prime 7:30pm time slot, failing to challenge Nine’s Married At First Sight, which aired to 945,000 metro viewers.
Ultimate Tag hosts Abbey Gelmi and Matt Shirvington
But metro viewership for the show – hosted by Matt Shirvington and Abbey Gelmi – fell further in subsequent nights, with its second outing falling out of the metro top 20 with 260,000 metro viewers. Its national result that evening was 442,000 – less than the metro audience it had the night before.
That Monday night, it was up against the biggest show of the year in Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, which brought in an average of 1.366 million viewers for Ten across five metro markets.
Ultimate Tag was watched by 277,000 metro viewers on its third airing. On that occasion, Seven’s new series scraped into the top 20 metro shows in 20th position. MAFS remained well ahead with 945,000 metro viewers, and Ten’s The Amazing Race had 480,000.
Endemol Shine Australia announced in mid-2020 it had commissioned one season of the US reality format.
Ultimate Tag was created by Znak & Co and first aired in the US in May, 2020. Its US launch was the broadcaster’s highest-rated unscripted summer debut in three years, Seven said.
The program involves ordinary Australians stepping up against ‘pro taggers’, which include sports stars, athletes, martial artists and more.
It remains in the 7:30pm time slot despite moving to 7flix. In its place on Monday night, Seven will air a documentary: ‘Declassified: The Royal Scandals’, which reinvestigates some of the biggest scandals of the British royal family.
Mumbrella has asked Seven for comment on the programming change.
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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