The Winners: MasterChef was top again with 1.580 million viewers, with Seven News second on 1.320 million and Today Tonight next with 1.228 million. Nine News was 4th with 1.168 million and A Current Affair was 5th with 1.167 million. The 7pm ABC News was next with 1.054 million. Nine’s Sea Patrol snuck into the million viewer list in 7th with 1.009 million people (down 200,000 from last week), as it ran into the last half hour of MasterChef. Getaway with 996, 000, at 7.30 pm on Nine was easily beaten by MasterChef.

The Losers: Seven from 7.30pm onwards. Just not working, except in Sydney and perhaps Brisbane. This can’t continue.

News & CA: Seven News might have won nationally, but the weakness in Sydney last night will worry them. 297,000 viewers, which is not good enough. Nine News averaged 338,000. Seven won Melbourne easily, as well as Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. But the problems in Sydney stand out. The 7pm ABC News in Melbourne with 358,000 beat Nine ( 343,000) into second behind Seven on 397,000 in Melbourne.

A Current Affair was also stronger in Sydney and Melbourne than TT, which won Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Ten News  averaged 840,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 245.000. The 7.30 Report, 660,000, Lateline, 268,000, Lateline Business, 125,000. Nine’s Nightline, 284,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 172,000, 148,000 for the late edition. 7am Sunrise back in front with 369,000, Today, 350,000.

The Stats:

FTA: Nine won easily with a share of 31.0%, from Ten with 25.8%, Seven won 22.6%, the ABC was 16.6% and SBS, 4.1%. Nine won everywhere but Adelaide where Ten got up. Nine leads the week, 28.2%, from Seven with 26.8% and Ten on 26.2%. Ten won 18-49, 16-39 and 25-54 in the commercial battle with Seven and Nine.

Main Channel: Nine won here as well, 26.5%, from Seven with 24.7%, Seven with 20.2%, ABC 1, 14.1% and SBS One was on 3.4%. Nine won everywhere but Adelaide where Ten also got up. Ten leads the week, 25.1% from Nine with 25.0%, and Seven with 24.4%.

Digital: A win for Go with 4.5%, from 7TWO on 2.4%, ABC 2, 1.9%, ONE, 1.1% and ABC 3 and SBS Two on 0.6% each. That’s a total share of 11.1% for the six digital channels. GO leads the week, 3.2% to 2.4% for Seven.

Pay TV: Nine won with 26.1%, from Ten with 21.8%, Seven on 19.0%, the ABC on 14.0%, Pay TV on 13.3% and SBS on 3.4%. The 11 FTA channels had a total share of 86.7%, the 100 plus Pay channels shared the 13.3%.

Regional: An easy win to WIN/NBN with 31.9%, from Prime/7Qld with 24.4%, SC Ten with 21.9%, the ABC on 16.4% and SBS, 5.4%. WIN/NBN won the main channels, GO won the digitals, WIN/NBN lead the week 28.9% from prime/7Qld with 27.5%. MasterChef is still not setting the bush alight like the cities (and especially Sydney and last night, Melbourne.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Seven fell into the black hole of its own making last night, with The Bounce in Melbourne deflating again. It can’t last at 7.30pm attracting just 161,000 viewers in that market. The 7.30pm slot is now too weak for Seven to continue with the football show experiment there, even if the Sydney program averaged 304,000 and beat the later Nine NRL show which jumped to 250,000 (and the Nine show won Brisbane, 167,000 to 155,000).

MasterChef continued on its way, oblivious to the stings of Nine’s ACA and Today Tonight (they did it last year with no impact, both programs and the networks are very slow learners) as they found one of the contestants had a dodgy background in terms of the program.

ACA and TT last night attended to the Melbourne Storm story, but an ACA producer/researcher grabbed News Ltd chairman John Hartigan and did a very competent interview with him that went further than what he’s said in the earlier press conference. It might have been “set up” with Nine and News closer these days, but the producer did an excellent job and she stayed focused and asked the right questions.

Both The Matty Johns Show on Seven and the NRL Footy Show on Nine did well on the Melbourne Storm story. I finally caught up with the Kokoda doco on the ABC. Wonderful, but why break it up? It could have easily screened on Sunday night or Monday from 8.30pm.

TONIGHT: NRL and AFL on Nine and Seven. A bit of sport on Foxtel. Crime on the ABC, Lewis in Sydney and Brisbane on Seven, Waking The Dead on the ABC, MasterChef on Ten for 90 minutes. It will end up a very close week because MasterChef, the NRL and the AFL will all offset each other, and it could come down to who’s got the best (of very poor or old) movies between Nine and Seven tomorrow night because the AFL won’t help Ten.

Saturday: Well, no MasterChef on Ten, but AFL, in AFL markets, later in the north. Monk and movies in the north. Movies on Seven and Nine, Blue Murder on the ABC and football on Foxtel/Austar.

Sunday: Marching etc on the ABC, the morning chat shows are rested. Meet The Press is on Ten at 8 am for the politically anxious. AFL on Seven in the afternoon, NRL later in the day, but not nationally, Sunday Night on Seven and Bones, Merlin is back on Ten at 6.30pm, then MasterChef and The Good Wife. A good night. Nine has 60 Minutes after a dog program and Customs from 6.30pm. Underbelly at 8.30 pm. Could this be the clash of the ratings titans?

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports