Game 2 of the State of Origin was the only show in town and on TV last night that mattered for the bulk of the audience and as usual it dominated viewing — even in Perth, which is an AFL heartland (and it did well in Melbourne, helping Nine win the night, along with The AFL Footy Show). As a result, the win by NSW squared the series and ensures the third and deciding game in Brisbane in early July should be a cracker in terms of the game, the theatre  of the event and ratings for Nine, which has been down in the dumps since the surprise earnings and revenue downgrade just before the long weekend. But it will take too bloody long to show to the big audience, again.

Last night’s audience was a very solid 3.9 million across the country, including 2.615 million in the metros and 1.289 million regional viewers (that includes viewers in Perth and regional WA who watched the thrilling game on Gem,  one of Nine’s digital channels). The national, metro and regional figures were top 10 finishers, but not records: the national record was for Game 2 last year with 4.193 million people, and more than 2.9 million national viewers.

And that was all that was of note on TV last night. The audiences for The Weekly (782,000) 7.30 (942,000) and Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery (696,000) held up well against Origin. Masterchef on Ten also managed to attract a solid 1.193 million viewers  nationally and a top 10 finish.

The most disappointing note from last night’s coverage was again the inordinate delay in starting the game as Nine pushed the length of the entire coverage out to the 10.30pm cut off for the zone 1 of prime time viewing — that’s when it can charge big rates for TV ads. The coverage started at 7.30pm, the game didn’t start until 8.23pm and the coverage ended just on 10.30pm. This is being done to maximise the revenue for Nine with no consideration for families with young kids who want to watch their NRL heroes run around in one of the four biggest games of the year.  There would have been some tired and angry families across Australia this morning heading out for work and school because of Nine’s cynical revenue boosting programming.

Nine wants the best of all worlds — to show the second half of the 6 to 7pm news, A Current Affair and then more than 50 minutes of ad laden pre-game pap. Start that at 6.30pm, run it for an hour, get the game started at 7.30 and out by 9.30. Families are happy, advertisers content and the players would no doubt welcome an earlier start. NRL is not the AFL and its 3 hours of play.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (46.3%)
  2. Seven (19.1%)
  3. Ten (16.3%)
  4. ABC (14.2%)
  5. SBS (4.1%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (38.7%)
  2. Seven (12.9%)
  3. Ten (11.9%)
  4. ABC (9.5%)
  5. SBS ONE (3.2%)

Top digital channels: 

  1. GO (4.1%)
  2. 7TWO, Gem (3.4%)
  3. ABC2 (3.2%)
  4. 7mate (2.9%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Game 2, State of Origin Match (Nine) — 3.904 million *
  2. Game 2 State of Origin Pre-Match (Nine) — 2.366 million**
  3. Nine News — 1.647 million
  4. Game 2 State of Origin Post-Match (Nine) — 1.698 million ***
  5. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.265 million
  6. ABC News — 1.250 million
  7. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.242 million
  8. Seven News — 1.274 million
  9. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.193 million
  10. Nine News 6.30 — 1.147 million

* Includes 171,000 on Gem in Perth and regional WA, ** includes 77,000 on Gem in Perth and regional WA, *** includes 95,000 on Gem in Perth and regional WA,

Top metro programs:

  1. Game 2, State of Origin Match (Nine) — 2.615 million *
  2. Game 2 State of Origin Pre-Match (Nine) — 1.488 million**
  3. Nine News — 1.170 million
  4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.147 million
  5. Game 2 State of Origin Post-Match (Nine) — 1.055 million ***
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.045 million

* Includes 134,000 on Gem in Perth, ** includes 66,000 on Gem in Perth, *** includes 67,000 on Gem in Perth

Losers: If you don’t dig Rugby League, then that’s you.  I did watch The Weekly later on — the improvement continues.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News — 1.170 million
  2. Nine News 6.30 — 1.147 million
  3. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.045 million
  4. Seven News — 916,000
  5. Seven News/Today Tonight— 911,000
  6. 7pm ABC 1 News — 876,000
  7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 647,000
  8. 7.30 (ABC 1) — 636,000
  9. Ten Eyewitness News — 592,000
  10. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 499,000

Morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 318,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 282,000
  3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 136,000
  4. News Breakfast (ABC 1,  87,000 + 36,000 on News 24) — 123,000
  5. Mornings (Nine) — 121,000
  6. Studio 1o (Ten) — 55,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox 8  (2.4%)
  2. LifeStyle  (2.3%)
  3. Nick Jr (1.6%)
  4. TVHITS  (1.5%)
  5. UKTV (1.4%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. The Simpsons (Fox8) — 94,000
  2. The Simpsons (Fox8) – 90,000
  3. Family Guy (Fox8) – 81,000
  4. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) — 78,000
  5. Alvin & The Chipmunks (Nick Jr)  — 72,000
  6. Futurama (Fox) – 78,000

*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.