The Winners: Seven’s The Force averaged 1.554 million viewers at 8pm, Seven News was second with 1.492 million and the winner of Australian Idol last night on Ten roughly around 9.30pm or thereabouts averaged 1.471 million. Border Security on Seven at 7.30pm was 4th with 1.442 million and Bones at 8.30pm averaged 1.252 million. Australian Idol averaged 1.236 million, Seven’s Sunday Night was 7th with 1.178 million and Nine News was next with 1.156 million. The All Star Twenty20 cricket averaged 1.129 million from 7.30pm to around 10.30pm. The first bit of Australian Idol averaged 1.108 million and 10th and the Christmas special episode of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation was 11th with 1.060 million. Castle at 9.30pm on Nine Seven averaged 780,000.

The Losers: 60 Minutes at 6.30pm: 928,000. (See below).

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Melbourne where Nine won. In Sydney Seven News had 392,000 viewers, the 7pm ABC News, 293,000, Nine News, 287,000. The national figure for the 7pm ABC News was 929,000. Ten News averaged 721,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 147,000. Dateline on SBS at 8.30pm, 176,000. In the morning, Weekend Sunrise, 337,000, Landline at Noon on the ABC, 255,000. Weekend Today on Sunday, 238,000, Insiders on the ABC at 9am, 218,000, Inside Business, 163,000 at 10am, Offsiders at 10.30am, 135,000. Meet The Press on Ten, 53,000.

The Stats: Seven won with a 6pm to midnight All People share of 30.3% (34.8%), from Nine with 29.1% (26.5%), Ten with 23.0% (19.9%), the ABC with 13.5% (14.3%) and SBS with 4.1% (4.6%). Seven won everywhere bar Melbourne where Nine and the cricket got up.

In regional areas a win to WIN/NBN with 29.7%, from Prime/7Qld with 27.5%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 22.9%, the ABC with 14.6% and SBS with 5.8%.

Digitally: A big win for Nine’s GO with 4.80% (Nine’s main channel on 24.20%), from 7TWO with 2.60% (Seven’s main channel was on 27.80%), Ten’s ONE with 0.90% (Ten’s main channel, 22.10%), ABC 2 with 0.80% (ABC 1, 12.60%), SBS TWO with 0.10%, (SBS ONE with 4.0%0

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Seven won last week from Nine. End of story. Pay TV’s audience rose marginally (a few thousand viewers), but it was up for the first time in a number of weeks.

Seven won last night narrowly from Nine. The All Star Twenty20 cricket match from the Gabba just didn’t do it for viewers. The 1.129 million people who watched on Nine for three hours or thereabouts was not what Nine would have expected. Nine’s cricket was beaten by Seven from 7.30pm to 8.30pm and by Australian Idol from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. With the team of lightweight West Indian cricketers here for three Tests, it’s going to be a tough summer of cricket for Nine. The cricket was third for the first couple of hours, just as 60 Minutes was at 6.30pm. The cricket at least did better than the dud movies Nine had been showing at 8.30pm on Sundays.

Last night saw Seven’s cheap Sunday Night and Nine’s very costly 60 Minutes go up against each other in the 6.30pm timeslot. 60 Minutes was on early to accommodate the cricket from the Gabba. It got done like a dinner, 928,000 viewers to 1.178 million for Sunday Night. 60 Minutes looked tired, boring. Sunday Night had the bought interview with the woman who claimed she’s had an affair with the South Australian Premier. But it also had the quite amazing story of Kurt Fearnley crawling over the Kokoda Track. Two very good stories in terms of public appeal and news making. 60 Minutes had zilch.

60 Minutes was beaten not only by Sunday Night (which won the timeslot) but also Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation‘s Christmas Special on Ten. It was also beaten in the second half by the 7pm ABC News which had 929,000 viewers. Close…

It concluded a year where 60 Minutes audience average had collapsed to just over 1 million viewers, compared with 1.5 million in 2008, which in turn was another year of indifferent ratings. Nine also faces a bid by Seven for the Australian rights to 60 Minutes from the US (no doubt to use in Sunday Night.) It shouldn’t. Sunday Night is doing fine without the American stories, although the US version has a more public/current affairs slant than the lightweight flirt drivel that appears on the Nine program some weeks. 60 Minutes here might have a lot of bodies on the program but its budget has been cut, its editing looks old fashioned, its story ideas and reporting likewise.

60 Minutes turned 30 years old in 2009. It looked it. But it also never had a 30 year party with staff from previous years invited; just a best of bits segment or two. Like Australian Idol next year, Nine has some tough decisions to make about the program. Ten at least has management willing to take a risk.

Seven is cranking up the goodbye to Ian Ross, the Seven newsreader in Sydney who was bought back to the screen after Nine had forgotten about him. Chris Bath replaces him for two weeks, then has a break. She has been doing well reading Thursdays to Saturdays.

TONIGHT: The last Monday of official ratings for 2009. More Top Gear from SBS at 7.30pm. Elders on the ABC at 8pm. Criminal Minds on Seven at 9.30pm. The Mentalist on Nine at 8.30pm (and The Apprentice fades from view at 9.30pm, hopefully for ever). Ten has an Hamish and Andy best of program at 7.30pm. Good News Week at 8.30pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports