Seven won, narrowly (All People), Big Brother helped boost Nine, which won the demos; the NRL Footy Show was a shadow of its AFL counterpart in style, substance and ratings; the ABC and Ten battled away for third, with the ABC just ahead. In the regions Seven won easily, while the ABC thumped Ten. ABC1 ended Upper Middle Bogan (941,000 national/ 602,000 metro/ 339,000 regional viewers) and It’s a Date (769,000 national/498,000 metro/ 271,000 regional viewers) last night. TV viewing this year was better for their creation and broadcast, especially It’s A Date. There were some good ideas and great performances in the series.

Nine’s Hot Seat (922,000 national/ 608,000 metro/ 314,000 regional viewers) has seen off Seven’s Million Dollar Minute (775,000 national/ 471,000 metro/ 304,000 regional viewers). Note that Million Dollar Minute fell under half a million viewers in the metro markets, a sign that the audience is drifting away. The NRL Footy Show had 622,000 national/ 407,000 metro/ 215,000 regional viewers. That included  just 264,000 in Sydney and a miserable 142,000 in Brisbane. Those figures tell us the audience for the Grand Final on Nine on Sunday will be among the lowest in recent years. Viewers in Brisbane and the rest of Queensland won’t really be interested, nor will they in Melbourne, only in parts of Sydney along the coast will there be any excitement.

Speaking of which, Sunday night’s Grand Final sees the Liberal Party’s Eastern Suburbs branch (Godfather M. Turnbull) v  the Liberal Party’s Northern Beaches Branch (Godfather T. Abbott). Or in terms of suburban birds, it’s the Easts Roosters v the Many Sea Eagles. As far the rest of the NRL’s fan base is concerned, who cares?

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (29.2%)
  2. Nine (27.7%)
  3. ABC (18.7%)
  4. Ten (17.2%)
  5. SBS (7.2%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (20.9%)
  2. Nine (20.2%)
  3. ABC 1 (12.6%)
  4. Ten (12.1%)
  5. SBS ONE (6.0%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. GO (4.9%)
  2. 7TWO (4.7%)
  3. 7mate (3.7%)
  4. ABC 2 (3.6%)
  5. Eleven (3.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1.  Seven News — 1.644 million
  2. Nine News — 1.532 million
  3. ABC  News — 1.413 million
  4. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.374 million
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.134 million
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.073 million
  7. 7.30 (ABC1) — 1.037 million
  8. Big Brother (Nine) — 1.018 million
  9. How I Met Your Mother (Seven) — 1.015 million
  10. Catalyst (ABC1) — 947,000

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.075 million
  2. Nine News — 1.060 million

Losers: Even though it was a close night, there wasn’t much on at all. Nine’s NRL Footy Show was weak for its Grand Final episode. Revealed on Ten at 9.30pm (336,000 national/ 266,000 metro/ 70,000 regional viewers). Viewers simply aren’t interested.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.075 million
  2. Nine News — 1.060 million
  3. ABC  News — 927,000
  4. A Current Affair (Nine) — 899,000
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) — 882,000
  6. 7.30 (ABC1) — 672,000
  7. Ten News — 566,000
  8. The Project (Ten) — 504,000
  9. Revealed (Ten) — 266,000
  10. SBS World News — 177,000

Metro morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 361,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 310,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1, 66,000 + 41,000 on News24) — 107,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. LifeStyle  (3.1%)
  2. TV1 (3.0)%
  3. Fox 8 (2.8%)
  4. Disney (2.4%)
  5. Cartoon Network (2.0%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Selling Houses Australia  (LifeStyle) –  80,000
  2. Inside Claridges (LifeStyle) – 75,000
  3. The Simpsons (Fox 8 ) – 61,000
  4. Family Guy (Fox 8 ) – 58,000
  5. Good Luck Charlie, Jesse  (Disney) – 56,000

*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.) and network reports.