"The Taste" starts weaker, new lows for "DSDS"

"The Taste" starts weaker than last year, "DSDS" falls below 10 percent market share for the first time

Saturday evening regularly belongs to entertainment shows on German television, but two prominent formats performed below expectations last weekend.

The ninth season of the cooking show "The Taste" started with a market share of 10.3 percent among 14- to 49-year-old viewers. This is significantly less than the 12.2 percent achieved by the kick-off show of the previous season. Overall, 1.42 million viewers tuned in, which is just under 300,000 fewer than the 1.71 million in 2022.

The situation was even worse for the casting show "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" (DSDS). The format fell below ten percent market share for the first time ever, with only 9.7 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds watching. This is a new low for the show, which has been on the air since 2002. Overall, only 1.82 million viewers tuned in, compared to 2.42 million at the start of the previous season.

The reasons for the weak start of both shows are unclear. It is possible that viewers are increasingly turning to streaming services or other entertainment options on Saturday evenings. It is also possible that the formats themselves are no longer as attractive to viewers as they once were.

Outlook

It remains to be seen whether "The Taste" and "DSDS" can improve their ratings in the coming weeks. However, the weak start is a sign that both shows need to adapt to changing viewer habits if they want to remain successful in the future.