Ninja sports scare rivals
THE shock success of Channel 9’s Australian Ninja Warrior has thrown rivals into mayhem with Channel Seven already dropping new show Little Big Shots.
The bedlam comes after Nine’s sports game show, hosted by Ben Fordham and Rebecca Maddern with Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, claimed another scalp last night.
Seven’s new quiz show Behave Yourself, hosted by Darren McMullen, was smashed by more than a million viewers.
Seven has shelved new kids talent show Little Big Shots, hosted by Shane Jacobson, which was set to launch on Sunday.
Australian Ninja Warrior, which features Brinsmead resident Travers Jamieson, has already crushed the finale of House Rules and has hurt Ten’s MasterChef Australia. The other Far Northern contestant James Boettcher has already been knocked out.
Seven’s Hell’s Kitchen and Ten’s The Bachelor Australia and Survivor Australia will be launching in coming weeks.
Seven feared carnage because Little Big Shots was set to premiere in the 7pm slot directly up against Australian Ninja Warrior.
“We want to screen Little Big Shots to the biggest audience possible and attempting to split the family audience with Ninja does not feel like a smart play,” Seven program chief Angus Ross says.
The second episode of Behave Yourself, which Seven moved into the Tuesday 7.30pm slot, was a wipe-out.
Tuesday’s episode of Australian Ninja Warrior averaged 1.47 million. That was slightly down on Sunday’s 1.68 million launch and the second episode’s 1.604 million but still a massive result.