Nine’s gamble on Australian Ninja Warrior has proven 2017’s rating smash; however, new viewer data suggests its not only families that have tuned in but Aussie men, too.

With most reality TV shows in Australia – reno, cooking and dating – having a female bias, many believe Ninja’s success has been bringing the forgotten male demographic (sports aside) back to free-to-air TV.

Whether the fellas are tuning in to watch the obstacle course or just the fit female bodies is still anyone’s guess.

However, research by OzTam has revealed that Ninja has a 50-50 audience split of men and women.

According to recently released data by Fusion Strategy (reported on The Daily Telegraph), the top 20 TV shows for 2017 have had an overall audience bias of 62 per cent female to 38 per cent male.

What is interesting about Ninja is that it’s clear that it’s not only women and kids who want to watch telly on Sunday and weeknights, and this could prove a wake-up call to the networks to introduce new shows that appeal to all demographics.

Last night’s Australian Ninja Warrior pulled a whopping 1.75 million viewers, a feat only possible if you’re pulling from more than one demographic. In even better news for Nine, its lead-in news bulletin also won the night, while over a million viewers stuck around after Ninja to watch 60 Minutes.

Seven also announced during the week it was rescheduling its kiddie talent show Little Big Shots for fear it would get smashed in a ratings battle against the all-conquering Ninja Warrior.