Low Ratings on 'The Bachelor' Threaten Franchise, Fired Host Chris Harrison 'Enjoying The Nosedive': Report

Rock-bottom ratings have reportedly put The Bachelor franchise on life support and former football star-turned-host Jesse Palmer is playing cheerleader in a desperate Hail Mary to save the shows, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Palmer, 44, replaced longtime host Chris Harrison on The Bachelor in 2021, and the average audience size for the most recent season dropped below 3 million for the first time.

Meanwhile, The Bachelorette — which Palmer also hosts since replacing the tandem of Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams last year — is in even more dire straits, plummeting to a paltry average of 1.9 million a week, down from 3.2 million the previous season.

"A lot of folks are saying it's time to cancel the show, but Jesse's insisting he can turn things around," a tipster tattled to the National Enquirer. "He wants to give the shows a makeover and change the perception the franchise is a sweatshop that takes people in and spits them out."

While panicked producers consider pulling the plug on the franchise, insiders shared that Harrison is enjoying the nosedive.

As RadarOnline.com reported, he was unceremoniously canned for defending former contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's photos showing her at an antebellum plantation-themed frat party.

On a recent podcast, Harrison, 51, gloated that "ratings are down 50 to 60 percent" since his departure.

"There's no denying that the franchise is dying on the vine," shared National Enquirer's insider. "But Jesse is taking the lead and telling everyone to stay the course because there's still time to turn this thing around."

RadarOnline.com has reached out to The Bachelor for comment.

But the ratings have been dragging since Harrison's 2021 ousting.

As RadarOnline.com exclusively reported earlier this year, ABC bosses were considering bringing back their once-beloved host, but sources said Harrison wasn't interested.

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Harrison resigned as host from the competition dating series after seemingly standing up for Kirkconnell while discussing the plantation photo controversy with the first-ever Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay.

When Lindsay said it was not a good look for Kirkconnell, Harrison replied, "Well, Rachel, is it a good look in 2018? Or is it not a good look in 2021? Because there's a big difference."

"It's not a good look ever," Lindsay replied. "If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party?"

Harrison revealed he couldn't eat or sleep while being ripped to shreds online during the ordeal.

"I was heartbroken. I was gutted," he said on his podcast, The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever. "I was embarrassed. I was mad at myself. I was disappointed in myself. The last thing in the world I ever wanted to do was be an agent of anything negative — whether it had to do with race or anything."

Despite leaving with his head held low, Variety reported that Harrison walked away with an estimated $10 million exit package.