The Winners: Seven News continued at the top with 1.646 million people, followed by Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation at 7.30pm to 8.30pm for Ten with 1.625 million. NCIS averaged 1.589 million for Ten at 8.30pm and Seven’s The Zoo had a solid 1.472 million at 7.30pm. Today Tonight was 5th with 1.450 million and Find My Family averaged 1.391 million at 8pm for Seven. Ten’s NCIS repeat at 9.30pm averaged 1.315 million at 9.30pm and MasterChef Australia was 8th with 1.278 million. A Current Affair was 9th with 1.211 million and Nine’s 7pm repeat of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.201 million people. Seven’s All Saints averaged 1.199 million and Nine News was 12th with 1.192 million. Home and Away averaged 1.183 million. Two and a Half Men averaged 1.1 million at 8.30pm and 14th, next was the 7pm ABC News with 1.092 million and Ten News averaged 1.012 million for its second night in a row in the million viewer group. The 9pm episode of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.005 million. Seven’s 10 years Younger at 9.30pm averaged 978,000. Home Made averaged 949,000 at 7.30pm to 8.30pm, which was really poor. Deal Or No Deal, 901,000 at 5.30pm, Hot Seat at 5.30pm on Nine, 576,000.

The Losers: Nothing really. Nine’s mix of a movie at 9.30pm (362,000 in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and Kitchen Nightmares (225,000 in Melbourne until 10.30pm) and then Hell’s Kitchen (in Melbourne from 10.30pm with 159,000) continues to suggest that Nine is throwing the night away. It did have Underbelly Uncut for two hours from 9.30pm everywhere but Melbourne. That ended and has left the Network weaker in the schedule.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market as did Today Tonight (including a very narrow 1000 viewer win in Melbourne). Nine’s News continues very weak in Brisbane. Ten’s late News/Sports Tonight averaged a high 576,000 because of the solid lead-ins. The 7.30 Report averaged 886,000. Lateline, 227,000. Lateline Business, 140,000. Nine’s late News, 224,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 174,000, the 9.30pm edition, 216,000. 7am Sunrise, 354,000, 7am Today, 300,000.

The Stats: Ten won with a 6pm to midnight All People 30.5% (29.5% last week) from Seven with 28.0% (27.8%), Nine with 22.8% (23.8%), the ABC unchanged with 14.6% and SBS on 4.1% (4.3%). Ten won all the demos as well. Ten won all five metro markets. Seven leads the week, 27.0% to Ten on 26.9% and Nine on 25.0%. But no joy in regional areas where Talk’ ‘Bout Your Generation isn’t as popular. Prime/7Qld won with 30.0%, from Southern Cross (Ten) on 27.5%, WIN/NBN with 22.8%, the ABC with 14.4% and SBS with 5.2%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Another night of squeezing as Ten, helped by Seven, pushed Nine right out of the picture. It was Ten’s best audience figure of the year so far. Nine’s persistence with the Home Made disaster at 7.30pm though contributed. It was down around 600,000 on its Ten competition and over 400,000 from the Seven programs. In fact ACA at 6.30pm was Nine’s most watched program at 1.2 million (Seven’s News at 6pm was its most watched with 1.6 million) But Seven’s fall over the evening was far gentler than Nine’s drop. In contrast Ten’s audience fell after the News finished at 6pm and then built to peak from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, which will get you home most night if those peaks are higher than the competitions.

TONIGHT: Rugby League dominates with the first State Of Origin game from Melbourne. That should push Nine into the lead for the week, which it will try to build on tomorrow night with the Footy Shows. The State Of Origin will be live on the East Coast, including Melbourne. The irony of that won’t be lost on Rugby League fans in Melbourne who don’t see any games until very late on Friday night, or early Saturday (when broadcast on Nine), or on Foxtel. But some NRL games can only be seen live in pubs and clubs which take Austar in Melbourne and they are few and far between.

With the Rugby League on Nine, Seven and Ten have opted for soft programming. Thank God You’re Here has gone away for a week. Criminal Minds at 8.30pm is a repeat. The Kath and Kim movie slots in at 7.30pm. Ten has a fresh MasterChef Australia that ends at 7.30pm. Then its repeats of the Simpsons and Law and Order SVU at 8.30pm. Then it’s a fresh Numb3rs at 9.30pm (who cares, no one is watching it). SBS shouldn’t bother viewers tonight. Only the ABC has a genuine alterative to the biffo with fresh episodes of Spicks and Specks at 8.30 pm and a fresh Chaser at 9pm. The New Inventors at 8pm is fresh as well.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports