Recognition: Yes or No got 519,000 nationally, 375,000 metro, 144,000 regional. Rusted-on believers and no more. Viewers preferred to watch the second part of the re-enactment /re-construction/re-investigation of the murder of a 6 year old American girl, JonBenet Ramsey, a very, very grubby affair indeed. It had no impact or meaning in Australia, the recognition argument does. Using Andrew Bolt was a waste: a boost for his show on Sky where last night he was talking to the mystery man of Australian politics, former Victorian ALP Senator, Stephen Conroy. That didn’t make the top 20 programs on Sky news last night which had a cut off of 39,000 viewers.

Australians preferred the escapist nonsense on Nine (finger pointed at brother, police dilatory in their investigating). The OJ Simpson story retold, again. Enough said. Will Nine or the US production team follow up and make sure there are police charges? And will they follow up if there is a trial and tell us what the eventual verdict is? Doubt it somehow. The caravan has probed and moved on. This extravaganza was number one nationally and in the metros and third in the regions with 1.785 million national viewers: 1.282 million in the metros and 503,000 in the regions.

But as confected as it was, this story is far more important than the break up of Brad and Angelina, which dominated the airwaves this morning in an orgy of cynical overkill and schadenfreude. No doubt we will get more of this tiresome story for the rest of today and tonight. Round up the usual suspects to tell us why they saw it coming (but when?), especially from those paragons of truth and fortunetelling, No Idea, Woman’s Flay, A Current Affair etc etc.

As a result, Nine’s night, assisted by The Block (1.491 million national viewers). Nine won the metros and the regional markets easily and cleaned up in the demos.

The five most watched programs in the metros were Seven News, 599,000, Home and Away was next with 570,000, The Case Of JonBenet Ramsey, 503,000, Seven News/Today Tonight, 498,000, The Block, 477,000

In metro breakfast, Today with 326,000 had a big win over Sunrise with 276,000, but Sunrise won nationally with 485,000 to 465,000,

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (35.0%)
  2. Seven (25.8%)
  3. Ten (17.6%)
  4. ABC (14.6%)
  5. SBS (7.0%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (28.1%)
  2. Seven (16.6%)
  3. Ten (11.3%)
  4. ABC (10.0%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.1%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (4.5%)
  2. GO (3.3%)
  3. 7TWO, ONE (3.2%)
  4. ABC 2, Eleven (3.0%))

Top 10 national programs:

  1. The Case of JonBenet Ramsey (Nine) — 1.785 million
  2. Seven News  — 1.653 million
  3. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.566 million
  4. The Block (Nine) — 1.491 million
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.390 million
  6. Nine News — 1.2670 million
  7. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.348 million
  8. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 1.104 million
  9. ABC News — 1.094 million
  10. Zumbo’s Just Desserts (Seven) — 1.062 million

Top metro programs:

  1. The Case of Jobenet Ramsey (Nine) — 1.282 million
  2. Seven News — 1.054 million
  3. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.048million
  4. The Block (Nine) — 1.014 million

Losers: Seven, Ten.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.054 million
  2. Seven News/Today Tonight — 1.048 million
  3. Nine News — 977,000
  4. Nine News (6.30pm) — 971,000
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) – 969,000
  6. 7pm ABC News – 777,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 639,000
  8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 566,000
  9. Ten Eyewitness News — 472,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 420,000

Morning TV:

  1. Today (Nine) – 326,000
  2. Sunrise (Seven) – 276,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC,  95,000 + 51,000 on News 24) — 146,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 130,000
  5. Today Extra (Nine) — 121,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 83,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) – 90,000
  2. The Simpsons (Fox8) — 76,000
  3. Australia’s Next Top Model (Fox8) — 65,000
  4. Back Page (Fox Sports 2) — 59,000
  5. Family Guy (Fox8) — 58,000

*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.