A war on ratings and copycat “rip-offs” is reaching boiling point between major networks Seven and Nine, according to the Herald Sun, as Channel Seven is reportedly launching legal action against Channel Nine’s recent primetime cooking show, The Hotplate, for mimicking Seven’s My Kitchen Rules too closely.
Intellectual property rights will be called into question by Channel 7 on Tuesday, with a Judge left to decide if Nine’s Hotplate does indeed teeter over the edge of copyright infringement.
For the Masterchef purists among you whose heart strictly has room for only one reality cooking show, the premises for both shows go something like this:
MKR: “Teams from all walks of life battle it out to see who can create the best instant restaurant in their own homes.”
Hotplate: “Unsung local restaurant heroes from around the country will do battle over dinner in order to win a $100,000 prize and realise their food dream.”
While the fundamentals of each show is different, audiences twigged on the similarities between The Hotplate and My Kitchen Rules’ pretty early on – from the judging process, the judges themselves, production design and costuming. Hotplate aired this week in a time slot to rival Channel 7’s other cooking show (stay with us, here), Restaurant Revolution.
#hotplate or my kitchen rules? #why?
— Moniquee Bieber (@Moniquee_Bieber) July 28, 2015
Channel 9’s Hotplate looks like a different version of Channel 7’s My Kitchen Rules. Not impressed so far!
— Rick Haynes (@Nadgee) July 28, 2015
Isn’t that hot plate show on channel 9 just a massive rip off of my kitchen rules? @Channel9 @Channel7 #ithinkso
— Jake Notaro (@jakenot7) July 21, 2015
The physical similarities between MKR’s Manu and Hotplate’s Scott Pickett were also brought into the debate.
The judge on #Hotplate kind of looks a little like Manu too ??
— Dani O (@danielleleeo) July 28, 2015
According to the Herald Sun, Nine also recruited production staff from My Kitchen Rules to work on The Hotplate. Nine will reportedly by “vehemently defending” Channel Seven’s legal action this week.
Meanwhile, Masterchef, being all swarmed by ratings and having few competitors dare to fight ’em, is all:
via Herald Sun.
