MasterChef a hit dish online as well as a TV-ratings winner

The ratings juggernaut that was MasterChef Australia may have improved its television viewing numbers this year.

But an even bigger upside to the second series of Ten's hit cooking show was seen online.

The evidence was immediate in the social media sphere, which saw MasterChef amass 233,000 fans on Facebook and make appearances on micro-blog Twitter's list of top trending topics worldwide as viewers tweeted their views on eliminations, invention tests and other TV show events.

Video views on the official MasterChef website (www.masterchef.com.au), which is produced by Fremantle Media, rose by 44 per cent this year to 13.1 million, according to data from Omniture. Page views for the season reached 48 million, an increase of 32 per cent over last year's numbers.

There is no standard measurement system that allows accurate comparisons between websites when it comes to video views, but Ten chief digital media officer Nick Spooner said MasterChef was "one of the most successful online franchises" yet.

He would not comment on what proportion of the show's revenues -- estimated at more than $100 million as a total franchise including merchandise and the MasterChef magazine, which is produced by News Magazines -- was generated online.

"The dwell time on the site is nearly 22 minutes, which goes to show the audience is seeking not only that extension of the brand online but they're also consuming a huge amount of video," Mr Spooner said.

Fremantle is hoping to extend the popularity of the site outside the MasterChef Australia TV season, using the same site for Junior MasterChef, which Ten will launch this half.

"We are starting to get to a point where, much like the magazine, we can build an audience that lives 12 months of the year," Fremantle senior vice-president of licensing Ben Liebmann said.

Source: The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/masterchef-a-hit-dish-online-as-well-as-a-tv-ratings-winner/story-e6frg996-1225899734482), Lara Sinclair, August 2, 2010