The Winners: Seven News was on top with 1.242 million viewers, Today Tonight was second with 1.230 million and Nine’s Getaway was third with 1.165 million. CSI returned to Nine at 8.30pm with 1.144 million viewers (and together they helped Nine win the evening). Home and Away won the 7pm battle with 1.083 million viewers, Nine News was 5th with 1.038 million and A Current Affair was next with 1.017 million. The 7pm ABC News was 8th with 1.016 million and the 7pm repeat of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.013 million. Glee on Ten averaged 960,000 and Rush at 8.30pm, 944,000 (and is starting to fade). Both beat Seven’s movie.

The Losers: The NRL Footy Show: 352,000 in Sydney (225,000) and Brisbane (127,000) — and it wasn’t in Melbourne as a guide earlier in the week seemed to suggest. Nine repeated The Mentalist in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. It averaged 488,000. Seven’s movie The Chronicles of Narnia from 7.30pm: 892,000. Not so much a loser, but didn’t the network have anything better? Thursday nights is now “available” to any network because the footy shows are over the year. Nine starts Secret Millionaire next week. Deal or No Deal at 5.30pm, 594,000, Hot Seat on Nine at 5.30pm, 610,000.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market as did Today Tonight. Seven News fell under 300,000 viewers in Sydney last night, continuing its recent slump. Nine was lower, as was ACA. In Melbourne Nine News is unusually weak at the moment. Ten News averaged 747,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 369,000. The 7.30 Report averaged 777,000, Q&A, 473,000, Lateline, 290,000; Lateline Business, 148,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 164,000, 185,000 for the 9.30pm edition. 7am Sunrise, 384,000, 7am Today, 321,000.

The Stats: Nine won 6pm to Midnight All people easily. Ten won 16 to 39s and 18 to 49s in the 6pm to 10.30pm commercial time zone. Nine had a combined share of 30.0% (34.9% with the AFL Footy Show Grand Final episode last week) and won from Seven with 26.7% (24.3%), Ten with 22.1% (21.5%), the ABC with 16.3% (14.6%) and SBS on 4.8% (4.6%).

Digitally: ABC 2 won with a share of 1.50% (ABC 1 was on 14.80%), from Ten’s ONE with 1.40% (20.70% for Ten’s main channel), Nine’s Go with 1.30% (28.70% for Nine’s main channel); SBS TWO was on 0.50% and SBS ONE with 4.40%.

In regional areas, Nine won through WIN/NBN with 31.2%, from Prime/7Qld with 27.3%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 20.4%), the ABC was on 15.8% and SBS on 5.2%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Nine won and its close for the week. Getaway, CSI won the night for Nine with strong audience figures from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Ten Nine fell back like everyone else at 9.30pm.

Has Seven network’s News and Current Affairs mob gone to sleep? We have had big disasters in and around Samoa and in Indonesia, but just perfunctory coverage on Seven (and Nine) so far. 60 Minutes says it has coverage of the Samoan and Indonesian quakes and the aftermath; on just one segment. I hope it’s a long one. Seven hasn’t had a special report, like it has had in the past with other big news stories. Both are major disasters in countries near us. Thought it would have rated something, especially as Samoans, Tongans and Indonesians live here and move to and fro regularly (and quite a few New Zealanders have links as well)

TONIGHT: Seven will do better tonight with Better Homes and Gardens at 7.30pm. Apart from that there’s not much else on anywhere. No football (the one day cricket on Foxtel). Tired movies. Ten repeats NCIS Los Angeles. That was a last minute switch to rescreen it here after it was swamped on Wednesday by Hey Hey.

SATURDAY: A desert. Funniest Home Videos on Nine. Seven’s The Great Outdoors seems to have gone on a mystery trip to where we know not at the moment. Seven has tired movies Nine repeats the Hey Hey reunion at 9.30pm. That should be enough to push Nine over the line for the week. Ten has tired movies. Who cares.

SUNDAY: Grand Final Day on Nine for the NRL. 60 Minutes straight after at 7.30pm. If its audience falls away again, the program may not see its 30th birthday. Rescue Special Ops. Seven runs dead against the NRL, not worth watching. Ten has Australian Idol and Rove. The ABC has the last part of Yellowstone and Midsomer Murders — the ABC to cause the damage, again. But Midsomer Murders ends tonight, so next Sunday, back to normal.

A Reminder: Daylight Saving Sunday and that will knock figures around for a day or three. Monday is a holiday in NSW as well.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports