The Glenn Dyer breakdown: Viewers couldn’t distinguish between Excess Baggage and The Biggest Loser which are almost interchangeable programs at 7pm. So they ignored those and went for the tried and true Home and Away and and then the returning My Kitchen Rules at 7.30pm on Seven. That’s despite My Kitchen Rules being a bunch of people who you’d never let near your dining room — let alone the kitchen — unless they were bound and gagged. Excess Baggage might be the name of Nine’s weight loss reality program, but it also describes its performance last night. The Biggest Loser was an even weaker performer.

Excess Baggage had support from regional viewers though and managed a national average of 1.234 million. The Biggest Loser‘s national average was 1.007 million.

Seven’s new Sports Fever started at 10.45pm and averaged 236,000. Not much, but it’s cheap and cheerful and did well in the demos.

Tonight: Look at the final Nigella Kitchen on ABC 1 at 8pm. Much of the food is tarted up stodge, but she’s a brilliant presenter.

The top 10 national programs (metro & regional combined):

1. My Kitchen Rules 2.029 million
2. Seven News 1.843 million
3. The Big Bang Theory (8pm)
 1.840 million
4. Please Marry My Boy 1.758 million
5. Nine News
 1.675 million
6. A Current Affair
 1.609 million
7. The Big Bang Theory (8.30pm)
 1.591 million
8. Home and Away
 1.512 million
9. Today Tonight
 1.407 million
10. ABC News
 1.391 million

The Winners (metro):

1. My Kitchen Rules 7.30pm 1.484 million
2. The Big Bang Theory 8pm 1.349 million
3. Please Marry My Boy 8.45pm 1.252 million
4. Seven News 6pm 1.248 million
5. Today Tonight 6.30pm 1.131 million
6. Nine News
 6pm 1.14 million
7. The Big Bang Theory 8.30pm 1.112 million
8. Home and Away
 7pm 1.035 million
9. A Current Affair
 6.30pm 1.030 million
10. ABC News
 7pm 1.025 million

The Losers: Excess Baggage: for all the hype on Nine during the cricket, to get just 880,000 metro viewers was poor. The Biggest Loser‘s first weigh in on Ten did even worse, 698,000 in metro markets. It is going to be a lonely time for both at 7pm. The two programs are too similar and viewers are becoming jaded. It’s not often we get two such high profile flops before official ratings have even started.

Hawaii Five O on Ten at 8.30pm, 540,000. Not good enough. It faded and failed last year and will suffer the same fate in 2012.

News & CA: The late SBS News’ move to 10.30pm will prove to be its death. The audience has been slashed by more than half, much like Ten’s fiddling with the timeslot for The Project.

The Business is the old Lateline Business and hasn’t changed.

Nine News beat Seven News in Sydney and Melbourne. Seven won the rest. Today Tonight won everywhere bar Melbourne where A Current Affair got up.

1. Seven News 6pm 1.248 million
2. Today Tonight 6.30pm 1.131 million
3. Nine News 6pm 1.140 million
4. A Current Affair
 6.30pm 1.030 million
5. ABC News 7pm 1.025 million
6. Ten News 5pm 737,000
7. 7.30 7.30pm 731,000 (+37,000)*
8. Australian Story 8pm 608,000
9. The Project 6pm 472,000
10. SBS News 6.30pm 208,000
11. Lateline 10.25pm 138,000
12. The Drum 6pm 125,000 (+57,000)*
13. The Business 11pm 79,000
14. SBS News 10.30pm 45,000

*On News 24 simulcast

In the morning: A lot of Sunrise in the new Today set, an awful lot!

1. Sunrise 7am 406,000
2. Today 7am 346,000

FTA: Seven (3 channels) won with a share of 33.0%, from Nine (3) on 28.9%, Ten (3) was on 19.5%, the ABC (4) was on 14.1% and SBS (2) ended with 4.5%. Seven leads the week with 39.7% from Nine on 23.1% and Ten on 20.6%.

(All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight All People)

Source: , TV Networks reports

Main Channels: Seven won with a share of 26.6% from Nine on 22.3%, Ten was on 13.1%, ABC 1 was on 9.5% and SBS 1 was on 3.6. Seven leads the week with 34.6% from Nine on 17.2% and Ten on 15.2%. Digital: GO won with 3.6% from 7TWO on 3.5%, ONE was on 3.4%. That’s a total FTA share of 23.9%. GO leads the week with 3.2% from 7TWO on 2.8% and Gem and Eleven on 2.7%.

Pay TV: Seven (3 channels) won with a share of 27.0%, from Nine (3) on 23.7%, Ten (3) was on 16.0%, Pay TV was on 15.7%, the ABC (4) was on 11.6% and SBS (2) ended with 3.7%. The 15 FTA channels had a total share of viewing last night of 84.3%, with the 10 digital channels on 20.4% with the five main channels share, 63.9%.

The top five pay TV channels were:

1. 3.09%
2. 2.48%
3. 2.18%
4. 1.84%
5. 1.81%

The five most-watched programs on pay TV were:

1. The Simpsons 79,700
2. Wife Swap Australia
 75,100
3. Coronation Street 71,400
4. QI
 67,600
5. Family Guy
 66,100

Regional: Prime/7Qld (3 channels) won with a share of 31.4% from WIN/NBN (3) on 29.2%, SC Ten (3) was on 19.8%, the ABC (4) was on 14.8% and SBS (2) ended with 4.8%. Prime/7Qld won the main channels with 23.6% from WIN/NBN close behind on 23.1%. 7TWO won the digitals with 4.0% from 7mate on 3.78% and GO on 3.6%. The 10 digital channels had an FTA share last night in regional areas of 26.5%. Prime/7Qld leads the week with 36.8% from WIN/NBN on 24.3%.

The five most-watched programs in regional markets were:

1. Seven News 594,000
2. A Current Affair 581,000
3. Nine News 562,000
4. My Kitchen Rules 544,000
5. The Big Bang Theory
 492,000

Major Markets: Close wins overall and the main channels for Seven in Sydney and Melbourne with Nine second and Ten third. Ten was very weak in Melbourne. In Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, bigger wins to Seven. Ten was second overall and in the main channels in Perth. Nine was second in Brisbane and Adelaide. GO won the digitals in Sydney and Melbourne, Eleven on Brisbane, Gem won Adelaide and ONE won Perth. Seven leads the week everywhere and has it won already.

(All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight All People)

Source: , TV Networks reports