Joel Madden's marijuana bust expected to boost ratings for The Voice grand final

Joel Madden's marijuana bust expected to boost ratings for The Voice grand final

JOEL Madden's marijuana bust at his Sydney hotel is expected to inject a much-needed ratings rise into next week's grand final of The Voice, which is over half a million viewers down compared with last year's smash success. Despite consistently landing the No.1 spot in its Monday timeslot, the sing-off series has slumped this year, with last week's live final episode calculating an audience loss of 622,000 compared with its 2012 counterpart. Last year's finale, which saw Karise Eden crowned as Australia's first The Voice, peaked at 3.02 million viewers. This week's penultimate episode, leading into Monday's finale, registered an audience of 1.747 million. Analyst Steve Allen, of Fusion Strategy & Essence Media, said the loss of about 20 per cent was the result of a marketing pull-back by Channel 9, a strong on-air attack by Channel 7 and the departure of favourite coach Keith Urban, who left to join American Idol. Share on email Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on google_plusone_share The Voice Australia 2013 mentors (from left) Seal, Delta Goodrem, Joel Madden and Ricky Martin. Supplied by Channel Nine. Pic. Supplied "Last year was over-hyped and overdone and it was a brilliant marketing plan on Nine's behalf," Allen told Confidential. "It was glossy, it was different and it had a judging panel that this country had never known. No one thought. There's no question The Voice is down this year. They won't make money from it." Allen said the second outing of the series had been harmed by the shows Seven had pitted against it - the well-received renovation newcomer House Rules and season two of popular soapie drama Revenge. "Seven are strategic in the sense they are prepared to burn shows and they are very deliberate about that," he said. The Voice, with Karise Eden, was the big winner in this year's ratings. Picture: Angelo Soulas "Revenge could perform much better if it were programmed differently, but it is taking people away from The Voice. Because of that, they (Seven) can afford for it to do moderately well." The upcoming The Voice finale looks set to spike after Good Charlotte singer Madden admitted police had found cannabis inside his hotel room - the late surge due to the likelihood Madden may address viewers about the issue to ensure his image doesn't take too much of a beating. Scroll down to see a gallery of Karise Eden's journey, The Voice in Surry Hills and related coverage. Aussie singer Keith Urban is flanked by hi American Idol co-hosts Mariah Carey, and Nicki Minaj. Picture: Todd Williamson


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