The Winners: MasterChef was tops with 1.536 million people for its second up of the second season. Seven News was next with 1.484 million and Australia’s Got Talent was third for Seven at 7.30pm to 9pm with 1.452 million. Today Tonight was 4th with 1.405 million. Ten’s 8.30pm program, NCIS, averaged 1.379 million at 9pm and Nine News was 6th with 1.257 million. A Current Affair was 7th with 1.229 million and Top Gear averaged just 1.174 million from 7.30pm to around 9.10pm. The 7pm repeat of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.121 million, Home and Away in the same slot averaged 1.097 million and the 7pm ABC News averaged 1.075 million. Grey’s Anatomy at 9pm averaged 939,000, Survivor at 9.10pm on Nine, 875,000 and NCIS Los Angeles around 10pm averaged 772,000 for Ten.

The Losers: 20 to 1 on Nine at 10.10pm, 444,000.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market. Today Tonight lost Brisbane to ACA, won everywhere else and nationally. The 7.30 Report averaged 689,000 and was squeezed by Ten and Seven. Lateline averaged 165,000, Lateline Business, 89,000. Ten News, 844,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 337,000. Nine’s Nightline, 90,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 187,000, Insight, 176,000, the late News, 182,000. 7am Sunrise back in front with 378,000, 7am Today on 332,000.

The Stats:

FTA: Seven won with a share of 29.6% from Ten with 27.2%, Nine with 25.7%, the ABC, 13.3% and SBS, 4.3%. Seven won Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Nine won Melbourne. Nine leads the week 27.6% from Seven with 27.2% and Ten on 26.8%.

Main Channel: Seven also won here with a share of 27.7%, from Ten with 26.6%, Nine with 23.5%, ABC 1 with 11.9% and SBS ONE with 3.7%. Seven won Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Ten won Melbourne. Ten leads the week with 25.4%, from Seven and Nine on 24.6% each.

Digital: GO won with 2.2% share, from 7TWO with 1.9%, ABC 2, 1.0%, ONE with 0.7%, SBS TWO with 0.6% and ABC 3 with 0.3%. The six FTA digital channels had a share of 6.7%. GO leads the week with 3.0% from 7TWO with 2.6%.

Pay TV: Seven won with a share of 25.1%, from Ten with 23.1%, Nine with 21.8%, Pay TV on 12.9%, ABC TV with 11.2% and SBS with 3.6%. The 11 FTA channels had a total share of 87.1%. The 100 plus channels of Pay TV had 12.9%.

Regional: Prime/7Qld won with 29.5%, from WIN/NBN with 25.1%, SEC Ten was next with 24.86%, the ABC was on 14.6% and SBS, 6.2%. Prime/7Qld won the main channels with 28.6%, from SC Ten with 24.0% and WIN/NBN on 23.5%. GO won the digitals with 1.6%, with ABC 2 and 7TWO on 1.0%. WIN/NBN leads the week, 28.1% from Prime/7Qld with 27.5% and SC Ten with 23.7%.

(All shares on a combined overnight All People 6pm to midnight basis)

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Seven won, Ten was second and Nine was third. Nine’s plan to neutralise MasterChef by running 100 minutes of Top Gear failed.

MasterChef was again solid, the judges handling the night skilfully. The risk of having the cheffettes judge each other went off well. Coles is a sponsor of the program and they have Curtis Stone the Aussie chef, flogging $10 meals. That’s something MasterChef should have had in the first or second nights because everyone involved is either in a family or single. Cooking well and nutritiously on a budget is a continuing storyline in newspapers and magazines. Why not in MasterChef? Ten said it won 16 to 39, 18 to 49 and 25 to 54s, so the audience is there for adventurous programming.

The 7pm Project, 846,000, with help from being in front of MasterChef, but the program was solid, except for having Steve Price on there.

The Foreign Correspondent special report (617,000) on Greece (which is the second in a year) was pretty good and pretty disappointing if you think of Greece as an important country with ideas and an honoured history. It does have the capacity to wreak havoc on the rest of Europe.

TONIGHT: Dreary night. Hey Hey it’s 1972 is up against The Pacific. Spicks and Specks (which is getting a bit faded around the edges) is on at 8.30pm and is still crisper than Hey Hey. Lowdown at 9pm might be worth a look for all those who hate tabloid newspapers. Seven had The Dog Squad up against a repeat of Inspector Rex at 7.30pm. Ten has MasterChef at 7.30pm then a two hour finale of So You Think You Can Dance Australia at 8.30pm. Ten will get viewers who want to be entertained, not reminded of their past.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports