Channel Seven poured $150,000 into its tell-all interview with Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion, promising "brutally honest revelations".
But according to last night's ratings, the hefty investment didn't necessarily pay off.
OzTam figures reveal the Sunday Night program clocked just 631,000 viewers, on average, watching in the major cities. The program delivered about one million viewers in total.
Seven executives were hoping 1.5 million Australians would tune in to the exclusive interview with the former Nationals leader and his adviser-turned-partner, according to The Australian.
Sunday Night came in ninth in the rankings, behind Nine's The Voice (816,000), Channel 10's Masterchef Australia (781,000) and even ABC documentary David Attenborough's Tasmania (750,000).
OzTam ratings data for five capital cities on June 3, 2018. Source: OzTam/SBS News
The ABC’s Mystery Road ran in the same time slot as the Sunday Night episode, also raking in a bigger audience with 786,000 viewers.
However, Channel Seven still managed to pull in more viewers than Nine’s 60 Minutes in the major cities, which only drew 429,000 viewers at 9.28pm, although the two shows did not face off.
In the opening segment of Sunday Night, host Melissa Doyle promised "raw, unfiltered ... revelations" in the interview conducted by journalist Alex Cullen.
"Vikki Campion opens up for the first time about her illicit affair with Barnaby Joyce, their love child and the pressure that almost drove her to do the unthinkable," Doyle said.
Sir David Attenborough. Source: Press Association
In the teary interview, Ms Campion claimed she was told by "people within the parliament" to have an abortion or risk people "coming after her".
Nationals leader Michael McCormack on Monday defended his party, saying he wouldn't be investigating the allegations.
During the first four minutes of the interview, about 64,000 viewers tuned out. The interview continued to trend down over the next hour.
Mr Cullen, the reporter, on Monday hit out at criticism that he was soft on Mr Joyce and Ms Campion.
