So who won last night? Well, the ratings tell us it was a good night for Seven and a not quite so good night for Nine (whose good night comes tonight). The X Factor’s winners announcement had 1.848 million national viewers, made up of 1.2045 million in the metros and 644,000 in the regions. The grand final part (most of the program) had 1.701 million viewers (1.045 million metro/656,000 regional viewers). The Block was way behind with 1.359 million national viewers (960,000 metro and 399,000 regional viewers).

But the real winners were viewers and the advertisers who supported The X Factor and The Block. The 3.134 million viewers who have watched the finals of both programs might have been smaller in number than in past years or series, but they were still (and the nightly episodes of both series)  the biggest audiences since the football grand finals and dominated viewing in the closing months of 2015 ratings. And an honourable mention must go to TBL Families on Ten, which has battled away and been a credible third contender. Add its national audience of 769,000 and over 3.9 million people watched Seven, Nine and Ten’s end-of-year flagship programs.

The ABC last night went another way and finished with the gutsiest doco seen for years with Hitting Home by Sarah Ferguson. It averaged just on 1 million viewers, a very solid achievement for such a tough subject.

In many respects, the real winners last night were the ABC and Sarah Ferguson and the women (and police and other services) on the first part of Hitting Home. The program finished 10th nationally, thanks to very solid support from regional viewers where it averaged 302,000. In the metros it averaged 694,000 and ranked 14th. It deserved that and more — and the 996,000 will top the million mark when the seven-day viewing figures are issued in a week.

The issue of domestic violence has been covered by all networks to varying to degrees, but the commercials have, for some reason, resiled at tackling it the way the ABC and Ferguson approached the issue. Just imagine the praise and sense of achievement if Foxtel, Seven or Nine had commissioned a two-parter and paid for it and without any advertising except freebies for support services etc.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (30.6%)
  2. Nine (27.9%)
  3. Ten (20.1%)
  4. ABC (17.6%)
  5. SBS (3.8%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (23.0%)
  2. Nine (20.9%)
  3. ABC (13.4%)
  4. Ten (13.2%)
  5. SBS ONE (3.1%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. Eleven (4.8%)
  2. 7TWO (4.5%)
  3. GO (3.8%)
  4. Gem (3.2%)
  5. 7mate (3.0%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. The X Factor Winner (Seven) — 1.848 million
  2. The X Factor  Grand Final (Seven) — 1.701 million
  3. The Block (Nine) — 1.359 million
  4. Nine News — 1.298 million
  5. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.269 million
  6. Seven News — 1.222 million
  7. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.119 million
  8. 7pm ABC News — 1.114 million
  9. Catalyst (ABC)  — 1.061 million
  10. Hitting Home (ABC) — 996,000

Top metro programs:

  1. The X Factor Winner (Seven) — 1.204 million
  2. The X Factor Grand Final (Seven) — 1.045 million

Losers: There was enough last night to satisfy viewers.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News 6.30 — 969,000
  2. Nine News — 954,000
  3. Seven News — 950,000
  4. A Current Affair (Nine) — 950,000
  5. Seven News/Today Tonight — 904,000
  6. 7pm ABC News – 788,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 697,000
  8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 633,000
  9. Ten News — 524,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 472,000

Morning TV:

  1. Today (Nine) – 351,000
  2. Sunrise (Seven) – 319,000
  3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 161,000
  4. News Breakfast (ABC1,  102,000 + 49,000 on News 24) — 151,000
  5. Mornings (Nine) — 128,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 64,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox8  (2.6%)
  2. TVHITS  (2.1%)
  3. Nick Jr, LIfeStyle (1.8%)
  4. UKTV, 111 Hits (1.6%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Perfection (Fox Sports 3) — 108,000
  2. The Great Australian Bake-Off (LifeStyle) — 94,000
  3. AFL Draft (Fox Sports 3) — 88,000
  4. The Simpsons (Fox8) – 67,000
  5. AFL Draft (Fox Sports 3) — 60,000

*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.