Nine’s night, easily, in metro markets, as Seven’s flops exposed it to an easy beating. But in regional markets, Nine edged Seven in All People, but Seven won the important main channels. And the ABC nipped past Ten in the bush, a reversal of Ten’s narrow win in the cities.

Nine didn’t really need the cricket where the first session was mostly wet. It’s not that Nine’s programs performed well — they were average and indeed Seven’s latest episode of Dynamo the Magician at 8pm dominated after post 7pm viewing with 1.444 million national/ 915,000 metro/ 529,000 regional viewers. Before that Home and Away (1.406 million national/ 816,000 metro/ 590,000 regional viewers) easily dominated the hour from 7pm. No, it was Please Marry My Boy and then Formal Wars which let Seven down from 9pm.

Please Marry My Boy averaged 747,000 national/ 455,000 metro/ 292,000 regional viewers at 9pm and Formal Wars did even worse at 10pm with 477,000 national/ 321,000 metro/ 156,000 regional viewers. It’s hard to imagine that these two turkeys are still on air, along with that other ratings triumph for 2013 from Seven, The Mole on Wednesday night. For the country’s premier TV network, this trio of ratings disasters are a bit hard to imagine, but they are real. But they in no way plumb the depths of stupidity like The Bible did on Nine on Tuesday nights.

But the highlight of the night was another great hour of TV on ABC1 from 8.30 to 9.30pm with Upper Middle Bogan and It’s A Date. Bogan had 1.242 million national/861,000 metro/ 381,000 regional viewers at 8.30pm and It’s A Date had 1.115 million national/ 773,000 metro/ 342,000 regional viewers at 9pm. Both programs reminded us what a great and growing depth of good, solid actors we have in this country — people who can switch easily from comedy to drama and back again — even in the same program. It’s a Date last night was a perfect example with John Wood and Denise Scott standouts.

Ten’s MasterChef Masterclass had 864,000 national/610.000 metro/ 254,000 regional viewers. Ten’s regular repeat repeats of Law and Order SVU from 8.30 to 10.30pm averaged 820,000 national/ 573,000/247,000 regional viewers across the two hours.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (31.6%)
  2. Seven (24.9%)
  3. Ten (19.2%)
  4. ABC (18.3%)
  5. SBS (6.0%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine  (22.0%)
  2. Seven (18.6%)
  3. Ten (13.6%)
  4. ABC 1 (13.0%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.3%)

Top digital channels: 

  1. Gem (5.0%)
  2. GO (4.6%)
  3. Eleven (3.7%)
  4. 7TWO (3.3%)
  5. ABC 2, 7mate (3.1%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.724 million
  2. Seven News — 1.682 million
  3. Dynamo: Magician (Seven) — 1.444 million
  4. Home and Away (Seven) – 1.406 million
  5. ABC News — 1.347 million
  6. Upper Middle Bogan (ABC1) — 1.242 million
  7. The Footy Show (Nine) — 1.199 million
  8. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.168 million
  9. Big Brother (Nine) — 1.152 million
  10. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.124 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.170 million
  2. Seven News — 1.123 million

Losers: Please Marry My Boy and Formal Wars on Seven.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News — 1.170 million
  2. Seven News — 1.123 million
  3. A Current Affair (Nine) — 967,000
  4. ABC News — 896,000
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) – 891,000
  6. 7.30 (ABC 1) — 655,000
  7. The Project (Ten) — 564,000
  8. Ten News — 562,000
  9. Ten Late News — 232,000
  10. SBS News — 178,000

Metro morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 352,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 339,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1, 70,000, + 38,000 on News24) — 108,000

Top pay TV channels:

  1. Fox  Sports 2  (3.1%)
  2. LifeStyle  (2.5%)
  3. TV1  (2.1%)
  4. Disney Jr (1.7%)
  5. Fox Classics, Sky News  (1.6%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) – 91,000
  2. Cricket, 5th ashes Test, Day 2, Session 1 (Fox Sports 2) – 83,000
  3. The Simpsons (Fox 8) – 81,000
  4. Selling Houses Australia (LifeStyle) – 78,000
  5. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 69,000

*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.) and network reports.