The Winners:

Gruen Nation and Yes We Canberra (courtesy of The Chaser): politics made humorous. At last. Viewers responded, but don’t tell the ABC. It doesn’t chase ratings does it?

  1. Gruen Nation (ABC) (9pm) — 1.6 million
  2. Spicks and Specks (ABC (8.30pm) — 1.499 million
  3. Yes We Canberra (ABC) (9.45pm) (debut) — 1.493 million
  4. Seven News (6pm)  — 1.454 million
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) (6.30pm) — 1.421 million
  6. Nine News (6pm) — 1.339 million
  7. World’s Strictest Parents (Seven) (7.30pm) — 1.227 million
  8. Two and a Half Men (Nine) (7.30pm) — 1.207 million
  9. The Farmer wants a Wife (Nine) (8.30pm) — 1.192 million
  10. A Current Affair (Nine) (6.30pm) — 1.159 million
  11. Hot Property (Nine) (8pm) (debut) — 1.158 million
  12. ABC News (7pm) — 1.099 million
  13. Two and a Half Men (Nine) (7pm) — 1.059 million
  14. Home and Away (Seven) (7pm) — 1.045 million
  15. The 7.30 Report (ABC) (7.30pm) — 1.011 million

The Losers: Ten, after The 7pm Project. Life is tough with the MasterChef gone. The first S-x and the City movie, 460,000 on Nine from 9.30pm. I thought it would have done better.

News & CA:

Lateline and Lateline Business benefited from the Yes We Canberra lead in. In fact the integration of Yes We Canberra and Lateline was very well done and probably meant Tony Jones had tens of thousands of new viewers. Seven News again lost Melbourne to Nine News. Seven won the other markets. Today Tonight won all five metro markets. For some reason ACA fell to 283,000 in Sydney, which is not what it has been getting.

  1. Seven News (6pm)  — 1.454 million
  2. Today Tonight (Seven) (6.30pm) — 1.421 million
  3. Nine News (6pm) — 1.339 million
  4. A Current Affair (Nine) (6.30pm) — 1.159 million
  5. ABC News (7pm) — 1.099 million
  6. The 7.30 Report (ABC) (7.30pm) — 1.011 million
  7. The 7pm Project (Ten) (7pm) — 934,000
  8. Ten News (5pm) — 890,000
  9. Lateline (ABC) (10.20pm) — 591,000. (A record audience)
  10. Ten late News/Sports Tonight ( Ten) (10.30pm) — 278,000
  11. Lateline Business (ABC) (10.55pm) — 230,000
  12. SBS News (6.30pm) — 188,000
  13. SBS News (9.30pm) — 93,000

In the morning:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) (7am) — 384,000
  2. Today (Nine) (7am) — 363,000

The Stats:

  • FTA: Nine won with a share of 27.1%, from the ABC with 25.6%, Seven on 25.1%, Ten back on 17.7% and SBS on 4.5%. Ten leads the week with 27.5%, from Seven with 26.2% and Nine on 24.5%.
  • Main Channel: Nine won the main channels with a share of 25.0%, from Seven with 23.4%, ABC 1 was on 23.0%, Ten on 17.1% and SBS ONE, 4.0%. Ten leads the week with 26.2%, from Seven on 23.6% and Nine on 21.8%.
  • Digital: GO won with a share of 2.0%, from ABC 2 on 2.0%, 7TWO on 1.7%, ABC 3 and ONE each with 0.6% and SBS TWO with 0.5%. That’s a total share for the six FTA digital channels of 7.5%. GO leads the week with 2.7%, from 7TWO on 2.6%. Adelaide at a total share for the digitals of 9.7%.
  • Pay TV: Nine won with 22.6%, from the ABC with 21.3%, Seven on 20.9%, Ten on 14.7%, Pay TV’s 100 plus channels, 14.4% and SBS, 3.8%. The 11 FTA channels had a total share of 85.6%.
  • Regional: A narrow win to Prime/7Qld with 28.8%, from WIN/NBN with 28.7%, the ABC third with 20.9%, SC Ten was on 16.7% and SBS, 4.9%. Prime/7Qld won the main channels from WIN/NBN with the ABC third. GO won the digitals from ABC 2 and then 7TWO. WIN/NBN lead the week with 27.5%, from Prime/7Qld with 26.8%. The Chaser’s Yes We Canberra and Gruen Nation didn’t make it to the top ten programs in regional areas.

Major Markets: The Chaser’s Yes We Canberra, Gruen Nation and Spicks and Specks blitzed Sydney, but weren’t as popular in Melbourne (and they reckon they get comedy down there), Brisbane, and Perth.

  • Sydney: It was the ABC from Seven, Nine and Ten (Ten came fourth everywhere). It was the ABC from Nine and Seven in the main channels (where Ten came fourth everywhere). 7TWO won the digitals from ABC 2 and GO. Seven leads the week from Ten and Nine.
  • Melbourne: Nine won here from the ABC and Seven, while in the main channels, it was Nine from Seven and the ABC. GO won the digitals from ABC 2 and 7TWO. Ten leads the week from Nine and Seven.
  • Brisbane: It was Nine from the ABC and Seven here in the overall rankings and in the main channels. GO won the digitals from ABC 2 and 7TWO. Ten leads the week from Nine and Seven.
  • Adelaide: Seven won here from the ABC and Nine in both the overall and the main channels. 7TWO and ABC 2 shared won the digitals, with GO third. Seven leads the week from Ten and Nine.
  • Perth: It was Seven from Nine and the ABC here in both the overall and the main channels. GO won the digitals from ABC 2 and 7TWO. Seven leads the week from Ten and Nine.

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

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Gruen Nation on the ABC started OK last night. A bit predictable and the producers should remember that political parties these days use other method of communicating: radio, newspapers, fliers, posters, twitter, YouTube, Facebook etc. Of all the programs on TV, Gruen Nation should have at least touched on some of those last night, seeing its aimed at the Twitter generation. The absence of any mention of social media was a big gap last night.

There should have been someone skilled or knowledge about social media critiquing that. Let’s hope it comes, as well as a comparison of our TV ads with those used in the recent UK election and in the recent US primaries for the November mid-term polls.

Tracking social media is something The 7.30 Report, ACA and TT should be doing, but they all have their formats and are sticking to them.

The Chaser’s Yes We Canberra was more of the same, but much needed seeing the two of the three commercial networks have lost their funny bones. Ten is the honourable exception for The 7pm Project.

By the way, the excerpt in Gruen Nation from the 1993 debate between John Hewson and Paul Keating shows us how far political debate in this country has fossilised (and how red Kerry O’Brien’s hair was 17 years ago).

TONIGHT: Seven’s black hole, apart from The Matty Johns Show in Sydney at 7.30pm and perhaps in Brisbane in the same timeslot. Nine has Sea Patrol. Ten has Recruits returning at 8pm; Bondi Vet half an hour earlier and The 7pm Project. Rush is on at 8.30pm and its big test tonight with no MasterChef to hold its hand. Getaway on Nine at 7.30pm has clear air now without MasterChef on Ten. Time for its ratings to lift.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports