Ed Kavalee, Tom Gleisner and Sam Pang on Have You Been Paying Attention? (Image: Ten)

Tonight sees the return of one of the most cost-effective prime time programs in Australian TV: Have You Been Paying Attention. Airing on Ten at 8.30pm, it rates its socks off and costs less than $200,000 an hour. It’s right up there with the ABC’s Hard Quiz and Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell in ratings bang for the dollar cost.

Have You Been Paying Attention and Masterchef, plus the ABC’s strong Monday night lineup with a Four Corners’ behind-the-scenes report on the COVID-19 fight makes tonight far more interesting than Sunday evening.

Nine won last night with Lego Masters (1.61 million). The audience for LM didn’t hang around for 60 Minutes — it averaged 977,000 and is starting to feel lonely as reports surface that the expensive current affairs program is in line for a big budget cut. 

Masterchef on Ten grabbed 1.29 million and House Rules on Seven struggled to get 1.05 million. Insiders on the ABC at 9am had another 700,000-plus national audience — 732,000. A solid edition refreshingly without any News Corp group think.

In the regions, Seven News, 676,000, Lego Masters, House Rules, 405,000, 7pm ABC News, 381,000, Nine News, 365,000.

Network channel shares

  1. Nine (30.8%)
  2. Seven (23.9%)
  3. Ten (2.0%)
  4. ABC (16.0%)
  5. SBS (7.3%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (22.7%)
  2. Seven (17.2%)
  3. Ten (16.3%)
  4. ABC (11.5%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.3%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. GO (3.4%)
  2. 10 BOLD (3.1%)
  3. 7mate (2.9%)
  4. 10 Peach (2.5%)
  5. ABC Kids/Comedy, 7TWO (2.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.90 million
  2. Lego Masters (Nine) — 1.61 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.48 million
  4. Masterchef Australia (Ten) — 1.29 million
  5. 7pm ABC News — 1.24 million
  6. House Rules (Seven) — 1.05 million
  7. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 977,000
  8. The Virus (ABC) — 925,000
  9. Mystery Road ABC) — 892,000
  10. Nine News Late — 820,000

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.25 million
  2. Lego Masters (Nine) — 1.21 million
  3. Nine News– 1.12 million

Losers: Seven — just weak

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.25 million
  2. Nine News — 1.12 million
  3. 7pm ABC News – 859,000
  4. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 686,000
  5. The Virus (ABC) — 623,000
  6. Nine News Late — 577,000
  7. The Sunday Project 7pm (Ten) — 553,000
  8. Ten News First — 352,000
  9. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 340,000
  10. SBS World News — 256,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Insiders (ABC, ABC News) – 732,000
  2. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 502,000
  3. Landline (ABC) – 477,000
  4. Weekend Today (Nine) — 329,000
  5. Offsiders (ABC) — 302,000
  6. Sports Sunday (Nine) — 198,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Outsiders (Sky News) – 86,000
  2. Outsiders  (Sky News) — 77,000
  3. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 57,000
  4. Gold Finger (Fox Classics) – 44,000
  5. The Simpsons (Fox8) – 41,000