Controversial Start to Season 16 of 'The Bachelorette' Leads to Spike in Engagement

Three episodes into the current season of The Bachelorette, Clare Crawley  (the Bachelorette) stirred up the show’s fanbase when she snuck off with Dale during a group date, didn’t award “the rose” to any contestant on the group date, and appears to be on her way out of the show prematurely with former The Bachelor contestant Tayshia set to take over as the new Bachelorette. Following Clare’s controversial episode, fans across the country spoke their minds about her decision, and what it means for the show going forward in Season 16. We decided to take a look at how this season stacks up against the previous season of The Bachelorette so far, how fans feel about Clare’s potential departure from the show, and how fans feel about Clare’s replacement, Tayshia.

Season 16 of The Bachelorette is outperforming its previous season’s performance

• Through the first 3 episodes of the 16th season, The Bachelorette is off to an extremely strong start earning nearly 200K total Tweets and 57K Emotional Reactions for a Reaction Rate of 29%
  • Total Tweets (+8% Season over Season), Emotional Reactions (+11% Season over Season), and Reaction Rate (+1% Season over Season) have all increased in the 16th Season indicating a more passionate and engaged fanbase

Source: Canvs Compare, The Bachelorette First 3 Episodes Airing Window + / - 3 Hours

Due to multiple controversial moves by this season’s Bachelorette, Clare Crawley, the most recent episode of the season saw major spikes in ‘hate’ and ‘dislike’ Emotional Reactions

• Following Clare’s unorthodox episode where she appears to be on her way out with one of the contestants, Dale, The Bachelorette fan base exploded with a wide range of Emotional Reactions
  • Her controversial decisions to spend the majority of her time on the group date with Dale and not awarding any contestants with “the rose” lead to extremely high levels of engagement and Emotional Reactions in the third episode; notably an 83% increase in Emotional Reactions compared to the first two episodes in the season, a 49% increase in Total Tweets compared to the first two episodes in the season, and a 4% increase in Reaction Rate compared to the first two episodes in the season

Source: Canvs Compare, The Bachelorette Season 16 First 3 Episodes Airing Window + / - 3 Hours

• Despite the massive increase in engagement, fans have not reacted positively to Clare’s recent decisions with massive Emotional Reaction shifts from earlier in the season compared to the most recent episode
  • Hate Emotional Reactions increased 11% in the most recent episode
  • Love Emotional Reactions decreased 7% in the most recent episode
  • Crazy Emotional Reactions increased 4% in the most recent episode
  • Dislike Emotional Reactions increased 1% in the most recent episode
  • Verbatims:
    • Hate: “I am OVER this. Declaring Clare the worst bachelorette. #TheBachelorette”
    • Crazy: “Wow Dale... Wow 😶 these men are going to eat him alive #bachelorette”
    • Dislike: “I need help. Clare is making this borderline unwatchable. #TheBachelorette”

Source: Canvs Compare, The Bachelorette First 3 Episodes Airing Window + / - 3 Hours

Outside of Clare’s decision to leave the show, her partner Dale was also able to drive high rates of engagement, along with Tayshia who will be taking over after Clare’s exit

• While Clare was able to drive an extremely high 31% of Emotional Reactions in the third episode of Season 16, her partner Dale was also a major driver of Emotional Reactions in this episode, accounting for 25% of all engagement
  • Similar to Clare, Dale also drove overwhelmingly negative Emotional Reactions such as ‘crazy’ (16%), ‘dislike’ (15%), and ‘hate’ (12%), with some fans still showing ‘love’ (15%) for Dale in the most recent episode
  • Verbatims:
    • Crazy: “Sniffing Dale’s pants?! Girl wtf #TheBachelorette”
    • Dislike: “Stop talking Dale.....just stop. #TheBachelorette”
    • Love: “Dale’s timing is too perfect ... where are the other men #TheBachelorette”
    • Hate: “Not digging Clare's behavior with Dale. Very disrespectful to the other guys. #BacheloretteABC”
• Tayshia, who will be taking over as the next Bachelorette following Clare’s exit, was also able to drive 6% of Emotional Reaction in the most recent episode, with fans expressing overwhelmingly positive Emotional Reactions such as ‘excitement’ (24%) and ‘love’ (21%) for her return to the program
  • Verbatims:
    • Excited: “TAYSHIA MY GIRL IS COMING LETS GOOOOO #TheBachelorette”
    • Love: “But like Tayshia coming out of the pool at the end of the episode... 🔥🔥 #bachelorette”

Source: Canvs, The Bachelorette Season 16 Episode 3 Airing Window + / - 3 Hours

Takeaways

• Overwhelmingly, the new season of The Bachelorette has been able to outperform the past season across all major metrics including total Tweet Volume, Emotional Reactions, and Reaction Rates, indicating a more emotionally engaged audience in Season 16
• The most recent episode of The Bachelorette has seen a huge uptick in Emotional Reactions and engagement due to Clare Crawley’s ultimately unpopular decision to spend a large portion of the group date with Dale, give herself “the rose”, and potentially exit early from the show along with Dale
• Despite fans upset with Clare’s decision to leave the show early, Tayshia was able to drive overwhelmingly positive Emotional Reactions after being revealed as the next Bachelorette, with fans looking forward to what’s next for Season 16 of The Bachelorette

Canvs, the leading emotion measurement technology company, connects consumer input to research insights with patented semantic AI technology to help companies deeply understand and empathize with their audiences

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