A mixed night for Seven and Nine last night, as the NRL and the two Footy Shows (AFL and NRL) produced weaker results than their season debuts a week ago. In fact both Nine and Seven drew the night in metro markets with 31.6% each, although Nine won the main channels by the smallest of margins, 25.6% to 25.5%. Ten was fourth after ABC/ABC1, but the new episodes of Jamie Oliver’s 15-Minute Meals and bringing forward of the fresh episodes of Law and Order: SVU to 8.30pm boosted the network’s main channel share to 9.4% from last week’s record Thursday low of 7.3%.

My Kitchen Rules ( 2.48 million national/1.6 million metro/804,000 regional) and The Block All Stars (1.89 million national/1.3 million metro/588,000 regional) dominated the night as the first-up surge for the NRL and the two footy shows faded.

Footnote: Know when MKR and The Block All Stars climax on Seven and Nine? Well, no one is saying, but they are both watching each other to try and avoid having their grand finals on the same night, which would cancel each other out to an extent (MKR would grab more viewers, but it wouldn’t be a mega audience for either). The Block auctions are down for March 19, which is next Tuesday, according to this report. If that happens, MKR could end on Wednesday of next week or on Monday.

Network share:Seven (31.6%)

  1. Nine (31.6%)
  2. ABC  (16.5%)
  3. Ten (15.2%)
  4. SBS (5.2%)

Main channels:

  1. Nine (25.6%)
  2. Seven (25.5%)
  3. ABC1 (12.0%)
  4. Ten (9.4%)
  5. SBS ONE (4.3%)

Digital channels:

  1. GO (3.6%)
  2. 7TWO (3.5%)
  3. Eleven (3.2%)
  4. ABC2 (2.8%)
  5. 7mate (2.6%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) – 2.482 million
  2. The Block All Stars (Nine) – 1.890 million
  3. Seven News — 1.687 million
  4. Nine News — 1.570 million.
  5. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.374 million.
  6. ABC1 News — 1.306 million
  7. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.134 million
  8. The Footy Shows (Nine) — 1.113 million
  9. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.077 million
  10. Bones (Seven) — 1.076 million

Metro winners:

  1. My Kitchen Rules< (Seven) — 1.679 million
  2. The Block All Stars (Nine) — 1.304 million
  3. Seven News — 1.115 million
  4. Nine News — 1.064 million

Metro and regional: Nine won Sydney and Melbourne (main channels and overall), thanks to the NRL and the AFL Footy Show. Seven won Brisbane overall, but Nine won the main channels. Seven won Adelaide and Perth in both. GO won the digitals. In regional markets, Prime/7Qld won overall from WIN/NBN, but WIN/NBN won the main channels thanks to the NRL, with Prime/7Qld second. More NRL tonight means another tight finish, but the NAB Cup final tonight will help Seven.

Losers: Well, Ten, but Jamie Oliver’s 15-Minute Mealsdid manage to grab more viewers (around 387,000 nationally/306,000 for episode one at 7.30pm, 375,000/299,000 for episode two at 8pm) than Idol did last week. 

News and current affairs:

  1. Seven News – 1.115 million
  2. Nine News – 1.064 million
  3. A Current Affair (Nine) – 911,000
  4. Today Tonight (Seven) — 875,000
  5. ABC News – 949,000
  6. Ten News — 639,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC1) — 612,000
  8. The Project (Ten) — 471,000
  9. Lateline (ABC1) — 219,000
  10. Ten Late News — 169,000

Morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 369,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 352,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1) – 54,000 + 43,000 on News 24

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox 8 – 2.8%
  2. LifeStyle — 2.5%
  3. UKTV – 2.3%
  4. TV1  – 1.9%.
  5. Sky News – 1.5%

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Grand Designs (LifeStyle) – 81,000
  2. The Simpsons (Fox 8) – 75,000
  3. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 71,000
  4. Coronation Street (UKTV) –67,000
  5. Tosh.0 (Comedy Channel) – 61,000

Tonight: NRL on Nine. The NAB Cup AFL final on Seven in AFL states and 7mate elsewhere. ABC1 has The Dr Blake Mysteries, after the return of Who’s Been Sleeping In My House. Ten has shifted The Living Room to 7.30pm and American Idol to 8.30pm (who cares?). The third cricket Test from India may be on Foxtel if the weather clears. Formula 1 and other cars on Ten. NAB Cup final and Super Rugby on pay TV as well, and the A-League soccer.

Saturday: NRL on Foxtel, A-league soccer, and Super Rugby and test cricket. Paradise on ABC1. Movies on Seven and Nine. Ten has a movie (repeat) as well. Formula 1 and other cars on Ten.

Sunday: The morning chats.  NRL on Foxtel, A-League soccer, Super Rugby and Test cricket (hopefully) as well. NRL also on Nine. Sunday Night and Downton Abbey on Seven. The Block All Stars and 60 Minutes on Nine. The final of MasterChef: The Professionals on Ten, after the start of The Biggest Loser at 6.45pm, which is after the telecast of the Grand Prix from Melbourne. ABC1 has Midsomer Murders.

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. 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.