Kerry Packer’s golfing free kick for Seven

Q: Why does the Nine Network run the live US golf broadcasts? A: The network’s owner likes golf.

Even the US Open won by Kiwi Michael Campbell on Sunday, which had a record 14 Australian golfers in the first round and a large number of those playing in the final two rounds, failed to perk up in viewer interest, with an average 130,000 watching on Sunday morning and just 138,000 on Monday morning as Campbell fought off Tiger Woods.

Nine’s Sunday attracted 356,000 viewers on Sunday, which was normal, so there was no boost from people staying around for the two hours. Meanwhile Seven’s Weekend Sunrise was watched by 279,000 people, equal to its second best audience since starting in April, and the ABC’s Inside Business had its best figures for some weeks: 118,000 viewers at 9:45am to 10:15 am with a couple of good interviews. There is a demand for business news on Sunday mornings. The Seven small biz show, My Business, fronted by David Koch, did 184,000 people, its best so far.

But the clincher was on Monday morning and the 185,000 who tuned into Seven’s Sunrise early news between 6am and 7am and the huge 497,000 people who watched Sunrise between 7am and 9am.

It’s not often Kerry Packer gives Seven a free kick, or even a hole in one.

Queer Eye

The folk at Ten have found a way to ditch the unwanted episodes of the local version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. This Friday night, right after Big Brother, Ten will air the remaining three episodes one after the other and all before 30 June. There must have been some sort of tax money or financial expense involved.

These final three episodes of the six-episode series were pulled from the Ten schedule earlier this year after ratings plunged.

Last night’s ratings

The Winners Seven, Nine, A Current Affair in Sydney, Eddie McGuire, Desperate Housewives, Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope, Mythbusters, Temptation. Seven had the top two programs, the Housewives of Wisteria Lane and the news, thanks to an enormous win in Perth and a solid win in Sydney.
The Losers The US Open Golf. Nine didn’t even interrupt the golf coverage to bring any vision of the Doug Wood’s presser from Melbourne. I suppose Last Man Standing at 758,000 viewers might be a loser, but the fall has steadied and it won’t lose money for Seven. Four Corners and Media Watch were both low at 648,000.
News & CA Seven News won nationally and in Sydney over Nine. In Perth, Seven won by 144,000 viewers and 40,000 in Sydney. Seven lost in Melbourne but the gap seems closer. The most intriguing result was the win for ACA in Sydney over TT (405,000 to 393,000), despite the result being reversed nationally, thanks to 124,000 margin in Perth. Australian Story again did well with a slight lift in numbers to 1.188 million and Enough Rope was watched by 1.03 million. Alice Cooper might have been the attraction but the real meat in the program was the second interview with a woman called Brenda Hodge – one of the most searing interviews I have seen.
The Stats Nine won last night 29.2% to Seven with 27.3%, despite Desperate Housewives‘ 2.034 million people. Ten was way back in third with 20.4%, a big fall from the number one spot on Sunday but that was to be expected. The ABC had a strongish 15.9% and SBS likewise with 7.1%, thanks to Mythbusters, which was watched by 891,000 people.
Glenn Dyer’s comments So it’s winter, and a Monday night in Teleland. Eighteen programs were watched by a million or more viewers. Eddie McGuire’s Millionaire was watched by 1.634 million people. Not bad going, Temptation was up to 1.539 million. SuperNanny UK fell to 1.296 million. Another night on the treadmill of the weekly ratings battle. The performance of Seven’s Border Security tonight will be closely watched.