The Winners: MasterChef on Ten topped the list with 1.979 million people and Seven News averaged 1.768 million. Third was Dancing With the Stars with 1.571 million from 6.30pm to 9pm, winning the night for Seven. Bones averaged 1.419 million and won the slot from 9pm to 10pm. Nine News was fifth 1.386 million and Merlin was sixth on Ten at 6.30pm with 1.378 million. Rove averaged 1.290 million for seventh spot at 8.30pm on Ten. Nine’s Random Acts of Kindness ran third at 6.30pm with 1.196 million and 60 Minutes was nineth with 1.172 million (third again). Miss Marple averaged 1.119 million for the ABC from 8.30pm to around 10pm and Castle on Seven at 10pm won the slot with 1.064 million.

The Losers: Nine’s 8.30pm movie, Music and Lyrics. Hugh Grant’s presence gave it a Four Tunes and a Melody flavour. 805,000. Nine obviously has nothing better.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Sydney and Adelaide. Ten News averaged 769,000 and the 7pm ABC News averaged 898,000. The 6.30pm SBS News averaged 159,000. In the morning Weekend Sunrise averaged 417,000, Nine’s Today on Sunday, 291,000. Losers on the ABC at 9am, 230,000. Landline on the ABC at noon, 231,000. Inside Business, 160,000, Offsiders at 10.30pm, 133,000. Meet the Press on Ten, 45,000. Dateline at 8.30pm on SBS, 164,000.

The Stats: Seven won All People 6pm to midnight with 29.9% (24.4%) from Ten with 26.1% (29.7%), Nine on 23.8% (25.5%), the SBS was on 15.7% (16.1%) and SBS on 4.4% (4.2%). Seven won Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Ten won Perth. In regional areas a win to Prime/7Qld with 29.1% from WIN/NBN with 25.4%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 23.0%, the ABC with 17.4% and SBS on 5.2%. Ten won the demos.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Seven won last week from Nine and Ten, but Ten did best of all in the demographics and ended up with a grin, thanks mostly to MasterChef, which has two weeks to go. With one week to go to the halfway mark of the official television ratings year, Seven is number one in total viewers and 25-54s in primetime. Ten leads 16 to 39s and 18 to 49s and Nine has nothing.

Last night Seven started the new series of Dancing With the Stars and despite MasterChef‘s big audience, Seven won the night and will win the week. It showed Ten what life will be like when MasterChef finishes. Nine has abandoned Sunday nights now, showing movies from 8.30pm. It’s cheap TV, lowers costs and gets around 800,000 viewers in which its discounted ads can be broadcast to.

The real battle is between Ten and Seven. Nine was fourth from 8.30pm until after 10pm behind Miss Marple on the ABC which did well (although it was turgid and bored for Britain), with Seven and Ten battling out at the top of the list. Seven programmed Dancing for two and a half hours to 9pm. That ensured it won the 6.30pm to 7.30pm slot, and then the 8.30pm to 9pm slot where Bones won the next hour to 10pm. Seven had won the 6pm news battle fairly well. Castle won the 10pm to 11pm slot.

Nine was helped from 10.30pm to after midnight by a big audience for the Men’s Wimbledon Final which averaged 680,000. Earlier in the day the St Kilda-Geelong AFL game averaged 626,000 for Seven in the mid to late afternoon. It should have really been shown around the country. That audience for the AFL game was out of prime time, the biggest audience in prime time was the 619,000 who watched MasterChef in Sydney and then 584,000 who watched in Melbourne.

TONIGHT: SBS will be saved (as will its new in house ad selling team) with the return of the UK original of Top Gear for a new series at 7.30pm. SBS also has The Bike Race on. Watch and be thrilled (until the first positive drug test unfolds?). Spooks on the ABC at 9.30pm is the highlight, followed by Media Watch and Australian Story.

Seven of course goes Whacko mining once more at 7.30pm and will bring us live on Wednesday morning from 3am “a special Sunrise” live broadcast of the memorial service for Michael Jackson in Los Angeles.

Nine has Patrol Boat at 8.30pm. Any of the male crew keeping score via a “Ledger” as the lads on HMAS Success were supposed to be doing?

Ten has the highlight: MasterChef Australia for an hour from 7pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports.