Biggest Loser sheds viewers

Gerald and Todd, contestants on the latest season of The Biggest Loser, which is shedding viewers. Source: Supplied

Viewers last night  tuned in to watch provocative pair Sophia Pou and Joanna Stirn exit My Kitchen Rules. Source: news.com.au

THE BATTLE between reality TV blockbusters The Voice and My Kitchen Rules continued to divide Australian audiences overnight, with one big loser, The Biggest Loser.

As The Voice took Tuesday night’s top spot with a narrow victory over My Kitchen Rules (1.892m to 1.674m), it was Ten’s weight loss series which shed the most viewers, plummeting to a dismal 382,000 people nationally.

Despite amping up the drama, with the introduction of this season's 'heavyweight’ contestants, Loser has failed in its bid to keep even a close third to Nine and Seven’s reality juggernauts.

The temporary elimination of MKR's provocative pairing of Sophia Pou and Joanna Stirn proved the best competition yet to The Voice, which had climbed above the 2million mark by the end of last week, since its slowish start on Logies night 10 days ago.

Loser's Tuesday night figures were almost half that of its series average of 748,000 viewers, with the Next Generation series lifting to 856,000 on Sunday night.

Seven have been strategic in dragging out its kitchen winner, filming extra episodes and introducing the second-chance 'Comeback Kitchen' as a way of keeping the pressure of Nine's Voice to perform.

MKR is expected to make the most of a silent night from The Voice to seize the top spot tonight, when the best teams left in the competition proper cook-off for a final 4 berth.

The Voice's blind auditions return on Sunday and Monday night, before the series' battle rounds begin on Tuesday evening.

The switch up to the battles will be music to the ears of those critical of The Voice coaches' blind audition outfits, worn across the four days and nights of the pre-recorded auditions so as to allow producers to edit the sessions into nine 'blind' episodes seamlessly.

In other TV news, Foxtel has confirmed today it has partnered with BBC Worldwide to launch a premium BBC channel, offering first-run British drama and comedy, ad-free and as close to UK transmission as possible.

The deal will also see the four existing BBC channels - UKTV, BBC Knowledge, CBeebies and BBC World News - continue on the Foxtel platform, while the five channels will now be also available on Foxtel GO at no extra charge to subscribers.

The announcement will come as a blow for the ABC, which has traditionally taken first rights on most BBC productions.

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