IMO
@beardymac has a point. Survivor is very popular and peaked in ratings at the time of the reboot being announced. I don’t fully understand why they didn’t just copy the BBUS structure either, but it seems that they just chose to piggy back off of Survivor’s popularity. Having Amelia Fisk as EP who was also EP for survivor didn’t help.
As for whether or not viewers tune in for strategy or not, I’d say generally Aussie’s don’t. We’re more into watching characters and funny moments. Just general conversations or even FB comments have everyone saying “I miss when this wasn’t a strategy show”. Even with survivor general viewers seem more interested in the challenges and characters than they do the actual strategy element of the show.
Copying the BBUS format would have been the best way to go for the strategic format. But also at the same time this show has such a recognised reputation for how it was it’s too late to make that drastic of a change. I may be biased but I just don’t think there’s a way for viewers to completely warm to a strategic version of the show. The live element may possibly prove me wrong, but I think viewers are turning off not only because it’s not live, but also because of lack of character scenes and lack of audience say.