Glenn Dyer's TV ratings: lucky for Seven CBS has renewed Criminal Minds

Last night was boring, tonight is snoring (apart from the ABC’s Monday night news and current affairs line up) and the rest of the week leading up to Easter isn’t any better. In fact, the ratings tell us that viewers twigged to the paucity of offerings and the insults contained within. Nine had more metro viewers overall, Seven had more in the main channels.

Seven and Nine News were the most watched programs. The others last night deserve to be ignored. Pap. The 7pm ABC News should have done better — just 1.025 million viewers.

In the morning Insiders (545,000 national viewers) again distanced itself from the others and from those on Sky News.

Time for the first egg of the season, and perhaps a bun or three — more entertaining than what is on the screen.

Last September the big news in TV was that Andrew Denton would be returning in 2017 to the Nine Network with an interview show similar to his Enough Rope program that was on the ABC from 2003 to 2008. No night had been selected, but it was all stations go, with the idea having the backing of Nine director and former CEO, David Gyngell. Well, that was last September. Now there is a big change. Denton is still returning to TV this year, but to Channel Seven (where he had a comedy skit program in 1993). Nine is no longer in the frame and explanations are scarce on the ground. Pre-production is due to start on the new program. No night has been selected, but Sunday could be a strong possibility.

And good news for Seven Network with CBS renewing Criminal Minds for yet another season. A year ago, the program was in trouble with weakish ratings, cast turnover and the shock exit of Thomas Gibson in controversial circumstances. The program still gets around 11 million viewers on a same-day and live basis, which puts it it in the top ranks of CBS’s non-sport programs. This is season 12. Its spin-off Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders is dying (4.6 million viewers on average). Criminal Minds would be close to Seven’s best-performing regular foreign series.

Network channel share:

Nine (29.8%)
Seven (28.5%)
ABC (17.5%)
Ten (16.1%)
SBS (8.2%)

Network main channels:

Seven (19.0%)
Nine (17.7%)
ABC (12.5%)
Ten (10.0%)
SBS ONE (5.8%)

Top 5 digital channels:

GO (5.0%)
9Life (4.0%)
7mate (3.6%)
7TWO, Eleven (3.1%))

Top 10 national programs:

Seven News — 1.864 million
Nine News — 1.576 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.257 million
60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.194 million
7pm ABC News — 1.025million
Border Security -America (Seven) — 926,000
Spy In The Wild (Nine) — 845,000
Bull (Ten) — 727,000
Modern Family (Ten) — 708,000
David Attenborough: Live That Glows (ABC) — 703,000

Top metro programs:

Seven News — 1.247 million
Nine News — 1.083 million

Losers: Viewers. After the AFL and NRL games on a rainy Melbourne afternoon, everything else was just ho hum — or worse.

Metro news and current affairs:

Seven News — 1.264 million
Nine News — 1.083 million
Sunday Night (Seven) — 867000
60 Minutes (Nine) — 792,000
7pm ABC News – 672,000
Ten Eyewitness News — 339,000
SBS World News — 188,000

Morning TV:

Insiders (ABC, 379,000, 169,000 on ABC News) — 545,000
Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 474,000
Landline (ABC) —442,000
Weekend Today (Nine) — 374,000
Offsiders (ABC) — 245,000
Sports Sunday (Nine) — 200,000

Top five pay TV channels:

Fox Footy (4.9%)
Fox League (3.9%)
Fox Sports 506 (3.0%)
Fox 8 (2.2%)
Fox Sports 503, 505 (2.1%)

Top five pay TV programs:

NRL: Melbourne v Cronulla (Fox League) — 234,000
F 1 China GP (Fox Sports 505) — 184,000
AFL: Gold Coast v Hawthorn (Fox Footy) — 180,000
Supercars (Fox Sports 506) — 175,000
NRL: Auckland v Parramatta (Fox League) —174,000

*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.