A close night in the metros. Seven had more viewers overall, Nine had more viewers in the main channel. Nine and Ten did better in the demos. In the regions it was Seven by a very large margin. Masterchef did well in the metros, not so good in the regions, while House Rules did OK in the metros, but brilliantly in the regions.

Thanks to that strong support from regional viewers, House Rules jumped from sixth most watched in the metros (with 917,000 viewers)to third nationally with 1.542 million. Masterchef though eased from fourth in the metros with 1.040 million, to fifth nationally (with 1.396 million) because its support from regional viewers remains weak. Nine’s 20 to 1 and Britain’s Got Talent held their own with 1.149 million and 1.108 million national viewers respectively and helped the network remain very competitive.

In the regionals, House Rules was tops with 626,000 viewers, with Seven News next with 620,000, Home and Away on 526,000, The Chase Australia 5.30 was on 472,000 and Seven News/Today Tonight with 462,000. That explained another easy regional win by Seven.

In breakfast Today (341,000) beat Sunrise (323,000 in the metros). Sunrise won nationally. On pay TV Sky News had another good one (thanks Mal), with Paul Murray attracting 50,000 viewers and The Bolter 49,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (27.4%)
  2. Nine (25.9%)
  3. Ten (23.5%)
  4. ABC (15.7%)
  5. SBS (7.4%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (19.5%)
  2. Ten (18.3%)
  3. Seven (17.7%)
  4. ABC (10.6%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.5%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (4.3%)
  2. 7TWO (4.0%)
  3. ABC 2 (3.1%)
  4. Eleven (2.8%)
  5. ONE (2.5%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.816 million
  2. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.571 million
  3. House Rules (Seven) — 1.542 million
  4. Nine News — 1.537 million
  5. Masterchef Australia (Ten) — 1.396 million
  6. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.372 million
  7. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 1.198 million
  8. ABC News — 1.182 million
  9. 20 to 1 (Nine) — 1.149 million
  10. Britain’s Got Talent (Nine) — 1.108 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.196 million
  2. Nine News — 1.113 million
  3. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 1.109 million
  4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.051 million
  5. Masterchef Australia (Ten) — 1.040 million

Losers: The ABC’s offerings were weak, but they will be better tonight. Apart from House Rules and the News, Seven didn’t have much going for it. Likewise on Ten with Masterchef — once it was over viewers went to bed, or so it seems.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.196 million
  2. Nine News — 1.113 million
  3. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.109 million
  4. Nine News (6.30pm) — 1.051 million
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) – 899,000
  6. ABC News – 813,000
  7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 687,00
  8. 7.30 (ABC) — 587,000
  9. Ten Eyewitness News — 551,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 488,000

Morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 341,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 323,000
  3. Today Extra (Nine) — 161,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 159,000
  5. News Breakfast (ABC,  97,000 + 44,000 on News 24) — 141,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 84,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox 8  (2.7%)
  2. TVHITS  (1.9%)
  3. Sky News (1.7%)
  4. Fox Footy (1.6%)
  5. LifeStyle  (1.5%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Wentworth (SoHo) — 119,000
  2. Back Page (Fox Sports 1) — 96,000
  3. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) – 84,000
  4. Game of Thrones (showcase) — 83,000
  5. NRL 360 (FS1), Hall of Fame (Fox Footy) — 66,000

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2016. 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.