Glenn Dyer’s TV ratings: interesting programming too little too late for Ten

An expanded The Bolt Report (152,000 nationally for the 10am first broadcast) returned to Ten, with a repeat at 4pm. ABC1’s Insiders (444,000 on ABC 1 and News 24) and Offsiders (220,000) and Nine’s Financial Review Sunday (241,000) all had more viewers nationally and in metro and regional markets.

A close night last night, won narrowly by Seven in metro markets and a bigger margin in the regions. Nine’s The Block had its biggest audience so far  (2.156 million nationally/ 1.504 million metro/ 652,000 regional viewers), and was second behind My Kitchen Rules with 2.471 million nationally/ 1.624 million metro/ 847,000 regional viewers. The Block’s momentum continues to build.

But Seven’s Downton Abbey continued to fade with the metro audience under a million at 991,000, but the national audience was still solid at 1.599 million people. Viewers treated Sunday Night with the contempt it deserved, especially in metro markets. Not for the very good Alex Cullen report on his family’s battle against the drought, but the Mike Willesee rubbish on Schapelle Corby. Sunday Night had 1.722 million national viewers/ 1.086 million metro/ 636,000 regional viewers. The Alex Cullen report grabbed viewers in the regionas and helped offset the slide in metro viewers for the program from the levels of the past couple of weeks.

In fact last night’s effort on Sunday Night by Mike Willesee proved the adage that you can’t make a pearl out of a swine’s ear. There was more meat in the Polident ad at the end of the program than in the Corby segment. The Alex Cullen story was far more suited to Sunday Night than the fairyfloss effort from Mike Willesee. On pay TV last night nearly 400,000 people watched the first session of the third cricket test between Australia and South Africa from Cape Town. Last night saw Ten again easily beaten into third by the ABC as So You Can Think You Can Dance Australia bombed. Ten’s metro main channel share was a very low 7.6%. In regional areas, it was an even lower 5.2%.

Network channel share:

1. Seven (34.1%)
2. Nine (?%)
3. ABC (15.7%)
4. Ten (13.3%)
5. SBS (6.1%)

Network main channels:

1. Seven (26.5%)
2. Nine (25.0%)
3. ABC 1 (11.7%)
4. Ten (7.6%)
5. SBS ONE (4.3%)

Top digital channels: 

1. 7mate (4.0%) (?%)
2. 7TWO (3.6%)
3. GO, Gem, ONE, Eleven (2.9%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) – 2.471 million
2. The Block (Nine) — 2.156 million
3. Seven News — 1.835 million
4. Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.772 million
5. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.727 million
6. Downton Abbey (Seven) — 1.517 million
7. Nine News — 1.599 million
8. Fat Tony (Nine) — 1.520 million
9. 7 pm ABC 1 News — 1.193 million
10. David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum (ABC 1) — 1.126 million

Top metro programs:

1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 1.624 million
2. The Block (Nine) — 1.504 million
3. Seven News — 1.248 million
4. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.208 million
5. Fat Tony & Co (Nine) — 1.132 million
6. Nine News — 1.124 million
7. Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.086 million

Losers: Ten, and Seven’s Sunday Night.Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 1.248 million
2. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.208 million
3. Nine News — 1.124 million
4. Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.086 million
5. ABC News — 779,000
6. Ten Eyewitness News — 438,000
7. SBS World News — 167,000

Metro morning TV:

1. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) – 318,000
2. Weekend Today (Nine) – 268,000
3. Insiders (ABC1, 193,000, + 100,000 on News 24) –293,000
4. Landline (ABC1) — 260,000
5. Financial Review Sunday (Nine) — 150,000
6. Offsiders (ABC1) — 150,000
7. The Bolt Report repeat  (Ten) — 131,000
8. The Bolt Report (Ten) — 96,000

Top  pay TV channels:

1. Fox Sports  (8.4%)
2. TVHITS!  (2.5%)
3. Foxtel Movies Premiere (2.3%)
4. A&E (1.9%)
5. Foxtel Movies Family, LifeStyle (1.8%)

Top five pay TV programs:

1. Cricket: 3rd Test South Africa v Australia, Day 2, Session 1 (Fox Sports 3) — 397,000 
2. Cricket: 3rd Test South Africa v Australia, Day 2, Session 2 (Fox Sports 3) — 219,000
3. Real Housewives of Melbourne (Arena) — 103,000
4. Inside Cricket (Fox Sports 3) — 102,000
5. World Track Cycling Titles (Fox Sports 3) — 100,000

*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.