The Glenn Dyer breakdown: Packed To The Rafters averaged more than 1.4 million viewers (and 2.196 million nationally), but it is a shadow of its old self and needed the strong lead-in from My Kitchen Rules (more than 1.6 million metro viewers and 2.480 million nationally).

But the real story from last night was the way MasterChef: The Professionals was dispatched to the back of the kitchen by My Kitchen Rules. MasterChef: The Professionals had 729,000 metro viewers, with only My Kitchen Rules up against it. MasterChef: The Professionals‘s national audience fell to 965,000 from more than 1.4 million a week ago.

Ten should now be worried that the 2013 season of MasterChef Australia later in the year could be damaged by MasterChef: The Professionals‘s slump.

Tonight: More My Kitchen Rules on Seven and then a golden oldie, Forest Gump (TV is like a box of repeats, not chocolates). Nine has repeats and repeats of repeats (think Big Bang Theory). Ten returns the sad Glee to the line-up in back to back episodes. The ABC has what seems to be a wonderfully nostalgic look at ABBA and their attraction for Australians.

Final national figures for Sunday and Monday night: The Men’s Australian Open tennis final had 2.981 million for the presentation and 2.895 million for the actual game won by Novak Djokovic. On Monday night the T20 game between Australia and Sri Lanka had 2.057 million viewers over the four hours or so, while My Kitchen Rules’ first episode had 2.011 million viewers. MasterChef: The Professionals had 1.167 million viewers nationally (and did better with more competition from the T20 and My Kitchen Rules, than against My Kitchen Rules alone last night!).

US update: Good news for Ten and Seven and Nine, US TV networks have fallen back in love with daytime soaps and some game shows. CBS has renewed soap The Bold and The Beautiful (Ten, 4.30pm), The Talk (a rip of The View, here on Nine), The Price is Right (on Seven at 5pm last year) and Let’s Make a Deal (a rip-off of Deal or No Deal on NBC and here on Seven at 5.30pm).

CBS had earlier renewed The Young and The Restless in a three-year deal. In fact the big trend from US TV at the moment is the comeback of the soaps (which have never gone away in Australia, think Home and Away, Neighbours). NBC has also renewed Days of Our Lives (Nine will be pleased), while former hits All My Children and One Life To Live are back in production and seem likely to be picked up. And NBC says it has no plans to end General Hospital. US analysts say that come the 2013-204 TV ratings season later this year, US network TV will have more daytime soaps on air than in the current season, the first time that has happened in past 15 years.

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

  1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 2.480 million.
  2. Packed To The Rafters (Seven) — 2.196 million.
  3. Nine News — 1.774 million.
  4. Seven News — 1.700 million.
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.397 million.
  6. ABC1 News — 1.333 million.
  7. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.326 million.
  8. New Tricks (ABC1) — 1.180 million.
  9. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.115 million.
  10. 7.30 (ABC1) — 1.072 million.

The Metro Winners:

  1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven, 7.30pm) — 1.647 million.
  2. Packed To the Rafters (Seven, 8.45pm) — 1.464 million.
  3. Seven News — 1.269 million
  4. Nine News — 1.208 million.
  5. Today Tonight (Seven, 6.30 – 7 pm) — 1.190 million.

The Losers: Anyone who didn’t like cooking, or Packed to The Rafters, and the Ten Network and its MasterChef: The Professionals.Metro News & CA: Seven again played the “news special”, but left TT in the ratings codings. Therefore the figure for TT was meaningless. Nine News and ACA ran longer for a second night. Seven’s News and Today Tonight in Brisbane ran long as well to cover the floods story. At 6-6.30pm Nine News won Sydney and Melbourne, Seven News won Brisbane and the rest.

  1. Seven News (6pm) — 1.269 million.
  2. Nine News (6pm) — 1.208 million.
  3. Today Tonight (Seven, 6.30pm).
  4. ABC1 News (7pm) — 912,000.
  5. A Current Affair (Nine, 6.30pm) — 823,000.
  6. 7.30 (ABC1, 7.30pm) — 707,000.
  7. Ten News (5pm) — 698,000.
  8. The Project (Ten, 6.30pm) — 454,000.
  9. Ten Late News (10.30pm) — 234,000.
  10. SBS ONE News (6.30 pm) — 147,000.
  11. Lateline (ABC1, 10.30pm) — 136,000.
  12. The Business (ABC1, 11.05pm ) — 103,000.
  13. The Drum (News 24) — 71,000.
  14. SBS ONE Late News (10.30pm) — 69,000.

In the morning: Sunrise and Today ran long again to cover the floods stories in northern NSW and southern QLD. They ran long this morning as well, but ended around 10am.

  1. Sunrise (Seven, 7am) — 414,000.
  2. Today (Nine, 7am) — 393,000.
  3. Mornings Summer (Nine, 9am) –265,000.
  4. Sunrise Extended (Seven, 9am) — 246,000.
  5. News Breakfast (ABC1, 7am) — 68,000 + 32,000 on News 24.

Metro FTA: Seven (three channels) won with a share of 35.1% from Nine (three) on 23.5%, Ten (three) was on 18.4%, the ABC (four) was on 17.4% and SBS (three) ended on 5.7%. Seven leads the week with 38.0% from Nine on 26.4%, Ten on 17.0% and the ABC with 14.3%. Main Channels: Seven won with a share of 29.9% from Nine on 16.2%, Ten on 13.1%, ABC1 on 12.3% and SBS ONE with 4.2%.

Metro Digital: GO had a clean sweep and won with a share of 4.6% from Eleven on 2.8%, Gem and ABC 2 on 2.7%, 7mate on 2.6%, ONE and 7TWO on 2.5% each, News 24 with 1.5% (for the second night in a row), SBS TWO with 1.4%, ABC 3 on 0.9% and NITV on 0.1%. The 11 digital channels had an FTA share of 24.5%. GO still leads the week with 4.1% from 7TWO on 3.0%.

Metro including Pay TV: Seven (three channels) won with a share of 28.6% from Nine (three) on 19.2%, Ten (three) was on 15.0%, the ABC (four) was on 14.2% and SBS (three) ended on 4.6%. The 16 FTA channels had a total viewing share last night of 83.9%, with the 11 digitals sharing a low 19.8%, the five main channels on 64.1% and the 200 plus channels on Foxtel giving pay TV a share of 16.1%. Viewing was boosted by the one dayer in Canberra on Fox Sports 2 between a PM’s Eleven and the touring Windies.

The top five pay TV channels were:

  1. Fox Sports 2 — 4.0%
  2. Fox8 — 3.2%.
  3. TV 1 — 2.1%.
  4. Nickelodeon — 1.9%.
  5. LifeStyle, A&E — 1.8%.

The five most-watched programs on pay TV were:

  1. Cricket: PM’s XI v Windies (evening session, Fox Sports 2) — 122,000.
  2. The Simpsons (Fox8) — 80,000.
  3. Come Dine With Me Australia (LifeStyle) — 71,000.
  4. Storage Wars (A&E) — 70,000.
  5. Cricket: World Series Classics (Fox Sports 2) — 64,000.

Regional: Prime/7Qld (three channels) won with a share of 35.3% from WIN/NBN (three) on 25.8%, the ABC was on 17.4%, SC Ten (three) was on 16.5% 8.4%, and SBS (three) ended on 54.9%. Prime/7Qld won the main channels with 29.9%, from WIN/NBN on 16.3%, ABC1 on 11.6% and SC Ten on 11.2%. The digitals were won by GO with 5.5%, from Gem on 4.1% and ONE on 3.0%. The 11 digital channels had an FTA share last night of 27.7%. Prime/7Qld leads the week with 36.6% from WIN/NBN on 29.4% , The ABC on 15.4% and SC Ten on 14.5%.

The five most-watched programs in regional markets were:

  1. MKR — 833,000.
  2. Packed To The Rafters — 780,000.
  3. Nine News — 566,000.
  4. ACA — 503,000.
  5. Seven News — 431,000.

Major Metro Markets: A clean sweep for Seven around the five metro markets (overall and main channels), with Nines second and Ten mostly third, except in Perth, where the ABC and ABC1 pushed Ten back to fourth in both the main channels and overall. In Adelaide, ABC1 was second in the main channels and Ten third. GO won the digitals in all five metro markets. Seven leads the week everywhere (but in the main channels in Adelaide and Perth, ABC1 is ahead of Ten as MasterChef: The Professionals fails to click with local viewers).

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

Source: Oztam, TV Networks data