Australia’s No.1 Entertainment Program
Up 5.9% year-on-year across Total TV Reach
Up 5.0% year-on-year across Total TV Audience
Up 34.5% year-on-year across BVOD Audience
Over 4.8 BILLION minutes watched on 9Now

The 2026 season of Married at First Sight has officially concluded its most successful run of the social experiment in VOZ history, cementing its status as the undisputed powerhouse of Australian television.

Over the course of 11 high-octane weeks, the 13th series reached a staggering 16.0 million people nationally across Total TV, up 5.9% on last year. By dominating every night of its broadcast, the program didn’t just win its timeslot; it rewrote the record books for digital engagement and audience retention in an evolving media landscape.

Throughout the 2026 season, MAFS maintained a massive Total TV National Average Audience of 2.76 million viewers per episode, and is still growing, up 5.0% year-on-year. Across the demos, the series also recorded growth with People 25-54 (+6.8%), People 16-39 (+6.7%) and GS18+ (+7.0%).

The cultural impact of the series was most evident during the viral Dinner Parties and Commitment Ceremonies, with the episode on Sunday, March 1, 2026 delivering its highest-ever episode in VOZ history across Total TV Audience with an overnight audience of 2.118 million viewers.

The series also excelled across the markets, delivering significant year-on-year growth across Total TV Average Audience:

MAFS remains Australia’s No.1 entertainment program across Total TV and BVOD, including the 5 City Metro, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Regional.

The 2026 season also signalled a landmark shift in viewing habits, with the series significantly growing its streaming audiences on 9Now by 34.5% year-on-year across Total People, 26.2% with People 25-54, 18.3% with People 16-39 and 35.8% with GS18+. Furthermore, the episodes on February 18 and February 25 each claimed 743,000 viewers on 9Now – the highest-ever overnight BVOD figures recorded for the series in VOZ history.

This digital surge provided a massive year-on-year growth in BVOD Reach averaging 7.6 million viewers (up 45.4% on last year) with over 4.8 billion minutes watched on 9Now, proving that the MAFS brand is more platform-agnostic and future-proof than ever before, with the show’s ability to drive massive social media conversation translating directly into record-breaking digital traffic.

The year-on-year BVOD Audience growth was significant across all markets: 

On Stan, the new and exclusive Original MAFS: After The Dinner Party dominated the platform, becoming the ultimate destination for the most candid, unfiltered, and unseen explosive content, hosted by Jules Lund, Brittany Hockley, and Laura Byrne.

An immediate success, MAFS: After The Dinner Party has been the number one series on platform since launch, and the first episode was Stan’s highest ever single episode subscription driver in a 24-hour period. The dramatic final episode in the series, titled MAFS: After The Experiment, will premiere this Monday April 20, from 2pm AEST, only on Stan.

Hamish Turner, Executive Director 9Network and 9Now, said: “The 2026 season of Married at First Sight has once again proven that it is more than just a television show; it is a cross-platform phenomenon. From record-breaking streaming numbers on 9Now to the cultural conversations dominating social media and the Australian media landscape.

“MAFS captures the evolving heartbeat of our nation, challenging us with defining questions about love, honesty, and human connection. Australians were again deeply invested in these real-world journeys.

“However, this season was also marked by a profound sense of loss as we honour Mel Schilling. Mel was a force of nature and a cornerstone of this experiment for over a decade. Her passion for empowering others shaped the very DNA of the show. While we mourn her passing, we celebrate the incredible legacy she leaves behind.”

On the back of this record-breaking season, the 9Network has cemented its national leadership, outperforming all commercial competitors to claim the top spot across Total TV in every major demographic year-to-date:

Furthermore, the MAFS effect has solidified 9Now’s position as Australia’s undisputed No.1 CFTA BVOD platform, sweeping every key demographic and Total People nationwide:

Thursday 16 April, 2026