The Bachelorette ratings disaster! Season premiere FLOPS as divisive Ali Oetjen draws the lowest ratings ever in the history of the show... as The Block continues to dominate

  • Do you have a story about The Bachelorette? Email tips@dailymail.com 

The new season of The Bachelorette, starring Ali Oetjen, began with much fanfare on Wednesday night - but according to ratings data, it was a major flop.

As reported by TV Tonight on Thursday, none of the hype generated by Network Ten's publicity machine could save the reality show from plunging into the abyss on its opening night.

The debut Bachelorette episode drew just 631,000 viewers in the five capital cities. It was only the eleventh most-watched show of the evening, falling well behind ABC's Hard Quiz, which drew 686,000 metro viewers.

Scroll down for video 

The Bachelorette ratings disaster! The season premiere FLOPS as divisive Ali Oetjen (pictured) draws the lowest ratings ever in the history of the show... as The Block continues to dominate

The Bachelorette ratings disaster! The season premiere FLOPS as divisive Ali Oetjen (pictured) draws the lowest ratings ever in the history of the show... as The Block continues to dominate

Regionally, the reality show placed a woeful 21st place in the rankings, drawing just 156,000 viewers. 

It will be a very embarrassing result for Network Ten, which had hyped the series for weeks with promotional trailers promising drama, romance and comedy.

The Bachelorette was notably slammed in the ratings by Channel Nine's The Block in the 7.30pm timeslot.

The home renovation show, hosted by Scott Cam, drew 918,000 viewers in the five captial cities - 287,000 more than The Bachelorette.

Fizzer: The debut Bachelorette episode drew just 631,000 viewers in the five capital cities. It was only the eleventh most-watch show of the evening, falling well behind ABC's Hard Quiz

Fizzer: The debut Bachelorette episode drew just 631,000 viewers in the five capital cities. It was only the eleventh most-watch show of the evening, falling well behind ABC's Hard Quiz

Only 35,000 more people tuned in to watch the big budget Bachelorette premiere than the ABC's 7.30 news program, which drew 596,000 viewers.

A spokesperson for Network Ten told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that the show was nonetheless a major success with younger viewers.

'The Bachelorette Australia launch clearly struck a chord with the younger viewers with the show topping the 16-39 and 18-49 audience demos, and coming second in 25 to 54s,' they said.

'We also saw great engagement on social with the #BacheloretteAU hashtag trending #1 across Australia. Seven out of 10 trends last night were about The Bachelorette.' 

On the bright side! A spokesperson for Network Ten told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that the show was nonetheless a major success with younger viewers. Pictured: Ali Oetjen

On the bright side! A spokesperson for Network Ten told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that the show was nonetheless a major success with younger viewers. Pictured: Ali Oetjen

'Each of our Bachelorette leads have had their own unique story on their journey to find love and as Ali's season goes on, she will surprise many,' the spokesperson added.

Season two of The Bachelorette, starring Georgia Love in 2016, debuted to 655,000 viewers, placing Ali Oetjen well behind as far as opening night numbers go.

Meanwhile, 875,000 tuned in to watch Sam Frost hand out roses back in 2015, and Sophie Monk's season premiered to an impressive 951,000.

The Bachelorette airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30pm on Network Ten    

On top! The Bachelorette was slammed in the ratings by Channel Nine's The Block in the 7.30pm timeslot. Pictured: The Block host Scott Cam

On top! The Bachelorette was slammed in the ratings by Channel Nine's The Block in the 7.30pm timeslot. Pictured: The Block host Scott Cam

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.