The second season launch of Nine's Married at First Sight is down 32% on the show's premiere last year. The show, pitted against Seven's My Kitchen Rules at 7.30pm, attracted an average metro audience of 771,000 viewers.
This placed it well below MKR, with 1.23 million viewers, and 7.30 Report on 853,000. It came second to MKR across the three key demos aged between 16 and 54.
Married at First Sight matches eight singles who psychologists think are suited to each other to get hitched despite having never met - although the marriages are technically not legal.
This series sees the strange introduction of pheromone testing, which basically involved girls smelling the sweaty clothes of blokes to decide who they prefer - a method last made popular during the Stone Age.
Last night introduced Bryce and Erin, as well as Mark and Christie. Erin was likened by one critic as Chris Lilley's Ja'mie. The next two pairs will be introduced tonight at 7.30pm.
The show courted controversy last year over its ethics in an era when divorce rates outnumber successful unions, although it proved a ratings hit for Nine, rarely dipping below 1 million metro viewers. The finale pulled in 1.29 million viewers.
Last night, MKR dominated followed by news and current affairs shows, Downton Abbey (838,000), Australian Story (800,000) and Home and Away (792,000).
Seven won the daily audience share with 24.6% on its main channel, to Nine's 17.3% and ABC's 15.5%.
Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2016. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM. Program performance and ranking information subject to change when not based on final program logs.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.