Is the television honeymoon over for Eddie McGuire?

Last year, the Collingwood Football Club president crushed the competition when he returned to The Footy Show after a decade-long hiatus.

After lagging behind The Front Bar for some time, Nine's new-look AFL program surged ahead in the ratings. But now it's a much closer race and on Thursday evening Seven's rival program won the night.

The Front Bar netted around 288,000 viewers across Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth compared to the 264,000 or so who tuned in to The Footy Show.