A week ago Business Sunday, the
long established leader in the Sunday morning business chat show
battle, was overtaken in its Sydney ratings by the ABC’s lower budget Inside Business.

The two programs do not compete head to head: Business Sunday runs from 8-9am and Inside Business runs almost as an after thought after The Insiders on the ABC from 9.45-10.15am.

Last Sunday week Inside Business was watched by around 44,000 people in Sydney, the biggest market, and Business Sunday by around 42,000. Not helping Business Sunday is the continuing success of the revamped Weekend Sunrise, which averaging around 268,000-270,000 for the hour from 8-9am, while Business Sunday is around 100,000 to 120,000 below that.

But that was until yesterday. Business Sunday attracted 56,000 people in Sydney, Inside Business 20,000 and Weekend Sunrise on Seven 45,000. A win to Nine. Business Sunday‘s national audience jumped to 180,000 and Weekend Sunrise‘s audience fell sharply by 80,000 or so viewers to 195,000 people. Inside Business fell to only 63,000, so the challenge has been repelled, for the week.

Because Business Sunday lifted its game, Sunday
also did better and its audience rose to 351,000, helped by a very good
story on Schapelle Corby and some real insight into the rorts at our
airports. It’s amazing what a bit of time and effort does, instead of
chequebooks (attention 60 Minutes and A Current Affair).

The Sunday
story by Ross Coulthart and produced by Peter Hiscock was an example to
everyone in TV journalism in particular what a real investigation, good
production, an inquisitive mind and some digging can do.