The Block is an Australian reality television series broadcast on the Nine Network. The series follows four or five couples as they compete against each other to renovate and style houses/apartments and sell them at auction for the highest price. The original series first ran for two consecutive seasons in 2003 and 2004, and was originally hosted by Jamie Durie. The Nine Network revived The Block after a six-year absence, with a third season commenced airing on 22 September 2010, this time hosted by television personality and builder Scott Cam. Shelley Craft joined as co-host from the fourth season. The Block has a large number of commercial sponsors and prominently features brand sponsorships regularly throughout episodes. Format The original format of the series featured four couples with a prior relationship renovating a derelict apartment block in the Sydney suburb of Bondi, with each couple renovating a separate apartment over a period of 12 weeks and with a budget of A$40,000. The apartments were then sold at auction, with each couple keeping any profit made above a set reserve price and the couple with the highest profit winning a A$100,000 prize. The current format is relatively the same except the series usually features five couples, it is mainly based in Melbourne suburbs and the budget is $100,000+. The first season was filmed at Bondi and the second at Manly. The third season again took place in Sydney, in the suburb of Vaucluse. Moving to Victoria, Australia, the fourth season was filmed in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria on Cameron Street. Breaking with tradition, season four was filmed in four side-by-side houses as opposed to an apartment block of four. Season four saw television personality Shelley Craft join Scott Cam in hosting the show. Season five began airing in April 2012. As with season four, season five has retained the four separate houses format, as opposed to four apartments in a single apartment block as in earlier seasons. Season five is again set in Melbourne, on Dorcas Street, and is set in four adjacent multi-storey town houses. Season six returned to Sydney, in Bondi, for the tenth anniversary. The program has remained in Melbourne since season seven. The first three seasons of The Block aired once weekly for 13, 26 and 9 weeks respectively. Since season four, the program has aired across multiple nights per week. Hosts and judges Series overview