NRL rugby league TV ratings
(Image: AAP/Daniel Pockett)

No MAFS and Nine runs dead — battles SBS for fourth spot after 7.30pm.

It doesn’t have to worry. It’s won the week already, and with the NRL starting next Thursday night it will occupy Thursday and Friday nights and Sunday afternoons until September.

Seven won the night from Nine, Ten and the ABC. For Seven, the AFL starts at the end of March so Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons and evenings will be filled.

Seven boasted about winning last night — in reality it was allowed to win by Nine. Netflix and Stan, though, are still to go to programming to be entertained. Foxtel is dominated by the after 6pm barkers like Credlin, Bolt and Jones.

An AFL pre-season game topped the night though with 105,000 viewers. The smell of liniment is in the air — autumn is gathering and the studs are being tightened.

Q&A got 477,000. OK, but it was beaten by Gogglebox on Ten (826,000) and Wife Swap on Seven (489,000 and pap) but it beat overhyped The Equaliser on Nine (352,000 viewers). Q&A dropped more than 300,000 of Back Roads’ 786,000 national viewers. Not a good look.

Top 5 breakfast/mornings: Sunrise, 440,000 national and 255,000 metro; Today, 307,000 and199,000; News Breakfast, 285,000 and 184,000.

Regional top 5: Seven News, 511,000; Seven News 6.30, 469,000; Home and Away, 308,000; 7pm ABC News, 301,000; Back Roads, 287,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (27.0%)
  2. Nine (25.1%)
  3. Ten (21.4%)
  4. ABC (18.3%)
  5. SBS (8.2%)


Network main channels:

  1. Seven (17.5%)
  2. Nine (16.2%)
  3. Ten (14.4%)
  4. ABC (13.4%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.1%)


Top 5 digital channels:

  1. 7TWO (4.1%)
  2. 7mate (3.7%)
  3. GO (3.3%)
  4. 10 Bold (3.4%)
  5. 10 Peach (3.0%)


Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.358 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.316 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.071 million
  4. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.067 million
  5. 7pm ABC News — 924,000
  6. ACA (Nine) — 916,000
  7. Gogglebox Australia (Ten) — 826,000
  8. 7.30 (ABC) —824,000
  9. Back Roads (ABC) — 786,000
  10. Home and Away (Seven) — 751,000


Top metro programs: none with a million or more viewers.

Losers: viewers — with NRL and AFL in the offing, Seven and nine weren’t really trying.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News, Seven News 6.30 — 847,000
  2. Nine/NBN News — 836,000
  3. Nine News 6.30 — 807,000
  4. ACA (Nine) — 649,000
  5. 7pm ABC News — 623,000
  6. 7.30 (ABC) — 556,000
  7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 383,000
  8. 10 News First — 323,000
  9. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 275,000


Morning (National) TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) — 440,000/255,000
  2. Today (Nine) —307,000/199,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC) — 285,000/184,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 200,000
  5. Today Extra (Nine) — 134,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 44,000


Top five pay TV programs:

  1. AFL: pre-season Carlton v St Kilda (Fox Footy) — 105,000
  2. Credlin (Sky News) — 71,000
  3. Outback Opal Hunters (Discovery) — 65,000
  4. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 64,000
  5. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 59,000