First off, it was Seven’s night in metro and regional markets as Border Security returned with solid figures, while Home and Away and Criminal Minds also did well. The Block Glasshouse had 1.516 million national/1.024 million metro/ 492,000 regional viewers. They were OK figures, but not dominant. This series is not generating the buzz that earlier series have done.

But it was an interesting night for ABC TV and the Ten Network. The ABC debuted two new programs — Utopia and Reality Check — and neither of them set the world on fire. Take Reality Check  (753,000 national/ 559,000 metro/ 194,000 regional viewers). Three years too late (after all reality programs are not a recent development in TV). There’s too much Gruen in the format (it’s from the same producers, so it’s a form of brand extension) and I think a lot of the comments last night were too TV producer centric and had already been worked out by viewers of  reality TV programs. It’s just a clips show interspersed by some chat — and will it discuss the current trend in reality TV programming where viewers drop off in the second half of the season?

Utopia has some chance — the 1.060 million national/ 778,000 metro/ 282,000 regional viewers at least stayed with what was a flat first effort. It’s better than The Hollowmen, not as good as Frontline (and I know comparisons are invidious), and well behind the best in class — The Games with John Clarke, Gina Riley and Brian Dawe. But there was a tune in from the fresh ep of QI (912,000 national viewers) at 8pm. There was also a big turnoff from Utopia to Reality Check of 300,000 viewers, which is not a good look for the latter program, but a good positive for Utopia. ABC Local Radio has done everything to promote both programs in the past couple of days (in Sydney at least) with interviews galore. At times it sounded like a commercial radio network plugging a show on a commercial TV network owned by the same company!

And that brings us Ten and The Bachelor — 882,000 national/ 682,000 metro/ 199,000 regional viewers, and then Wonderland — 706,000 national/519,000 metro/187,000 regional viewers. The former will hold its figures, even though it is utter dross, the latter will fade because viewers know it to be a waste of their time in watching.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (30.5%)
  2. Nine (29.2%)
  3. Ten (17.7%)
  4. ABC (17.5%)
  5. SBS (5.1%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (21.1%)
  2. Seven (20.9%)
  3. ABC (13.0%)
  4. Ten (12.5%)
  5. SBS ONE (4.3%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7TWO (5.7%)
  2. GO (5.0%)
  3. 7mate (3.9%)
  4. Eleven (3.6%)
  5. Gem (3.2%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.678 million
  2. The Block Glasshouse (Nine) — 1.516 million
  3. Border Security (Seven) — 1.483 million
  4. The Force (Seven) – 1.477 million
  5. Seven News — 1.456 million
  6. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.374 million
  7. Criminal Minds (Seven) — 1.267 million
  8. ABC News  – 1.193 million
  9. A Current Affair (Nine) – 1.181 million
  10. Nine News 6.30 — 1.070 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.171 million
  2. Seven News — 1.084 million
  3. Nine News 6.30 — 1.067 million
  4. The Block Glasshouse (Nine) — 1.024 million

Losers: Utopia, Reality Check, Wonderland and The Bachelor. For one reason or another, not as good as the promos promised.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News — 1.171 million
  2. Seven News — 1.084 million
  3. Nine News 6.30  – 1.069 million
  4. A Current Affair (Nine) – 987,000
  5. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 987,000
  6. ABC News  – 792,000
  7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 705,000
  8. 7.30 (ABC1) — 683,000
  9. Ten Eyewitness News — 642,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 514,000

Morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 352,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 340,000
  3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 169,000
  4. News Breakfast (ABC 91,000 + 48,000 on News 24) — 139,000
  5. Mornings (Nine) — 125,000
  6. Studio 1o (Ten) — 49,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox 8  (2.9%)
  2. TVHITS!  (2.6%)
  3. LifeStyle  (2.01)
  4. Fox Classics (1.6%
  5. UKTV (1.5%))

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. The Recruit (Fox 8) – 123,000
  2. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 76,000
  3. NRL: 360 (Fox Sports 1) – 71,000
  4. AFL: 360 (FoxFooty) – 63,000
  5. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 58,000

*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.