{"id":692960,"date":"2026-05-25T06:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/692960\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T06:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:19:15","slug":"how-channel-nine-salvaged-the-blocks-biggest-auction-disaster-and-used-it-to-pivot-the-reality-hit-from-renovations-to-more-married-at-first-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/692960\/","title":{"rendered":"How Channel Nine salvaged The Block’s biggest auction disaster – and used it to pivot the reality hit from renovations to ‘more Married At First Sight’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Channel Nine<\/a> has reportedly found an unexpected way to support fan favourites Emma and Ben after the couple\u2019s devastating auction result on last year\u2019s season of The Block.<\/p>\n

Production insiders say there was widespread internal disappointment after the pair\u2019s Daylesford property failed to sell following the 2025 finale, adding that many crew members believed the popular contestants had been \u201crobbed\u201d by the outcome and “deserved better”.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way last season ended didn\u2019t sit well with a lot of people involved in the show,” one well-placed source alleged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several homes from the Daylesford\u00a0season struggled to sell amid\u00a0Victoria\u2019s\u00a0cooling regional property market, creating one of the franchise\u2019s most awkward post-finale periods in recent years.<\/p>\n

However, according to production insiders, Channel Nine soon identified an opportunity to solve two separate problems simultaneously by quietly purchasing Emma and Ben’s newly bought Mount Martha property.<\/p>\n

After losing money during their time on the show, the couple reportedly decided to sell the home, which was transformed into accommodation for contestants and crew working on the upcoming 2026 season in Mt Eliza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe network realised they were already spending significant money housing crew and contestants during production,\u201d one source claimed.<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

\u201cSo instead of putting that money into hotels or caravans, the idea became: why not use\u00a0Ben\u00a0and\u00a0Em\u2019s property?\u201d<\/p>\n

As previously revealed by\u00a0SkyNews.com.au, contestants on the upcoming season are no longer living on-site during filming<\/a> and are, instead, being housed together in shared accommodation away from active construction zones.<\/p>\n

The arrangement is understood to have helped inspire one of the biggest behind-the-scenes format changes in the show\u2019s history, leading the crew to compare the upcoming season to dating series Married At First Sight.<\/a><\/p>\n

Industry sources claim this reflects a broader shift occurring across reality television as networks increasingly prioritise social media engagement and personality-driven casting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still renovating at the centre of the show,\u201d one insider alleged, adding: \u201cBut there\u2019s definitely a larger focus now on the contestants themselves and how they interact with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Internally, some of the crew are joking that it feels \u201cmore MAFS than renovating,” with one well-placed source adding: \u201cCould I see some of these women on MAFS? Yeah, probably.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, it is “the intensity of the conflict and emotional resolution playing out off-site” that really pays homage to the Nine dating show, according to the insider.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s obviously no dinner parties in Mt Eliza but production are filming at the contestants\u2019 after hours,” one person behind the scenes noted, adding that there have reportedly been blow-ups, tears and relationship tensions, themes that have become synonymous with the MAFS format.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

Several participants are already believed to be emerging as major personalities internally, with sources claiming producers expect strong audience reactions to multiple cast members throughout the season.<\/p>\n

The Block\u2019s 2026 season, filmed on\u00a0Melbourne\u2019s Mornington Peninsula, is expected to air in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Channel Nine has reportedly found an unexpected way to support fan favourites Emma and Ben after the couple\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,36783,134,37689,108353,15215,427],"class_list":["post-692960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-channel-nine","tag-entertainment","tag-mafs","tag-married-at-first-sight","tag-the-block","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}