The Winners: Seven News opened last night’s prime time ratings strongly with 1.449 million viewers and top of the most watched list. Nine News was strong as well with 1.409 million, boosted by the cricket from Melbourne. Ten’s new US drama, The Good Wife, started very well at 8.30pm with 1.407 million (and strangely, looks more a Seven program than one for Ten). Airways, on Seven at 8pm, was 4th with 1.327 million. Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation returned at 7.30pm for Ten with 1.323 million. Bones was next with 1.211 million on Seven at 8.30pm Seven’s 6.30pm to 8pm tear jerker, Trishna & Krishna: The Quest for Separate Lives, averaged 1.169 million. It was actually better than a tear jerker. The evening session of the cricket on Nine was 8th with 1.020 million and House snuck in with 1.010 million on Ten at 9.30pm.

The Losers: The Biggest Loser: Couples, 925,000. Not quite a loser, but not a winner.

News & CA: Seven News won nationally, but lost to Nine in Sydney and Melbourne thanks to the cricket. In Brisbane the cricket didn’t matter and Seven won heavily. Nine also won Adelaide, Seven won Perth. Ten News averaged 414,000. The 7pm ABC News, 911,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 151,000. In the morning Weekend Sunrise, 304,000, Landline, 260,000, Weekend Today, 245,000, Insiders, 190,000, Inside Business, 134,000, Offsiders, 130,000. Meet The Press on Ten, 42,000.

The Stats: Seven won 6pm to midnight, All People with a combined overnight share of 30.5%, from Nine with 26.0%, Ten with 25.4%, the ABC with 13.2% and SBS with 4.8%. Seven won the main channel battle with 27.6%, but Ten was a clear second with 24.6% and Nine was on 21.5%. The cricket just wasn’t attractive last night. Seven won All People, Ten won 18-49, 16-39 and 25-54.

With Pay TV included and its 100 plus channels, the 11 channels of FTA TV averaged an 83.6% share, to Pay’s 16.4%. Seven won with a combined overnight share of 22.4%, Nine was on 21.1%, Ten, 20.6%, then Pay TV’s 16.4%, the ABC with 10.7% and SBS with 3.9%.

On regional areas a combined overnight win to WIN/NBN with 29.7%, from Prime./7Qld with 28.5%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 20.3 % (the regional viewer doesn’t like Ten’s younger programming). The ABC was on 15.0% and ABS, 6.6%. Seven’s main channel with 26.5% just beat Nine’s main channel of 26.1%.

Digitally: Nine’s GO was solid with as 4.5% (Nine’s main channel, 21.5%), from 7TWO with 2.9% (Seven on 27.6%), Ten’s ONE with 0.8% (Ten’s main channel, 24.6%), ABC 2 on 0.5%, (ABC 3, 0.3%, ABC 1, 12.4%) and SBS TWO, 0.3%, SBS ONE with 4.5%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Thanks to the tennis and a couple of strong nights, Seven won last week, week 10 of summer. Seven’s main channel won, but Nine’s GO won the digital battle. Seven said it won the 10 weeks of summer in All People, 18 to 49s and 25 to 54’s. Seven also won in regional areas in the combined overnight battle and between the main channels. Nine’s Go won the digital battle in regional Australia.

Looking at last night Nine was handicapped by the One Day International cricket, which is on tomorrow night, Friday and next Sunday (with the Winter Games). The second session averaged just over 1 million. OK, but Nine finished third behind Seven and Ten which offered no sport.

Did Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation jump the shark last night by having a politician in Joe Hockey on? It did 1.323 million viewers, Wayne Swan next? Oh Dear.

Nine is going through the motions with the Games’ broadcasts starting this weekend and continuing for the rest of the month, with some cricket and NRL coverage.

For me though the highlight was the documentary on the Black Saturday fires, Inside the Firestorm, on the ABC from 8.30pm to 10.20pm. Sensitively done, it built on the good reporting last year from the ABC, Seven, Nine and Ten and reminded 639,000 who watched just what a terrible disaster this had been.

The bravery of the people then and in talking about their experiences and losses made for great TV and underlined why TV documentaries done well, tell great stories.

The producers deserve the thanks of everyone. I would have thought though that Nine, Seven and Ten might have made some room in their schedules for a similar report last night. Yes, news crews went and reported, the memorial service was covered, but that sort of retrospective program was a gap in their schedules last night that the ABC filled more than adequately.

A year ago the networks all did live crosses and hostings from the bushfire area. last night, that was strangely absent as well. Not as interesting a year on?

TONIGHT: Q&A fills the 9.30pm slot at last, restoring talk to its normal Monday evening position. Tonight it’s Kevin Rudd facing Tony Jones and some 200 young people. Four Corners and Media Watch are back, as is Australian Story. Nine has The Mentalist at 8.30pm as one of the night’s highlights. The lowlight, of course, is Two and a Half Men, also on Nine. Seven underwhelms us with My Kitchen Rules. Desperate Housewives is OK. Ten has The Biggest Loser: Couples and the struggling Good News Week.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports