The Winners: Seven News was on top with 1.446 million, and the special episode of Spicks and Specks was second at 8.30pm for the ABC with 1.445 million. Seven’s World’s Strictest Parents averaged 1.395 million for Seven at 7.30pm and Today Tonight finished 4th with 1.354 million. Two and a Half Men at 7.30pm averaged 1.233 million for Nine and Home and Away won the 7pm battle with 1.133 million. It finished just in front of the 7pm repeat of Two and a Half Men on Nine with 1.120 million. Nine’s RPA averaged 1.116 million at 8.30pm and the 8pm program, Money For Jam, averaged 1.093 million for Nine and 9th spot. Nine News was 10th with 1.079 million and Seven’s repeat of Criminal Minds averaged 1.059 million and 11th. 12th was the 7pm ABC News with 1.059 million, ahead of A Current Affair with 1.025 million in 13th and then Nine’s 9pm program, The Gift, which averaged 1.005 million. The Librarians finished with 936,000 people. The Inspector Rex repeat at 7.30 pm on SBS, 300,000.

The Losers: United States Of Tara: 737,000 at 9.30pm for the ABC. The central point of this story is wearing thin. Law And Order UK on Ten at 8.30pm, 670,000. Numb3rs after it at 9.30pm, 571,000. Ten’s most watched program last night was the 8pm episode of The Simpsons with 844,000. That was Number 18 on the most watched list. Number 17 was The New Inventors on the ABC in the same timeslot with 849,000. Sums up Ten’s night.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market as did Today Tonight. The 7.30 Report averaged 855,000, Lateline, 217,000, Lateline Business, 138,000. Ten News averaged 804,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 323,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 181,000; the late edition at 9.30pm, 146,000. 7am Sunrise, 405,000, 7am Today, 328,000.

The Stats: Nine won with a 6pm to 12 midnight All People share across two channels (see below) of 28.5% (28.7% a week ago). Seven was second with a single channel figure of 28.1% (28.6%). The ABC was third with 20.2% (19./8%) for two channels, Ten (with two channels) was 4th with 18.3% (17.8%), SBS was on 5.0% for two channels (unchanged). On a two channel basis, Seven won Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. Nine won Melbourne and Brisbane. In regional areas, Prime/7Qld won with 29.2% from WIN/NBN with 28.4%, the ABC on 20.1%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 16.2% and SBS with 6.2%.

Digitally: Once again the figures for the digital channels supply the answer to the night’s ratings performance. On the bare report, Nine won All People from Seven. But when the digital shares are looked at, Seven won from Nine. Nine won All People including the two channels, but Seven won 16 to 39, 18 to 49 and including both channels. On a main channel comparison, Seven won all the demos.

Seven, which still isn’t breaking out its digital channel which is mostly simulcasting its main channel programs, finished on 28.1%. Nine’s share was 28.5, but its GO digital channel averaged 2.30%, so its main channel averaged 26.20%. The ABC finished a clear third with and without the figures for its digital channel. ABC 2 averaged 1.50%, ABC 1, 18.60%. Ten’s digital channel, ONE, averaged 1.20%, Ten’s main channel, 17.10%. SBS 2 averaged 0.20%, SBS One, 4.80%.

Interestingly the daily audience figures for Pay TV in the 6-pm to 10.30-pm timeslot doesn’t show much of an impact, if at all from the new free to air channels. It’s still early days though.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Spicks and Specks celebrated its 200th anniversary last night at 8.30pm and packed an awful lot into half an hour (an hour would have been better). The Librarians finished, with Hamish Blake playing a role in two successive programs on the ABC (he was a panellist on Spicks and Specks half an hour earlier). Is this a record?

As expected Nine’s Money For Jam bled viewers last night at 8pm; the 1.093 million was down 231,000 from its debut a week ago. It is really a free kick for the NAB. Paul Clitheroe knows that the NAB isn’t the only source of info on finance. It again confirms that commercial TV cannot handle financial advice programs because of the potential conflicts of advertising revenue needs over information, especially now with the networks under enormous financial pressures. Time for the ABC to fire up a program that can be independent and stand up to the vested interests.

TONIGHT: Seven’s black hole. Gary Unmarried is just one episode at 7.30pm, backed by a repeat of How I Met Your Mother at 8pm. It gets worse from then on. Nine at least has Getaway and the AFL Footy Show for those who like the aerial game and can stand the program’s hosts. The NRL version is best forgotten. The ABC has that powerful BBC doco on pedigree dogs at 8.30pm and then Q&A at 9.30pm. All worth staying with.

SBS has its food and gardening hour from 7.30pm. Ten has Rush at 8.30pm. Before that it’s Hamish and Andy’s American Adventure. It will be worth tasting to see what it looks like.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports