MasterChef pulled in 2 million metro viewers in its final extravaganza as audiences tuned in to watch Billie McKay take out the title of this year's MasterChef and – in a twist – pick up a new job working at celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's restaurant The Fat Duck.
McKay paired off against Brisbane cook Georgia Barnes in the winners announcement of Ten's cooking reality series which reached 2.133 metro viewers according to preliminary overnight OzTam figures, making it the most watched show of the night.
Network Ten chief programming officer Beverley McGarvey said the growth of the series was due to the strength of MasterChef as a brand.
“It is rare for big, established television shows to grow year on year,” McGarvey said.
“But MasterChef Australia is a remarkable brand. Its audience grew 31% last year and another 14% this year.
“The show offered viewers a clear point of difference in a cluttered television environment and reinforced its position as the most credible, respected and authentic cooking show on Australian television.”
This year's winners announcement was 25% up on last year's audience numbers, with Melbourne recorded as its biggest market with 798,000 viewers, followed by Sydney with 581,000.
The second most watched show was part two of the grand final, which aired before the winner's announcement and picked up 1.84m viewers.
Network Ten chief sales officer Louise Barrett said the commercial success of the brand had been a result of strong sponsor support from brands such as Coles, Alfa Romeo, Harvey Norman, Swisse Wellness, Finish, Google and McDonald's Australia.
MasterChef was also a hit on social media as well with the hashtags 'MasterChef', 'Georgia', 'Billie' and 'Bille McKay' all trending through the night.
Network Ten won the night with 34.4% audience share, followed by Seven on 21.4% and Nine on 20.7%.
In news, Nine News at 6.30 picked up 1.25m viewers to be the third most watched program of the night.
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