House Rules held up, The Block held up, Seven news got hammered, as did Today Tonight. MasterChef added a few thousand viewers, but is in trouble. Overall it was a quiet night on TV last night after the riches on offer on Sunday and Monday nights. Tonight’s it’s a one-channel, one-program focus with the first State of Origin Rugby League game on Nine. Watch from 7.30pm in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia (metros and regions) on Nine’s main channel — Gem in Perth and WA.

Nine’s Celebrity Apprentice is now getting its just desserts for being vacuous, full of hot air, air-headed minor”‘celebrities” and wannabes. The program averaged 977,000 national/679,000 metro/ 298,000 regional from 8pm — and that was too many viewers (and it is also why Nine lost the night to Seven).

It was buried by Seven’s House Rules and the still-solid Packed To The Rafters (1.755 million national/ 1.123 million metro/ 632,000 regional). Ten’s MasterChef Australia (1.150 national/ 860,000 metro/ 290,000 regional) and NCIS (1.239 million national/ 875,000 metro/ 364,000 regional) also buried the rubbish on Nine.

In the renovators battle, The Block won nationally and in the metros, but again lost the regionals to House Rules. Here are the numbers: 1.688 million national/ 1.183 million metro/ 505,000 regional for The Block. House Rules’ numbers were: 1.619 million nationally/ 1.031 million metro/ 588,000 regional.

Seven news lost the five metro markets by a rather large 150,000 to Nine news, which won Sydney by 99,000, Melbourne by 161,000 and Brisbane by 59,000. A Current Affair beat Today Tonight by 75,000 in Sydney, 121,000 in Melbourne and 17,000 in Brisbane.

The Australia v Japan World Cup Qualifier on SBS ONE averaged 591,000 national/ 458,000 metro/ 133,000 regional viewers. It also had 291,000 viewers on Fox Sports 2 and was the most watched program on pay TV last night.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (28.5%)
  2. Nine (26.0%)
  3. Ten (20.3%)
  4. ABC (15.6%)
  5. SBS (9.5%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (21.2%)
  2. Nine(19.4%)
  3. Ten (15.5%)
  4. ABC1 (11.3%)
  5. SBS ONE (8.7%)

Top five digital channels: 

  1. 7TWO (4.5%)
  2. GO (4.2%)
  3. 7mate (2.9%)
  4. ABC2 (2.8%)
  5. Eleven (2.6%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.759 million
  2. Seven News — 1.845 million
  3. Packed To The Rafters (Seven) — 1.755 million
  4. The Block  (Nine) –1.688 million
  5. House Rules (Seven) — 1.619 million
  6. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.379 million
  7. ABC1 News — 1.373 million
  8. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.284 million
  9. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.267 million
  10. NCIS (Ten) — 1.239 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.358 million
  2. Seven News — 1.208 million
  3. The Block (Nine) — 1.183 million
  4. Packed To The Rafters (Seven) — 1.123 million
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.017 million
  6. House Rules (Seven) — 1.031 million

Losers: Celebrity Apprentice on Nine. A weak show on a weak-minded network for broadcasting this tosh. Unbelievably, grown-ups (i.e. adults) are involved in making this program. 

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News — 1.358 million
  2. Seven News — 1.208 million
  3. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.017 million
  4. Today Tonight (Seven) — 985,000
  5. ABC1 News — 907,000
  6. Ten News — 696,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC1) — 663,000
  8. The Project (Ten) — 532,000
  9. Ten Late News — 232,000
  10. SBS ONE News — 197,000

Metro morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 329,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 315,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1) – 83,000 (56,000 + 27,000 on News 24)

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox Sports 2 (3.4%)
  2. Fox 8 – 3.0%
  3. TV1 – 2.5%
  4. LifeStyle – 2.1%
  5. Fox Footy – 2.1%  

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Soccer: Australia v Japan (Fox Sports 2) – 291,000
  2. Soccer: Road To Rio (Fox Sports 2) – 109,000
  3. Family Guy (Fox 8) — 89,000
  4. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) — 86,000
  5. The Simpsons (Fox 8) – 84,000

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. The data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM. (All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight all people.) Plus network reports.