MAFS 2026 REACHES OVER 16 MILLION VIEWERS WITH RECORD BVOD GROWTH

Australia's No.1 Entertainment Program
Up 5.9% year-on-year across Total TV Reach
Up 5.0% year-on-year across Total TV Audience
Up 34.5% year-on-year across BVOD Audience
Over 4.8 BILLION minutes watched on 9Now

Thursday, April 16, 2026
 
The 2026 season of Married at First Sight has officially concluded its most successful run of the social experiment in VOZ history, cementing its status as the undisputed powerhouse of Australian television.
 
Over the course of 11 high-octane weeks, the 13th series reached a staggering 16.0 million people nationally across Total TV, up 5.9% on last year. By dominating every night of its broadcast, the program didn't just win its timeslot; it rewrote the record books for digital engagement and audience retention in an evolving media landscape.
 
Throughout the 2026 season, MAFS maintained a massive Total TV National Average Audience of 2.76 million viewers per episode, and is still growing, up 5.0% year-on-year. Across the demos, the series also recorded growth with People 25-54 (+6.8%), People 16-39 (+6.7%) and GS18+ (+7.0%).
 
The cultural impact of the series was most evident during the viral Dinner Parties and Commitment Ceremonies, with the episode on Sunday, March 1, 2026 delivering its highest-ever episode in VOZ history across Total TV Audience with an overnight audience of 2.118 million viewers.
 
The series also excelled across the markets, delivering significant year-on-year growth across Total TV Average Audience:

AFS remains Australia’s No.1 entertainment program across Total TV and BVOD, including the 5 City Metro, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Regional.
 
The 2026 season also signalled a landmark shift in viewing habits, with the series significantly growing its streaming audiences on 9Now by 34.5% year-on-year across Total People, 26.2% with People 25-54, 18.3% with People 16-39 and 35.8% with GS18+. Furthermore, the episodes on February 18 and February 25 each claimed 743,000 viewers on 9Now – the highest-ever overnight BVOD figures recorded for the series in VOZ history.
 
This digital surge provided a massive year-on-year growth in BVOD Reach averaging 7.6 million viewers (up 45.4% on last year) with over 4.8 billion minutes watched on 9Now, proving that the MAFS brand is more platform-agnostic and future-proof than ever before, with the show’s ability to drive massive social media conversation translating directly into record-breaking digital traffic.
 
The year-on-year BVOD Audience growth was significant across all markets: 

On Stan, the new and exclusive Original MAFS: After The Dinner Party dominated the platform, becoming the ultimate destination for the most candid, unfiltered, and unseen explosive content, hosted by Jules Lund, Brittany Hockley, and Laura Byrne.
 
An immediate success, MAFS: After The Dinner Party has been the number one series on platform since launch, and the first episode was Stan's highest ever single episode subscription driver in a 24-hour period. The dramatic final episode in the series, titled MAFS: After The Experiment, will premiere this Monday April 20, from 2pm AEST, only on Stan.
 
Hamish Turner, Executive Director 9Network and 9Now, said: “The 2026 season of Married at First Sight has once again proven that it is more than just a television show; it is a cross-platform phenomenon. From record-breaking streaming numbers on 9Now to the cultural conversations dominating social media and the Australian media landscape.
 
"MAFS captures the evolving heartbeat of our nation, challenging us with defining questions about love, honesty, and human connection. Australians were again deeply invested in these real-world journeys.
 
“However, this season was also marked by a profound sense of loss as we honour Mel Schilling. Mel was a force of nature and a cornerstone of this experiment for over a decade. Her passion for empowering others shaped the very DNA of the show. While we mourn her passing, we celebrate the incredible legacy she leaves behind.”
 
On the back of this record-breaking season, the 9Network has cemented its national leadership, outperforming all commercial competitors to claim the top spot across Total TV in every major demographic year-to-date:

Furthermore, the MAFS effect has solidified 9Now’s position as Australia’s undisputed No.1 CFTA BVOD platform, sweeping every key demographic and Total People nationwide:

Source: TVMAP VOZ Program Analyser, OzTAM VOZ Data 5.9, National (inc Spill) & Markets (excl Spill), Total People & Multiple Demos, Nine Only, Total TV, Cume Reach (when watched), Average Audience (Con 28 as at 15/04/2026 for Average Aud, YoY’s based on overnight).

MasterChef Australia Welcomes Guest Judge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

MasterChef Australia is renowned for creating culinary legends, and today, a passionate foodie with global influence graced the kitchen.

As part of her first Australian visit since 2018, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, featured as a guest judge on the country’s most beloved cooking show.

Meghan mentored and guided our nation’s top home cooks alongside MasterChef Australia judges, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli.

Meghan joins a prestigious list of guest judges this season, from returning legends like Maggie Beer, Curtis Stone and Rick Stein, to social media powerhouses Victoria Minell (@RecipesbyVictoria), Vincent Yeow Lim (@DimSimLim), and Lily Huynh (@BitesWithLily), and celebrity food lovers Robert Irwin, and Jimmy and Jane Barnes. MasterChef alumni legends will also be represented by Justine Schofield, Sarah Todd and Marion Grasby.

MasterChef Australia Season 18 features some of the most impressive amateur cooks the competition has ever seen.

Just who will flourish in such esteemed company? Tune in this season to see which cook will rise to the occasion and claim the ultimate prize.

MasterChef Australia.

Premieres On 10 And 10 Streaming At 7pm This Sunday, 19 April 2026.

Caleb Beeby Wins Australian Survivor: Redemption.

New Season Confirmed To Film in Malaysia With World-First Theme.

From underdog to Sole Survivor, Caleb Beeby has conquered Australian Survivor: Redemption, outwitting, outplaying and outlasting 23 other castaways to take home the $500,000 prize.

After 45 relentless days in Samoa, the Victorian truck driver delivered a game built on grit, loyalty and one ruthless final decision that changed everything.

Caleb’s endgame was nothing short of brutal. After winning the final Individual Immunity Challenge, an epic four-hour endurance showdown, he secured his place in the final two before making the defining move of the season, voting out his closest ally Loz at the final hurdle.

Facing the jury at the final Tribal Council in Samoa, Caleb owned every chapter of his game, from surviving early vulnerability to making the moves that mattered when it counted most, proving that resilience can be just as powerful as dominance.

Presiding over the final Tribal Council, new host David Genat guided the jury through their final decision. The votes were then revealed in Sydney, in front of a live studio audience, where Caleb was officially crowned Sole Survivor in a dramatic and unforgettable finish.

Fresh from his victory, Caleb said, “Being crowned sole Survivor is not just a title it’s an identity and I’ll be sitting here waiting…. keeping the crown warm until the next person can come and take it off my head.”

During the final, David delivered one final twist, announcing that the next season of Australian Survivor will be filmed in Malaysia, featuring a world-first theme never seen before.

In a season defined by redemption, risk and ruthless decisions, Caleb didn’t just survive; he rewrote his story, proving that the underdog can rise, the loyal can strike, and the last move is the only one that matters.

Stream The Full Season Of Australian Survivor: Redemption On 10.

MasterChef Australia Is Serving Star Power.

A Stellar New Season Premieres Sunday, 19 April.

MasterChef Australia Season 18 will shine brighter than a finale trophy, with captivating contestants, glittering guests, joyous judges and a series of sparkling challenges. 

Following a heated audition process, 24 of the country’s best amateur cooks will battle it out in the iconic MasterChef Australia kitchen in the quest for culinary stardom. 

They’re not the only ones stepping up to the plate, as Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli team up with some of the most dazzling guest judges yet.

Hospitality heroes like Maggie Beer, Curtis Stone, Adriano Zumbo, and Rick Stein will once again light up the kitchen, while stars like Justine Schofield shoot back to the place that made them household names.

Speaking of household names, the likes of Robert Irwin, and Jimmy and Jane Barnes, will experience the MasterChef magic for the very first time.

Social media superstars and viral VIPs DimSimLim, Andy Cooks, Recipes by Victoria’s Victoria Minell, and biteswithlily’s Lily Huynh, will swap feeds for feeds and prove that good food is better shared. 

With a skyful of stars to guide them, our Top 24 have the culinary cosmos at their fingertips.

See what we’ve been cooking up below:

MasterChef Australia Premieres on Sunday, 19 April.

Watch + Stream Free On 10.

THE DRAMA ISN’T OVER: ​ ​TWO NEW SPECIAL EPISODES WITH MORE EXPLOSIVE UNSEEN FOOTAGE, FALLOUTS, AND PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS WITH MAFS: AFTER THE REUNION AND MAFS: AFTER THE EXPERIMENT

April 1, 2026- The Stan Original MAFS: After The Dinner Party has cemented its position as the ultimate destination for the most candid, unfiltered, and explosive content after the Married at First Sight dinner parties every week. MAFS: After The Dinner Party continues to deliver unprecedented unseen footage and features a rotating cast of key participants, joining hosts Jules Lund, Brittany Hockley, and Laura Byrne on the couch every week to unpack feuds, debunk rumours and tell their ‘truth’.

Stan today announced two high-stakes concluding episodes to cap off Married at First Sight, the highest performing series in VOZ history for Total TV season to date. MAFS: After The Reunion will follow on from the last episode, where all participants face each other for the dramatic conclusion of the Married at First Sight season on Monday April 13. ​ ​

Armed with exclusive unseen footage from the final days of the experiment, Final Vows and Reunion Dinner Party, hosts Jules Lund, Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne will delve deep into the drama both on and off camera. While some couples will be celebrated, others will be questioned... and the truth will come out.

Stan has also announced a standalone episode the following week, MAFS: After The Experiment, on Monday April 20, from 2pm. The Married at First Sight experiment may have finished up on our screens, but the drama has certainly not stopped - it's spilt far and wide into the real world and onto our news feed. The hosts return, reinventing the space for the greatest number of guests we have seen yet. Tea will be spilt, ongoing feuds unpacked, grievances aired, and rumours debunked. It will be the juiciest take on 'where are they now' yet.

MAFS: After The Dinner Party is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (a Banijay Entertainment company) for Stan.

The Stan Original MAFS: After The Dinner Party follows the last Married at First Sight dinner party next Monday April 6. MAFS: After The Reunion will premiere on Monday April 13, and MAFS: After The Experiment will premiere on Monday April 20, from 2pm, only on Stan.