‘The Bachelorette’: Do we blame Desiree Hartsock, post-Sean Lowe slump for ratings?

If you think back to last week, it was pretty easy to make excuses for the weak start of “The Bachelorette” on ABC, with one of the biggest ones being that it was the Memorial Day holiday, and thus people were too busy outside grilling with friends to really bother staying inside to watch a woman in Desiree Hartsock begin her journey to meet Prince Charming (or a frog – that happens sometimes too).

Then, the ratings for Monday’s edition of the show came in, and them were even worse. While it’s possible the numbers could be adjusted up later in the day, the two-hour episode Monday scored just a series-low 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic, a very steep drop from where the show was around this time earlier this year. This is the lowest rating ever for an episode of the show, so with that, let’s try to put on our detective cap and figure out what’s causing this welcome visit to summer camp to lose so much of its luster.

Desiree as a lead – She’s nice, but is there anything about Ms. Hartsock that is really all that special that helps fans make a connection with her? Despite the show trying to push the whole “Cinderella” angle, it doesn’t have the same sort of built-in oomph as what we had with Emily Maynard last year. Nice- nice doesn’t sell.

The post-Sean Lowe effect – Sean’s season was so good, it’s possible that nothing else really compares.

Viewer erosion – Over time, people do stop watching established shows to try out something new. While it was easy to watch “The Bachelor” during colder months, it’s not so easy to stay in now that summer is here and patio season is afoot.

“Dancing with the Stars” – Here’s an interesting theory, and one that we’re actually starting to believe may be the biggest franchise-killer. Is putting personalities from “The Bachelor” on another show a smart thing? While we know that Sean was not looking for fame so much as money from the experience, it does give you the impression suddenly that these people handing our roses are “celebrities” … and somehow not as easy to relate to anymore.

Why do you think that the ratings are so low right now? We want to hear all of your theories below! For more on Monday night’s episode of the show, all you have to do is click here.

Photo: ABC