Glenn Dyer's TV ratings: The Block building back up

Channel Ten has a new true-crime show to search for its missing prime-time ratings.

Nine ‘s night — Seven was again kept in the hunt in metro markets by wins in Adelaide and especially Perth (where Seven with a 43.8 share beat Nine by 22.8 percentage points, one of the biggest wins in a market for some time). The Block was not well supported in Perth, but did very, very well elsewhere. Despite a solid showing by The Block, Seven won the regional markets (overall and the main channels) by a narrow margin from Nine.

Nine was strongest along the east coast, thanks especially to The Block, which averaged 2.430 million national/ 1.636 million metro/ 794,000 regional viewers, its best so far this season (which is coming to a close). Other popular programs such as House Husbands, The Time of Our Lives, Elementary seemed to be a bit weaker last night. MasterChef Australia, though, had a better night, averaging 1.139 million national/ 853,000 metro/ 286,000 regional viewers. Seven’s A Place to Call Home clearly won the battle of the family-friendly dramas at 8.30pm with 1.814 million national/ 1.130 million metro/ 684,000 regional viewers. Nine’s House Husbands had 1.326 million national/ 924,000 metro/ 402,000 regional viewers, and The Time Of Our Lives on ABC1 had 974,000 national/ 675,000 metro/ 301,000 regional viewers.

A total of 819,000 nationally watched (598,000 in metro markets and 221,000 in the regions) last night’s historic win by Andy Murray in the men’s title at Wimbledon — 418,000 watched on Seven’s main channel, 401,000 watched on 7TWO.

Repeats are the bane of TV viewers, so what are we to make of tonight, where they feature heavily on ABC1? Well, not quite repeats, more returns. So what do Kevin Rudd and Paul Barry have in common? Well, watch Four Corners for the first significant TV report on the Rudd return, and then stay with ABC1 for the first Media Watch with another returnee in the chair — host Paul Barry.

Ten also has a return to offer viewers tonight — it’s called Wanted — and it’s nothing but a rehash of that tired old format: America/Australia/Kenya etc Most Wanted. I think it will be a blast from the past for many viewers. It will have to be a pretty good program to top last night’s special episdoe of Sunday Night (1.929 million national/ 1.221 million metro/ 708,000 regional viewers) on the man widely suspected of the Judge Opas and other killings in the 1980s. It is really a search by Ten for its missing prime-time ratings.

Seven won last week both overall and the main channels in metro and regional markets. A total of 1.759 million people watched the record loss inflicted on the Wobblies by the Lions on Saturday night. Some 1.332 million watched across the national on Ten (862,000 in the five metro markets) and 427,000 on pay TV.

Network channel share:

Nine (30.5%)
Seven (29.7%)
Ten (19.8%)
ABC (14.5%)
SBS (5.5%)

Network main channels:

Nine (23.1%)
Seven (21.3%)
Ten (14.1%)
ABC1 (11.6%)
SBS ONE (4.7%)

Top digital channels:

7TWO (5.1%)
GO (4.3%)
Eleven (3.4%)
7mate (3.3%)
Gem (3.1%)

Top 10 national programs:

The Block (Nine) — 2.430 million
Nine News — 2.270 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.929 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.868 million
Seven News — 1.843 million
A Place To Call Home (Seven) — 1.814 million
Border Security (Seven) — 1.542 million
Grand Designs (ABC1) — 1.458 million
House Husbands (Nine) — 1.326 million
Dream Build (ABC1) — 1.156 million

Top metro programs:

The Block (Nine) — 1.636 million
Nine News> — 1.498 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.225 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.221 million
— 1.214 million
A Place To Call Home (Seven) — 1.130 million

Losers: No one really.

Metro news and current affairs:

Nine News — 1.498 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.225 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.221 million
Seven News — 1.214 million
ABC1 News — 763,000
Ten News — 498,000
SBS ONE News — 197,000
The Observer Effect (SBS ONE) — 93,000

Metro morning TV:

Weekend Sunrise (Seven) – 366,000
Weekend Today (Nine) — 311,000
Insiders (ABC1, 178,000 News 24, 84,000) — 262,000
Financial Review Sunday (Nine) — 220,000
Landline (ABC1) — 191,000
The Bolt Report (Ten) — 168,000
Offsiders (ABC1) — 143,000
Inside Business (ABC1) — 132,000
Meet The Press repeat (Ten) — 132,000
Meet The Press (Ten) — 112,000
The Bolt Report repeat (Ten) — 93,000

Top five pay TV channels:

Fox Footy – 5.4%
Fox Sports 1 – 3.4%
Foxtel Movie – 3.3%
Fox Sports 3 - 2.0%.
TV 1, Fox 8 – 1.8%

Top five pay TV programs:

AFL: Essendon v Port Adelaide (Fox Footy) – 242,000
NRL: Souths v Auckland (Fox Sports 1) – 225,000
AFL: Melbourne v Sydney (Fox Footy) – 164,000
NRL Canberra v North Qld (Fox Sports 1) – 132,000
AFL: Fremantle v St Kilda (Fox) – 122,000

*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.) Plus network reports.