Rob Goossens, the TV connoisseur of RTL Boulevard, thinks it is unbelievable and unprecedented that SBS 6 chooses to let Linda de Mol struggle in the ratings swamp. “Is she arguing with John?”
In two and a half weeks it will be time: Linda de Mol will make her long-awaited comeback on television with a new season of her classic Miljoenenjacht. To warm the viewer for Linda, whose image has been seriously damaged by her foreknowledge in the Voice abuse case, SBS 6 is currently broadcasting reruns of her Deep Grounds series.
32 thousand viewers
However, the repeat series of Diepe Gronden has historically poor viewing figures. After 87 thousand viewers for the first episode, the second episode reached 32 thousand viewers and 0.8 percent market share last Thursday. Those are extremely low scores, even in the summer and even for a repeat.
Every week that SBS 6 allows this drama to continue, the channel delivers extremely negative headlines to its celebrity Linda de Mol. Last week, for example, she provided the worst channel score in 27 years. The expectation was that the station would stop with this torture after the first episode, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Quarrel with John?
Rob Goossens points out that SBS 6 is just airing the third of a total of four episodes this week on prime time. SBS 6 will broadcast Deep Grounds again on Thursday!? Are John and Linda arguing or something?” he wonders.
It is not the first time that the bizarrely low ratings and incomprehensible programming blunders of SBS 6 have led to conspiracy theories. Mark Koster recently speculated that John may deliberately want low viewing figures, so that SBS 6 is not such a large channel in the eyes of the ACM. This summer, ACM will judge the acquisition of Talpa by RTL.
‘Even clock scores better’
Last week, RTL Boulevard journalist Joost Maiburg also counted on Linda to be pulled out of the ratings swamp immediately. “This is guaranteed to be taken from the transmitter, because even a clock in the picture for an hour scores better”, he said when.
The decision to repeat Deep Grounds was anyway last minute taken, because in fact Het Roer Om was programmed. Joost: “Who knows, those guides might be correct again in a few days, because it wouldn’t surprise me if SBS changes course and comes up with Het Roer Om, for example.”
Agony
Nothing could be further from the truth: for the time being Linda’s agony will continue for a while, because SBS 6 seems to just keep Deep Grounds on channel, no matter how irrational it may be.