The Winners: Customs, the BBC program at 8pm on Nine, averaged 1.309 million people. Criminal Minds won the 8.30pm slot for Seven with 1.295 million and Seven News was next with 1.288 million. Today Tonight was 4th with 1.225 million and Nine News was 5th with 1.190 million. A Current Affair was 6th with 1.147 million and Seven’s 7.30pm program, RSPCA Animal Rescue, averaged 1.134 million people. RPA picked up at 8.30pm for Nine to average 1.066 million and the 7.30pm episode of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.057 million people for 9th overall. The 7pm repeat of the same program averaged 1.007 million and the 7pm ABC News was 11th with 1.006 million people. 12th was Spicks and Specks with 1.002 million at 8.30pm for the ABC.

The Losers: The Gangs Of Oz on Seven at 9.30pm, 712,000. Not good. Burn Notice on Ten at 10pm, 402,000. Stick the Late News on instead, it’s more interesting. Poh’s Kitchen, 370,000 for the ABC at 6.30pm. A boring episode, what was being cooked (choux pastry) isn’t interesting. So You Think You Can Dance from 8pm to 10pm, 790,000 viewers. That’s not strong enough.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally, but lost Melbourne and Brisbane (it won Sydney). Today Tonight lost Melbourne and Brisbane to ACA, but won Sydney as well. The 7.30 Report averaged 743,000, Lateline, 263,000 and Lateline Business, 144,000. Ten News  averaged 881,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 201,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 174,000, 2157,000 for the late edition. 7am Sunrise ,350,000, 7am Today, 302,000.

The Stats:

FTA: Nine won with a combined overnight All People 6pm to midnight share of 30.7% from Seven with 29.3%, Ten with 18.5%, the ABC on 17.3% and SBS with 4.3%. Seven still leads the week with 30.2% to 29.7% for Nine. Nine won Melbourne and Adelaide, Seven won Brisbane and Perth, Nine and Seven drew Sydney.

Main Channels: Nine won with a combined overnight share of 27.6% to Seven with 27.0%, Ten with 17.8%, ABC 1 with 15.0% and SBS ONE with 3.8%. Seven leads this with 27.7% to 26.8% for Nine. Nine won Sydney and Melbourne, Seven won Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Digital: GO won with a combined overnight share of 3.1%, from 7TWO with 2.3%, ABC 2 with 1.7%, ABC 3 and ONE with 0.6% each and SBS TWO with 0.5%. That’s a total share for the night of 8.8%. GO with a 2.9% share, leads the week from Seven with 2.5%.

Pay TV: Nine won with a combined overnight share of 25.3%, from Seven with 24.1%, Ten with 15.2%, Pay TV with 15.1%, the ABC with 14.2%, SBS with 3.5%. The 11 FTA channels combined had a share of 84.9%, the 100 plus Pay TV channels, 15.1%.

Regional: Prime/7Qld won with a combined overnight All People 6 pm to midnight share of 31.7%, from Nine won through WIN/NBN with 28.3%, then the ABC with 18.0%, Ten (Southern Cross) with 17.2% and SBS with 4.9%. Prime/7Qld on 28.7% leads the week narrowly from WIN/NBN with 28.5%. Digitally, GO won with 1.2% from 7TWO with 1.1% and ABC 2 with 0.8%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Despite the apparently solid night of viewing, it was pretty average all round. Nothing stood out at all.

TONIGHT: Be still my aching calves. The NRL Footy Show returns to the Nine Network tonight. And the AFL version down south rejoins us as well. So the attitude that made the Nine coverage of the Winter Games so memorable will be back on screen tonight. Wonderful.

The NRL program will be a fader this year as it has been in years gone by. More changes are needed, despite all the money being thrown at it. The AFL Footy Show will make headlines, but ratings will again be average. The only question is when will Sam Newman make a goose of himself and viewers by acting up?

Other viewing … hmmm … tough question. Law and Order SVU on Ten, Cougar Town for the desperates on Seven at 8.30pm. You know it’s a rotten night when the highlights are two repeats, The Mentalist on Nine at 8.30pm and Thank God You’re Here on Seven at 9.30pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports