Glenn Dyer's TV ratings: Poms, Poms everywhere!

It's the week for British sport, with Brits excelling at cricket, tennis, rugby and cycling.

So close, and yet so far … the first Test, which finished late in the evening, allowing the Tour de France coverage on SBS One to be picked up, and that was also a great spectacle and performance by another “British” sportsman — Kenyan born Chris Froome, who only has to stay upright and on his bike and he will be the winner next Sunday night. Nine won last night nationally through solid wins in the metros and regional markets, thanks especially to the cricket and The Block.

Outside of the cricket, Nine depended on The Block (2.561 national/ 1.758 million metro/ 803,000 regional viewers) and 60 Minutes (2.033 million/ 1.400 million metro/ 633,000 regional viewers) — without the former Nine would have struggled last night in the main channels. Seven’s A Place To Call Home is finishing series 1 with a wet sail — averaging 1.934 million national/ 1.250 million metro/ 676,000 regional viewers for the second-last episode of this series last night. No wonder Seven has confirmed a second series for this program.

Session one of the final day of the First Ashes Test on Gem averaged 976,000 national/ 679,000/ 297,000 regional viewers. Session two averaged 782,000 national/ 558,000 metro/ 224,000. regional viewers. Fox Sports 2 viewers for session one were 457,000, and 314,000 for session two. That meant the total TV audience (not including pubs and clubs) was 1.433 million for session 1 and 1.096 for session two.

In the morning chats, ABC1’s Insiders is now well in front of the self-important mutterings of Andrew Bolt on Ten by a country kilometre and more, not to mention the still weak offerings on Meet The Press on Ten. And the smug, self-satisfied tone of the Financial Review Sunday on Nine seems to be finally boring viewers — its figures yesterday were the lowest so far in this program’s on-air life. What those newspaper journalists running the Financial Review side of the program don’t appreciate is that if people want politicos (as they got in a large dose yesterday with Malcolm Turnbull), they can watch Insiders, The Bolt Report, Meet The Press or the Laurie Oakes interview on Nine earlier in the morning.

Nine had a big win last week in the metro and regional markets and will have another big win this week with the third and deciding State of Origin game and the start of the second Ashes Test, not to mention more of The Block (sigh) And Sally is back on Home and Away tonight at 7pm on Seven. Will she be too old, will she be recognised by the rest of the cast?

Network channel share:

Nine (38.4%)
Seven (27.4%)
Ten (14.9%)
ABC (13.6%)
SBS (5.1%)

Network main channels:

Nine (20.2%)
Seven (20.2%)
ABC1 (11.0%)
Ten (10.8%)
SBS ONE (4.9%)

Top digital channels:

Gem (13.3%)
GO, 7mate (3.8%)
7TWO (3.4%)
One, Eleven (2.1%)

Top 10 national programs:

The Block (Nine) – 2.561 million
Seven News — 2.172 million
Nine News — 2.167 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 2.032 million
A Place To Call Home (Seven) — 1.934 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.738 million
The Force (Seven) — 1.562 million
Border Security (Seven) — 1.340 million
Grand Designs (ABC 1) — 1.316 million
ABC1 News — 1.185 million

Top metro programs:

The Block (Nine) — 1.758 million
Nine News — 1.495 million
Seven News — 1.471 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.400 million
A Place To Call Home (Seven) — 1.250 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.094 million
The Force (Seven) — 1.025 million

Losers: Some members of the Australian and England cricket teams.

Metro news and current affairs:

Nine News — 1.495 million
Seven News — 1.471 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.400 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.094 million
ABC1 News –– 803,000
Ten News — 491,000
SBS ONE News — 215,000
The Observer Effect (SBS ONE) – 80,000

Metro morning TV:

Weekend Sunrise (Seven) – 386,000
Insiders (ABC1, 204,000, News 24, 98,000) — 302,000
Weekend Today (Nine) – 261,000
Landline (ABC1) — 190,000
The Bolt Report (Ten) — 168,000
Offsiders (ABC1) — 160,000
Financial Review Sunday (Nine) — 147,000
Inside Business (ABC1) — 132,000
Meet The Press repeat (Ten) — 117,000
Meet The Press (Ten) — 112,000
The Bolt Report repeat (Ten) — 94,000

Top five pay TV channels:

Fox Sports 2 – (6.8%)
Fox Footy –(5.1%)
Foxtel movies premiere – (3.1%)
Fox Sports 1, Fox 8 — (2.1%)
Fox Sports 3 – (2.0%)

Top five pay TV programs:

Cricket: First Ashes Test, session 1 (Fox Sports 2) – 457,000
Cricket: First Ashes Test, session 2 (Fox Sports 2) – 314,000
AFL: Perth v Fremantle (Fox Footy) – 259,000
Cricket: Ashes pre- match Show (Fox Sports 2) – 191,000
AFL: Sydney v Western Sydney (Fox Footy) – 166,000

*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.