Viewers only wanted one program last night: My Kitchen Rules. And viewers only wanted one network last night: Seven with its main channel leading the night from 5.30pm to 10.30pm. MKR snapped up an average of 2.5 million viewers across the country, including 1.687 million in the metros. It was a million viewers ahead of the second most-watched program nationally in Home and Away, and more than half a million ahead of the second most watched metro program in Seven News/ Today Tonight. Downton Abbey returned strongly for its final season on Seven (despite ending in the UK at Christmas) with 1.255 million national viewers, with 842,000 of those in the metros.

So Seven won the metros and the regions in Total People and all the major demos. Nine and Ten finished well behind Seven. Australia’s Got Talent averaged 1.040 million for Nine, which is barely OK. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here couldn’t crack the million mark nationally and ended the night with 935,000. Again that was barely OK for Ten and the performances of Talent and Celebrity last night tell us that viewers these days know all the tricks of the TV trade and will only focus on one program each night – and that is MKR at the moment, as it has been for the past five years or so.

The regional top five were: MKR with 816,000, Home and Away on 543,000, Downton Abbey was third with 413,000, The Chase Australia (5.30pm) was on 389,000 and Nine News was fifth with 366,000 viewers.

In breakfast, Sunrise with 304,000 viewers was just behind Today on 308,000, but was ahead nationally, 512,000 to 461,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (34.3%)
  2. Nine (23.7%)
  3. ABC (19.0%)
  4. Ten (18.6%)
  5. SBS (4.4%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (28.4%)
  2. Nine (16.9%)
  3. ABC (14.5%)
  4.  Ten (13.3%)
  5. SBS ONE (3.0%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. GO (3.6%)
  2. Eleven (3.4%)
  3. 7TWO (3.3%)
  4. ABC 2 (2.9%))
  5. 7mate (2.7%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. MKR (Seven) — 2.502 million
  2. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.489 million
  3. Nine News — 1.420 million
  4. Seven News — 1.317 million
  5. Downton Abbey (Seven) — 1.255 million
  6. 7pm ABC News — 1.218 million
  7. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.163 million
  8. 7.30 (ABC) — 1.072 million
  9. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.066 million
  10. Australia’s Got Talent (Nine) — 1.040 million

Top metro programs:

  1. MKR (Seven) — 1.687 million
  2. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.116 million
  3. Seven News — 1.060 million
  4. Nine News — 1.054 million
  5. Nine News 6.30 — 1.017 million

Losers: Nine and Ten are just being blown away by MKR, Home and Away and other programs, helped by The Chase Australia at 5.30pm.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.116 million
  2. Seven News — 1.060 million
  3. Nine News — 1.054 million
  4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.017 million
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) – 885,000
  6. ABC News – 870,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 747,000
  8. Australian Story (ABC) — 778,000
  9. Media Watch (ABC) — 655,000
  10. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 652,000

Morning TV:

  1. Today (Nine) – 308,000
  2. Sunrise (Seven) – 304,000
  3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 134,000
  4. News Breakfast (ABC 81,000 + 51,000 on News 24) — 132,000
  5. Today Extra (Nine) — 115,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 79,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. TVHITS  (2.5%)
  2. Fox Sports 2 (2.3%)
  3. UKTV (2.0%)
  4. Fox 8  (1.9%)
  5. LifeStyle  (1.6%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. First cricket test; NZ v Australia Day 4 (Fox Sports 4) – 84,000
  2. Breaking Ground (Fox Sports 4) — 78,000
  3. First cricket test; NZ v Australia Day 4 (Fox Sports 4) – 71,000
  4. Walking Dead (Fx) – 69,000
  5. Walking Dead (Fx) – 60,000

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2015. 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.