The Bachelor wins viewers' hearts and eyes as ratings surge

Last night's episode of The Bachelor NZ claimed the highest ratings to date

The Bachelor claimed its highest ratings to date as thousands of Kiwis tuned in to watch the final showdown.

More than 356,000 viewers tuned in to see Arthur Green choose Matilda Rice and Dani Robinson to head into the final rose ceremony, sending Invercargill teach Alysha Brown home.

While many may publicly claim not to watch the reality romance, new figures revealed to the Herald show The Bachelor NZ has captured plenty of Kiwi hearts - and eyes.

The series premiered to a modest debut audience of just over 230,000 in March, which dropped to an all-time low the following week of 179,000. But online, the series is a ratings winner.

Nearly 100,000 full episodes were streamed the week the show premiered, making it TV3's most streamed programme of all time.

Since then, both the traditional ratings and online streaming figures have continued to grow.

Last week, the series hit an all-time high when 324,000 viewers tuned in on Wednesday night, with a further 144,000 episodes streamed online throughout the week.

MediaWorks group entertainment content director Andrew Szusterman said the show had exceeded expectations.

"We had very high hopes for The Bachelor NZ when we commissioned it, and it has outstripped all our expectations. Audiences have built through the series and New Zealanders have embraced the show on every platform."

Television critic and founder of The Spinoff website Duncan Greive says the series' appeal lies in its unintentional comedy.

"The resounding success of it is so much down to the casting. Obviously they had problems with their due diligence on a few contestants but the actual psychological make-up and chemistry, or lack thereof, between participants is what's made the show so much fun to watch and to discuss."

Neither can we #TeamAlysha #TheBachelorNZ pic.twitter.com/DmgMVDiQna

— The Bachelor NZ (@TheBachelorNZ) May 5, 2015

Each week, The Spinoff has posted a podcast and power rankings, analysing the week's episodes.

"The nature of the show almost demands decoding. It's so silly and almost cheesy on the face of it but the audience is processing it in a different way. While it's pitched as a very genuine attempt to look for love, a lot of people watch it for the unintentional comedy."

He says all Bachelor-related content drives an instant spike in web traffic for his site. The Herald website has experienced a similar trend. Last night 73 per cent of readers in a snap poll backed Matilda to win. Twenty per cent picked Dani and 7 per cent said neither.

Greive says The Bachelor has stood out from other reality series as it marks the first time New Zealand television has entered the romance arena.

In contrast, reality singing show The X Factor has had a steady decline in ratings this year. Monday night's elimination show saw 287,000 viewers tune in to The X Factor's quarter-finals, compared to 409,000 viewers who were watching in 2013.

• We will be live blogging the final here on nzherald.co.nz tonight from 7pm.