MasterChef Australia finally did it for Ten last night in metro markets, with the finale and winner topping the ratings. But in the regions it was a different story — Seven and Ten tied with a share of 28.1%. For the main channels the pecking order was very different — Seven with 18.6%, Nine with 17.5% and Ten on 17.3%. As observed on countless occasions in the past, MasterChef just doesn’t do it for regional
TV viewers in this country (and nor does The Block on Nine).

But we can’t begrudge Ten a small gloat or three for the revival in MasterChef Australia this year, and especially for the final. But like the dog that chased and caught the car, Ten now has to capitalise on its win. Viewers tonight will have an opportunity for another judgement tomorrow night with the return of it The Bachelor (aka The Meat Market). Ten will lose viewers compared to last night, but that was always on the cards. The question is for the network is, was last night as good as it gets for 2014?

MasterChef Australia’s Winner’s Announcement had 2.236 million national/ 1.702 million metro/ 534,000 regional viewers. The finale (the bit leading up to the 15 minutes or so at the end) had 2.152 million national/1.654 million metro/498,000 regional viewers. Seven’s programs like The X Factor and House Rules, not to mention My Kitchen Rules regularly had regional audiences of more than 600,000 to close to 900,000 for ordinary eps. Nine’s The Block Glasshouse fell under a million metro viewers last night with only the broadcast on the main channel. The second episode had 1.361 million national/ 927,000 metro/ 434,000 regional viewers. Without the aggregated viewing for the second episode, the sly stunt pulled with the debut episode on Sunday night was pretty meaningless.  The national figure was down 629,000 from Sunday night, which is a pretty big drop.

In the morning the Commonwealth Games on Ten (205,000 yesterday morning to 8.30am) is eating into the audiences of Sunrise (310,000 yesterday, down around 30,000 or so on recent figures) and Today (240,000 yesterday, down around 40,000 to 50,000).

Network channel share:

  1. Ten (35.2%)
  2. Seven (22.4%)
  3. Nine (21.5%)
  4. ABC (17.2%)
  5. SBS (3.8%)

Network main channels:

  1. Ten (25.7%)
  2. Nine (17.2%)
  3. Seven (14.8%)
  4. ABC  (13.2%)
  5. SBS ONE (3.3%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. ONE (7.2%)
  2. 7TWO (4.4%)
  3. 7mate (3.3%)
  4. ABC2, GO (2.6%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. MasterChef Australia Winner Announced  (Ten) –  2.231 million
  2. MasterChef Australia Finale  (Ten) –  2.152 million
  3. Nine News — 1.703 million
  4. Seven News — 1.467 million
  5. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.451 million
  6. The Block Glasshouse (Nine) — 1.361 million
  7. ABC News — 1.261 million
  8. The Force (Seven) — 1.273 million
  9. Nine News 6.30 — 1.180 million
  10. Highway Patrol (Seven) — 1.163 million

Top metro programs:

  1. MasterChef Australia Winner Announced  (Ten) –  1.702 million
  2. MasterChef Australia Finale  (Ten) –  1.654 million
  3. Nine News 6.30 — 1.18o million
  4. Nine News — 1.153 million
  5. Seven News — 1.115 million
  6. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 1.026 million

Losers: No one really, not with Masterchef’s final ep dominating the night.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News 6.30 — 1.181 million
  2. Nine News — 1.153 million
  3. Seven News — 1.115 million
  4. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 1.026 million
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) – 980,000
  6. ABC News  – 846,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 779,000
  8. Four Corners (ABC) — 755,000
  9. The Project 7pm (Ten) – 734,000
  10. Australian Story (ABC) — 716,000

Morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 310,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 240,000
  3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 150,000
  4. News Breakfast (ABC  83,000 + 48,000 on News 24) — 131,000
  5. Mornings (Nine) — 107,000
  6. Studio 1o (Ten) — 70,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox Sports 1 (3.1%)
  2. Fox 8  (2.5%)
  3. TVHITS! (1.8%)
  4. UKTV (1.6%)
  5. Foxtel Movies Premiere (1.5%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. NRL: Canberra v Souths (Fox Sports 1) – 236,000
  2. Monday Night With Matty Johns (Fox Sports 1) — 167,000
  3. AFL: On The Couch (Fox Footy) — 83,000
  4. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy), Family Guy (Fox 8) – 77,000
  5. AFL: Open Mike (Fox Footy) – 73,000

Tonight: It’s back to normal, so how will Ten go? The Commonwealth Games prime time audience last night for Ten’s main channel was 1.059 million people, down 30% from the opening night last Thursday.

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. The data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM. (All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight all people.) and network reports.