Last night’s TV ratings
The Winners: 14 programs with a million or more viewers. Ten’s So You Think You Can Dance Australia was the top program with 1.467 million (a low for Sunday and Monday nights so far). CSI at 8.30pm was next with 1.462 million, followed by Seven News (1.462 million), Home And Away (which won 7pm with 1.437 million), Today Tonight (1.420 million) and Seven’s Border Security returned at 7.30pm and averaged a lowish 1.351 million. The Force was next with 1.342 million, Nine News averaged 1.270 million and Desperate Houses averaged 1.270 million for its return at 8.30pm. A Current Affair had 1.187 million and Seven’s new soap, Dirty Sexy Money, averaged 1.157 million viewers at 9.30pm. The 7pm ABC News was next with 1.115 million, Nine’s A Year With The Royal Family dipped to 1.067 million and CSI New York averaged 1.017 million at 9.30pm. Top Gear averaged 749,000 on SBS at 7.30pm and was entertaining. 

The Losers: Australian Story at 8pm. Saving the whales looked emotive in the publicity but viewers found other things to watch and it only averaged 520,000 people. It was the first program for 2008 and it is a show that builds. Two and A Half Men at 7pm for Nine, 874,000. It’s crippling Nine’s nights. Good News Week had 990,000 on Ten after the dancing show, which isn’t a loss but a million for the first one back would have been better. The Biggest Loser, 947,000 at 7pm. Weak!

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Melbourne and Brisbane. Today Tonight won everywhere bar Melbourne. ACA had a low 282,000 in Sydney and the 7pm ABC News beat Nine to run second in the same market. Ten News, 809,000; Late News/Sports Tonight, 263,000. Nightline, 205,000. The 7.30 Report (660,000) was crushed by the opposition on SBS and the commercials. Lateline averaged 358,000; Lateline Business, 180,000. SBS News, 194,000 at 6.30pm; 143,000 at 9.30pm. 7am Sunrise, 392,000; 7am Today, 278,000.

The Stats: Seven won with 29.9% from Nine with 25.9% and Ten with 24.0%. The ABC averaged 12.9% and SBS 7.4%. Seven won all markets bar Brisbane where Nine snuck through to win the night. Seven now leads the week 27.2% to 27.1% for Nine and 25.4% for Ten. In regional areas a win for Prime/7Qld with 29.1% from WIN/NBN for Nine with 27.8%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 21.0%, the ABC on 13.5% and SBS with 8.6%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: A competitive night with good choice for viewers, but one which showed no change from last year with Seven scoring a solid win. Ten is a one-hit wonder on Monday nights and it wouldn’t have liked the way The Biggest Loser sagged under a million at 7pm on the second most important night of the week. Dance could end up as TBL‘s replacement next year if the decline continues. Nine also had one really strong program in CSI at 8.30pm, but that had a battle with the tail-end of Dance. Tonight there’s Monster House on Nine at 7.30pm, then Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The two have been heavily promoted, but it will be another night of trepidation at Nine. Seven has two hours of It Take Two and then All Saints from 9.30pm. The ABC has the first part of a three-part series on Mary Hardy, an early star of local TV. She was a giant in Melbourne in her day and gave Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton a run for the limelight.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports