NBC may be cutting some of its dead weight.
The future of The Biggest Loser hangs in the balance, but according to NBC Chairman Robert Greenblatt, we won’t be seeing a new season of the weight-loss reality show any time soon.
“At the moment [the show] is kind of at rest,” he told reporters today during a TCA panel discussion.
It’s no surprise that NBC may be trying to distance itself from the long-running show. Over the last few seasons, ‘The Biggest Loser’ has seen its fair share of controversies– from an alarmingly thin winner back in Season 15, to former contestants coming forward stating that they feel the show is unsafe, to a recent study that found that ‘Loser’ contestants were reportedly very likely to regain the weight they lost on the show.
While NBC may have no plans to bring back the show any time soon, the network hasn’t officially cancelling it…yet.
“We don’t have any plans to do another edition of it this year, which doesn’t mean it is over completely,” Robert Greenblatt added.
In addition to the controversy surrounding the show, ratings for ‘The Biggest Loser’ have been steadily declining over the past few years. For the most recent season, “Temptation Nation,” NBC cut down the number of episodes to a measly eight, but ratings still declined. At its peak in 2009, ‘The Biggest Loser’ was ranked at No. 30 and was averaging 10.41 million viewers. In contrast, “Temptation Nation” was ranked at No. 101 and averaged only 4.75 million viewers.
(Photo: NBC)
4 Responses
Given the studies showing how the show ruins contestants bodies, it would be pretty unethical to continue. They can make a show about healthy, gradual, weight loss.
I still love the show. It inspired me to get off my butt. I’ve seen every episode about 4x and BL Australia 2x. Even though I haven’t los’s what I wanted to lose due to injury I remain committed. Thanks Jillian, Bob and Dolvet…not crazy about the other trainers. Hate the manipulation of some of the contestants but the show as a whole I still love.
I love biggest loser.i been a fan since it first started. Very sad that convesversy. I feel like it wrong .i love all the trainers. And supported the contestest.that went on the show. Hope the biggest loser can solve the issues .because i love the bl.
If the biggest loser was pulling great ratings then guarantee they could care less about the controversies. Now that the show is pulling abysmal numbers compared to how they were a couple of years ago it gives the network a good excuse to pull the plug.