Nine’s night as marriage continues to dominate. Married At First Sight ends next Tuesday night and will be replaced on Wednesday by the debuting Doctor Doctor, a local production set in the Mudgee area of NSW. Nine won the metros, Seven won narrowly in the regions, but Nine grabbed the demos in both areas.

But with only one program with a million or more viewers, it wasn’t a night viewers flocked to TV to watch something non newsy, except for Married At First Sight which averaged 1.386 million national viewers, with 974,000 in the metros and 413,000 in the regions. The Block averaged 1.169 million nationally and 786,000 in the metros, with 383,000 in the regions. The Bachelor managed 12th overall nationally (Married was third) with 1.109 million (844,000 in the metros and 265,000 in the regions).

If you think about it, Ten’s standout series this year (I’m A Celebrity, The Bachelor, Australian Survivor and The Bachelorette) are all about survival of the fittest, the toughest minded, the one with the best body, (don’t say mind, that will disqualify you from these programs). To win you must be willing to do or say anything to get yourself noticed and liked – the four programs are a sort of Gilligan’s Island for the brain dead media tarts and tartlettes. The Bachelorette starts soon and we will see if the general softness in viewing support for Celebrity, Survivor and The Bachelor extends to it. Of the four, Survivor is the one in greatest danger of disappearing as its ratings have been weakening. The Bach is rocking along with his ever diminishing harem — a bit like the list of well-hitched couples on Married At First Sight, gone at first slight, over on Nine.

But there’s a worrying softness outside of this quartet. Offspring, home of Nina the unshakeable, developed another ratings leak last night with its metro audience under 600,000. Next Wednesday night is the finale for this series and there’s the usual shake rattle and roll collection of gasps, ‘oh, no’s, ’not him’ etc. But will it be enough for Nina to return in 2017?  This series was a bonus — the show was supposed to end in 2014 and its absence in 2015 seemed to confirm that, but desperate Ten needed it this year because it doesn’t have enough local drama, and money did the trick. It still needs it next year, so will more money do the trick? The ratings don’t justify it. Offspring had 846,000 nationally: 594,000 in the metros and 252,000 in the regions. There was a 263,000 turnoff from The Bachelor to Offspring. Nina’s story doesn’t enthral the core younger female audience as much as it did. That’s not to say Offspring still isn’t doing well in the demos (it is, third and 4th for the most relevant last night), it’s just the number of viewers in these segments is down because the overall size of the audience has shrunk.

In regional areas the most watched programs were: Seven News, 622,000, Home and Away, 506,000, Seven News/Today Tonight, 483,000, Border Security, 454,000, The Chase Australia 5.30pm was fifth with 421,000.

In metro breakfast Today won from Sunrise, 300,000 viewers to 289,000.

Roy and HG’s famed Festival of the Boot kicks off tonight with the Doggies playing the Weagles in Perth in the second elimination final. Go you Doggies (7 and 7mate). And tomorrow morning at 10.30 it’s the Broncs playing the Panthers in the first NFL game of the season” the replay of Super Bowl however many from earlier this year (7mate).

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (29.1%)
  2. Seven (26.3%)
  3. Ten (19.8%)
  4. ABC (17.4%)
  5. SBS (7.4%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (21.9%)
  2. Seven (17.7%)
  3. Ten (14.1%)
  4. ABC (12.3%)
  5. SBS ONE (4.6%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7TWO (3.9%)
  2. GO (3.8%)
  3. Eleven (3.4%)
  4. ABC 2, 7mate (3.1%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News  — 1.647 million
  2. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.451 million
  3. Married At First Sight (Nine) — 1.386 million
  4. Nine News — 1.269 million
  5. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.242 million
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.240 million
  7. Border Security (Seven) —1.182million
  8. Anh’s Brush With Fame (ABC) — 1.172 million
  9. The Block (Nine) — 1.169 million
  10. Gruen (ABC) — 1.156 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.025 million

Losers: Offspring: dying. The Durrells, charming, British (a bit too much so). Innocent when you feel there is something darker should be there, or needs to be there.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.025 million
  2. Seven News/Today Tonight — 968,000
  3. Nine News (6.30pm) — 944,000
  4. Nine News — 919,000
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) – 855,000
  6. ABC News —772,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 654,000
  8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 621,000
  9. Ten Eyewitness News — 452,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 423,000

Morning TV:

  1. Today (Nine) —300,000
  2. Sunrise (Seven) – 289,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC 1,  108,000 + 54,000 on News 24) — 162,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 146,000
  5. Today Extra (Nine) — 109,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 81,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. LifeStyle (3.3%)
  2. Fox8 (2.6%)
  3. TVHITS (2.3%)
  4. Nick Jr (1.8%)
  5. Fox Classics, Sky News, UKTV (1.5%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Gogglebox Australia (LifeStyle0 — 232,000
  2. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) – 89,000
  3. Mutt and Stuff (Nick Jr) — 79,000
  4. The Recruit (Fox8) — 78,000
  5. Paw Patrol (Nick Jr) — 71000

*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.