The best you could say about last night’s programming that the test cricket was wonderful, even with the rain delays. The highlight of the night was on ABC with the repeat of a QI Christmas Special; on Seven it was the final episode for the year of Home and Away — oh, the crash/accident, who will survive? The bomb in the hospital a couple of years ago is still my fave. Ten had that old favourite, School of Rock, repeated for the umpteenth time. It’s Ten’s version of Nine’s standby movies, Crocodile Dundee 1, 11 and 59, the Harry Potter movies, plus the Shawshank Redemption, and Seven’s Pirates of the Caribbean. In other words, they are programs you use when all else is lost or the programming staff are at Christmas parties and you are left to make a decision that won’t be seen as wrong — a bit like choosing IBM computers in the olden days, or Microsoft Outlook a decade ago.

Seven won the night, but don’t be misled by Seven News topping the metro most watched list — that’s only because the rain delays confused Nine’s schedules and the News started late. The finale of Home and Away was the most watched non-news program (it was watched by 1.504 million viewers across the country — about what it gets in normal ratings on a Monday night. In other words, a very solid audience). The third session of the test was broken up by rain, but still averaged 1.072 million viewers. When Steve Smith reached 150 runs just after 6pm eastern time, Nine says more than 1.24 million people were watching.

Tonight there’s Chrissie foods special on SBS and Ten, while Billy Connolly puts himself about on Seven at 7.30pm and ABC at 8.30pm. Oh, and don’t forget the Test cricket this afternoon.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (32.2%)
  2. Nine (26.7%)
  3. Ten (18.8%)
  4. ABC (15.9%)
  5. SBS (5.5%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (22.8%)
  2. Nine (19.7%)
  3. Ten (12.7%)
  4. ABC (10.5%)
  5. SBS ONE (4.1%)

Top digital channels: 

  1. 7TWO (7.2%)
  2. GO (4.5%)
  3. ONE (3.4%)
  4. 7mate, ABC 2 (3.2%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Home and Away (Seven) – 1.504 million
  2. Seven News — 1.418 million
  3. Nine News — 1.369 million
  4. Criminal Minds repeat 1 (Seven) – 1.185 million
  5. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 1.097 million
  6. First Cricket Test, Australia v India — Session 3 (Nine) — 1.072 million
  7. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.055 million
  8. 7pm ABC 1 News — 1.040 million
  9. Criminal Minds repeat episode 2 (Seven) — 937,000
  10. 7.30 (ABC 1) — 932,000

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.102 million
  2. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 1.097 million

Losers: Sigh. another of those nights. Amazon looked good though.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.102 million
  2. Seven News/ Today Tonight — 1.097 million
  3. Nine News – 962,000
  4. Nine News 6.30 — 932,000
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) – 900,000
  6. ABC News – 719,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC1) — 631,000
  8. Ten Eyewitness News — 585,000
  9. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 518,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 408,000

Morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 352,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 299,000
  3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 135,000
  4. News Breakfast (ABC,  95,000 + 35,000 on News 24) — 130,000
  5. Mornings – Summer (Nine) — 114,000
  6. Studio 1o (Ten) — 59,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox 8  (3.1%)
  2. LifeStyle  (2.5%)
  3. TVHITS  (2.0%)
  4. Arena (1.9%)
  5. Nick Jr (1.8%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. The Flash (Fox8) – 124,000
  2. Sons of Anarchy (showcase) – 94,000
  3. Modern Family (Fox8) – 71,000
  4. Dance Moms (LifeStyle You) – 67,000
  5. Family Guy (Fox8) – 59,000

*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.