How many people actually watched The Bachelor final?

It's the show people love to hate - but just how many people actually sat down to watch Jordan Mauger pick Fleur Verhoeven on The Bachelor NZ last night?

Nielsen ratings show more than 434,000* Kiwis tuned in to watch the final episode, well up on the series premiere, which saw 284,000 viewers tune in.

Overall, the series has attracted fewer viewers than last season, with an average audience of 298,000 viewers per episode tuning in, versus 322,000 last year.

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However, Mediaworks has repeatedly stressed that more viewers are watching online this year.

Last year saw the audience grow as interest in the the series and its leading man Art Green increased. However, this year saw a reverse trend with audience numbers dropping away as the season progressed, before a surge in viewers in the final two weeks.

Social media reaction would suggest fans weren't as enamored with this year's bachelor and struggled to see the "big personality" his friends and family kept referring to.

*CORRECTION: An original version of this story reported 280,000 viewers tuned into the series finale. This figure was incorrect and has since been amended.

- nzherald.co.nz