The Voice announces new sponsors ahead of season six debut
Nine’s singing competition, The Voice, has announced five new sponsors including Mazda and KFC, prior to its season six debut on Monday April 24.
The announcement comes as the show introduces a new team of judges and aims to reinvigorate the program after last year’s finale drew 1.287m metro viewers – the lowest of all the show’s final episodes.
Last season also saw viewer numbers dip to 1.186m metro viewers – down 14% compared to the same period the year before – after its lowest launch audience of 1.4m.
In 2015, the finale managed 1.552m metro viewers for the winner announcement, dropping from 2014’s finale audience of 1.66m.
Its launch in 2015 managed 1.557m viewers, down on the previous year’s 2.155m.
“The Voice continues to provide a powerful platform for brands to engage with Australian audiences at scale,” said Lizzie Young, Nine’s director of innovation, partnerships and client experience.
Season six’s sponsors will consist of Arnott’s Shapes, KFC, Mazda, Nick Scali Furniture and Blossom Manuka Honey.
Speaking to Mumbrella ahead of The Voice’s launch, Nine’s chief sales officer Michael Stephenson said he was confident the network’s post-Easter programming slate would resonate with audiences.
“Our focus doesn’t change. I don’t unfortunately have a crystal ball,” says Stephenson. “Our focus isn’t changing. We feel really good about our content. We’re focussed on growing our audience of 25-54s, I think we’ll keep doing that. I feel really good about Q2. When you put in The Voice with Last Resort, House of Bond and Love Child, those big Australian formats, big Australian stories into the schedule, I think we’ll continue our ratings momentum.”
Seven’s director of programming Angus Ross acknowledged The Voice, as well as Ten’s upcoming Masterchef, which debuts on May 1, would be tough competition for the network’s offering of House Rules.
“Look, they are all strong shows, The Voice, Masterchef and House Rules, all with proven track records. You’d have to say the battle is going to be pretty intense. I’m not foolish enough to come out and say ‘This is going to dominate. This is going to fail’ – all the shows have a track record that’s impressive,” says Ross.
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