There is something striking going on with De Slimste Mens: the viewing figures are no longer as high as before. They disappoint every day. “The candidates are full of disdain.”
TV channels have been programming quite defensively for years when De Slimste Mens is on the air, because you just know that there is little left of the cake when Maarten van Rossem and Philip Freriks are on the channel. But that now seems to be slowly changing, because the new season is quite disappointing, according to ratings authority Tina Nijkamp.
Candidates full of disdain
Tina herself was in front of the TV last night and immediately let us know what she thinks. “Lower viewing figures this season for De Slimste Mens. I think it is also because of the candidates this season. Boring. There is little humor in it. And not much knowledge. Eric van der Burg was not recognized by anyone just now. 😬 Not very generally developed,” she says analysis channel.
She continues: “The problem also seems to be that there are too many candidates in this season who could proudly say to their friends: ‘TV? I never look.’ The Smartest viewer feels that through the TV. As if they have some disdain for the quiz, but participate for their fame and career. Well, hopefully we’ll see some less boring candidates soon.”
Magic seems gone
That’s not the only problem, says Tina. “The farewell of Philip and Maarten was announced too early. The same applies to the feeling of colleagues who, when they say they are quitting their job, or friends who are moving far away, for example, you say goodbye before they have left.”
She continues: “The magic of Maarten and Philip seems a bit gone. They seem a bit tired, perhaps also because you know they are stopping and the previous season is over too quickly.”
Much too fast
Because that is also a big problem, according to Tina: the start date of this season. “The season has never been programmed so quickly after the end of the previous season. There was now only 3 months and 7 days between them. Too fast.”
How many people watched The Smartest Person last night? More than 1.6 million. “No less than HALF A MILLION lower than exactly a year ago. Almost every day there are fewer viewers than Het Journaal, including yesterday. Also lower in 25-54 years than Winter Vol Liefde (20.5 vs 23.8 percent). So there are many viewers who have dropped out.”