Channel Nine makes a shock decision on the future of Love Island Australia after the reality series failed to bring in free-to-air viewers
Channel Nine has stuck by Love Island Australia since it launched in 2018 despite disappointing ratings on traditional free-to-air television.
And now the network has made an official decision on the future of the reality series after the fourth season finished in December.
Speaking to TV Tonight, a network executive said that they’re exploring a fifth season of the show thanks to its blockbuster success on Nine’s streaming service 9Now.
Channel Nine has made a decision about the future of reality TV dating series Love Island Australia. Host Sophie Monk is pictured
‘It did extraordinarily well from a digital perspective,’ Programming Director Hamish Turner said.
‘A lot of the episodes started delivering above 400,000 from a 9Now perspective, and there’s probably only one other show that does that: MAFS,’ he continued.
‘To get back to Spain, with great weather and to see that joy play out on air, we were very happy with the season. …we’ll be looking at what season five looks like in 2023.’
The season four premiere opened to 326,000 viewers and ranked at No. 29 on the most-watched shows of the night.
Speaking to TV Tonight , a network executive said that they’re exploring a fifth season of the show thanks to its blockbuster success on Nine’s streaming service 9Now
It was the first time that a show has aired on BVOD first and cracked the top 30 total TV list.
Season four was also the first that any version of Love Island had ever been pre-recorded.
‘It had to be pre-recorded because Nine wanted it on at this time of the year, and we can’t film it now because it’s freezing cold in Spain,’ ITV executive producer Alex Mavroidakis said.
‘So we had to do a pre-recorded version, which we were all worried about – but it’s exactly the same thing. We shoot an episode a day, and we cut an episode a day, and it feels exactly the same.’
‘To get back to Spain, with great weather and to see that joy play out on air, we were very happy with the season. …we’ll be looking at what season five looks like in 2023,’ Nine said
Love Island Australia’s fourth season made headlines for the inclusion of Married At First Sight star Al Perkins.
It also featured the return of season three winners Mitch Hubbard and Tina Provis, who entered the villa as intruders.
While Love Island Australia is safe at Channel Nine, Beauty and the Geek, which is also hosted by Sophie Monk, is on the chopping block.
‘We’re giving it a rest this year but we haven’t made any official announcement as to what we’re going to do with it moving forward,’ Nine said.
Love Island Australia’s fourth season made headlines for the inclusion of Married At First Sight star Al Perkins. Pictured above
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