The Winners: Seven News was tops with 1.588 million, with Today Tonight second with 1.391 million. City Homicide won the 8.30pm slot with 1.389 million and A Current Affair was 4th with 1.385 million people. Two and a Half Men at 7.30pm for Nine (a fresh episode) averaged 1.372 million and Home and Away won the 7pm slot with 1.300 million. Nine’s 7pm repeat of Two and a half Men was 7th with 1.286 million. Nine News was 8th with 1.251 million and Nine’s The Farmer Wants a Wife averaged 1.180 million (but averaged 394,000 of those in Melbourne). Seven’s 7.30pm special on The Lockerbie Disaster averaged 1.124 million and Nine’s 8pm program, The Big Bank Project, averaged 1.074 million in 11th. The 7pm ABC News was 12th with 1.069 million. Nine’s 9.30pm program, Beyond the Darklands, averaged 974,000, Australian Story, 921,000 and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader at 7.30pm on Ten, 888,000. Good News Week on Ten at 8.30pm, 951,000.

The Losers: Deal or No Deal is under pressure at 5.30pm on Seven after ruling the roost for several years. Last night it averaged 780,000 viewers and Eddie McGuire’s Hot Seat averaged 747,000 on Nine. That is getting too close for comfort. Nine could be tempted to keep throwing money at Eddie to get a win over Deal or No Deal, just as it continues to throw money at Today in its quest to beat Sunrise. Nine’s Drop Dead Diva, 641,000 at 9.30pm in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The WIN stations don’t want it in Adelaide and Perth, so it’s not being shown in those markets. Is Nine becoming half a network? Ashes To Ashes at 9.35pm on the ABC, 508,000. Reviewers like it, the audience doesn’t.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Today Tonight won everywhere but Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The 7.30 Report averaged 832,000, Four Corners, 940,000, Media Watch, 785,000 and Lateline, 243,000. Lateline Business 106,000. Ten News, 917,000; the late News/Sports Tonight, 281,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 168,000. 7am Sunrise, 397,000, 7am Today, 329,000.

The Stats: Seven won All People 6pm to Midnight with 28.5% (29.7% a week ago) from Nine with 27.0% (26.2%), Ten with 20.2% (19.7%), ABC with 17.1% (18.3%) and SBS with 7.1% (6.0%). Nine won Melbourne clearly, Seven won the rest, especially Sydney. Seven leads the week, 29.4% to Nine with 27.5% and Ten on 21.8%. Ten won’t worry the scorers this week, Seven will move ahead after tonight.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Seven might have won All People, but Nine did better than expected thanks to the greater success of Two and a Half Men and Farmer Wants a Wife in Melbourne. Perhaps it’s the AFL culture, or just sheer perversity. Who knows, it’s a ratings oddity for another Monday night.

ACA ran the first of a large very deliberate act of kindness to exploit a terrible story of personal misfortune for ratings. I’m glad the family benefited. TT still beat it narrowly.

TONIGHT: Foreign Correspondent on the ABC at 8pm, East West 101 on SBS, Packed to the Rafters on Seven, Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation on Ten and absolutely nothing on Nine.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports