Channel 10 Upfronts: The Bachelors gets an airdate after being postponed

Channel 10 clearly has zero confidence in The Bachelor, choosing to air the upcoming season before the start of the 2023 ratings year.

The dating show, which has been rebranded as ‘The Bachelors’ and will feature three suitors instead of one, will launch on January 2, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

This means it won’t face any competition from rival networks, and will likely have finished its run by the time Married At First Sight begins airing on Channel Nine. 

Channel 10 clearly has zero confidence in The Bachelor, choosing to air the upcoming season before the start of the 2023 ratings year. (Pictured from left: new Bachelors Felix Von Hofe, Jed McIntosh and Thomas Malucelli)

TV networks traditionally schedule programs on a 40-week ratings year, starting in February and ending in November, with a small break over Easter.

This is because people typically do not watch as much television over summer, so the months of December and January are considered less important to advertisers.

Most networks save their tentpole shows for February to give themselves a strong start to the ratings year, and are less concerned with summer viewing figures.

The dating show, which has been rebranded as ‘The Bachelors’ and will feature three suitors instead of one, will launch on January 2, reports The Sydney Morning Herald 

By programming The Bachelors for early January, Channel 10 is signalling it does not feel the show is competitive enough to air during the official ratings year.

This is probably a wise move, as scheduling a dating show against a ratings juggernaut like MAFS would essentially be programming suicide.

However, it should be noted there has been a move in recent years of TV networks programming to a 52-week year.

This means it won’t face any competition from rival networks, and will likely have finished its run by the time Married At First Sight begins airing on Nine. (Pictured: MAFS star Olivia Frazer)

One example of this is Channel 10 starting the year with I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in early January.

However, this year’s season of I’m a Celebrity will presumably air later in the calendar as The Bachelors has taken its traditional spot.

The Bachelors was bumped from the 2022 schedule to make room for The Real Love Boat, which premiered on Wednesday to dire ratings.

By programming The Bachelors for early January, Channel 10 is signalling it does not feel the show is competitive enough to air during the official ratings year 

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