MasterChef > Election Debate

I couldn't get over thinking about this when it was mentioned yesterday:

The Australian:

Leaders defer to MasterChef

ALP secretary Karl Bitar confirmed yesterday an agreement had been reached to move the debate from the traditional timeslot of 7.30pm, to 6.30pm, so as not to clash with the season finale of the Ten Network hit show.

The Australian understands the debate will be held at the National Press Club in Canberra and will be moderated by Sky News political editor David Speers.

If the leaders' debate had remained up against MasterChef it would have been a ludicrous programming decision.

Last year, the finale of MasterChef was the year's most watched show, attracting an extraordinary 4.1 million people across the nation.

Sunday's live finale of series two of the ratings juggernaut is likely to attract the same numbers. As the show heads towards its finale, it is pulling in more than 2.3 million people each night in the five capital cities alone.

PAUL MALEY, AMANDA MEADE

ABC News:

Leaders' pressure test moves for MasterChef

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will go head-to-head this Sunday night at 6.30pm AEST in the only likely debate of the election campaign.

The debate also had to be moved from its traditional timeslot of 7.30pm to avoid going up against the finale of the highly popular MasterChef program.

Ms Gillard says it is up to voters to choose if they watch the leaders' election debate and does not appear to be concerned by competition for viewers.

"Well, I'm assuming I will neither be dancing nor cooking," she said.

"Australia's a great country and one of the things about it is you get to pick what you want to watch on TV."

BBC News Asia-Pacific:

MasterChef final forces Australia election debate move

Australia's prime ministerial candidates have been forced to move their one and only election debate - because of TV reality hit MasterChef.

The debate is traditionally shown at 1930 on the first Sunday after the election is called.

But the final of cooking show MasterChef is due to air at the same time, and up to four million Australians are expected to watch it.

The debate has now been moved forward by an hour, to 1830, to avoid a clash.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she understood the MasterChef fans' dilemma.

"I can understand the fascination with cooking and eating," she said.

"So I know many Australians will watch that show but I think Australians will still pay some regard to the debate and to the election campaign and what's said in it."

Bloomberg:

Masterchef Clash Forces Gillard, Abbott to Delay Australia Leaders' Debate

By Gemma Daley - Jul 20, 2010

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s only campaign debate with Liberal-National opposition leader Tony Abbott has been rescheduled to avoid clashing with the final of the popular cooking show MasterChef.

The debate was moved to 6:30 p.m. on July 25, the National Press Club said in an e-mailed statement. The one-hour debate was originally to start an hour later, the same time as Ten Network’s broadcast of the knock-out cooking competition. Last year’s final set a ratings record when almost one in five Australians tuned in to watch.

“It says something about the stuff of real life,” Gillard told Sydney radio 2UE today when asked about the changed time. “People care about who the prime minister and who the government is, but people are also pretty keen about what’s on the dinner table.”

Twenty-four contestants were chosen in April from 8,000 applicants for the second season of MasterChef, an adaptation of the BBC reality show. They have faced 14 weeks of cooking challenges, broadcast on Ten Network Holdings Ltd. six nights a week. About 4.1 million viewers watched last year’s finale.

Enough said.

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