The recent cancellations of both The Bachelor and The Masked Singer by Network 10 are down to “ratings and the return on investment," according to Paramount Australia's SVP of content and programming Daniel Monaghan.
Monaghan said that in Network 10’s decade-plus run as the home of the dating show, it worked “super well”.
“We had great success in ratings, great success in revenue, great success for people in The Bachelor who got married and had children and we probably gave it two more chances than anyone else would have,” he said.
“We tried to reinvigorate the format, sending it to the Gold Coast then moving to Melbourne last year, but to be frank, it wasn't rating anymore. Therefore, [when it’s not rating], the revenue can't be there and so we had to make some tough calls.
“People cancel shows and refresh their slate all the time in this industry. Officially, we’re resting it; should it remain available in the future, we can come back and look at it in a couple of years, but if it goes somewhere else then good luck."
In the case of The Masked Singer, Monaghan said its five years on air for Network 10 was a “great run”, especially as many people said it wouldn't even last three seasons.
“It had phenomenal success for the first few years and although it did fall away [ratings-wise] to what would be an acceptable number, at the price point for a show like that, you can see that you cannot return investment on a show that cost that much money at that level,” Monaghan told AdNews.
“Our competitors have done and are doing similar things; [Nine’s] Australian Ninja Warrior hasn't been on air since 2022 and that's because it's so expensive for the numbers that it gets. No one can monetise that. It's across the industry - that level of investment has to really have a good return.”
From an advertiser point of view, due to the shows not being renewed instead of commissioned for a new season and then cancelled, those brands previously involved with The Bachelor and The Masked Singer won’t be out any money or ad spots due to the decisions – “there's no new advertisers or returning advertisers that were taken by surprise,” Monaghan said.
As to what advertisers can take advantage of now, Monaghan said that the broadcaster will have “highly integrated, advertiser-friendly shows” in the back half of this year.
“We're returning Shark Tank, which was a massive favourite of the advertisers - a great success for ANZ and Optus who were key partners last year,” he said.
“Dessert Masters is another massive and highly integrated format that advertisers love. We've got The Amazing Race, which we have sponsors attached on, we've got Taskmaster, Gogglebox, Thank God You're Here. We're offering better partnerships for our sponsors and advertisers than if we just returned shows that weren't performing.”
Paramount ANZ’s chief of sales, Rod Prosser, echoed those sentiments, saying the network has seen "immense interest and uptake" in its first half programming on Channel 10 with "successful partnerships and solid audiences" across Australian Survivor, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, MasterChef Australia and more.
"We are cautiously optimistic around the second half of 2024, as we anticipate a recovery in the ad market," he told AdNews.
"We have a full slate of exciting programming on 10 which is generating positive conversations, and we are seeing a steady volume of briefs coming through."
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