Rove’s new show axed after just two episodes

Saturday Night Rove is no more, with Network Ten confirming it will no longer be airing the show after its first two episodes failed to attract a sizeable audience.

The venture was Rove McManus’ latest attempt to return to television and mirror the success of his noughties show Rove Live.

Part of Ten’s Pilot Week, the two episodes were watched by only 244,000 and 138,000 people respectively, which is less than the audience Weekend Sunrise and Getaway each drew on those days.

In a statement, Rove said, “It was clear looking at the numbers that the audience we hoped would find a free-wheeling live show on a Saturday night just weren’t there.”

“We spoke with 10 today and we both called it. The opportunity to play live in front of Australia again was fun, no matter how brief, and I would like to thank my amazing co-stars, the behind the scenes team and everyone at 10 who got behind Saturday Night Rove.”

The idea for Saturday Night Rove first appeared as part of last year’s Pilot Week, but did not get off the ground until this year.

Panned by Gogglebox

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin were the cringe-worthy reviews the show got from fellow Ten program Gogglebox.

“This is some good old fashioned car crash TV,” one person said, while another asked, “Is he begging people to watch his show?” after they aired a clip showing Rove going from door-to-door in an attempt to convince everyday people to stay home on a Saturday night and tune in.

In the segment, Rove asked one young person, “What would it take for you Alex, to watch something that is not streamed on the internet for me?”

To which Alex replied, “It would take Rove McManus coming to my door to ask me to do it”. However, when a camera person returned on Saturday night to see if Alex was indeed there watching, they were disappointed to find nobody home.

Failed venture

This latest disappointment comes two years after Rove’s breakfast radio show with former Bachelorette Sam Frost, was axed for poor ratings.

The duo had only been on air on Sydney’s embattled 2DayFM for a year before their show was cancelled and replaced by Em Rusciano and Harley Breen.

That partnership was also short-lived, and soon gave way to trio Grant Denyer, Ed Kavalee and Ash London, who were also canned in favour of an all-music show in August.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.