AFL boots Seven into earning total eyeballs — but Nine takes top honours

The final AFL game of the 2020 regular competition saw Seven win total people, but it wasn’t quite enough to help it over the line in the main channels.

Port Adelaide won (with 756,000 people watching on Seven and 7mate and another 237,000 on Foxtel) and took the minor premiership, and now — until Thursday week –Seven will be without the protection of AFL game ratings.

Tonight it has the semi-final and final of the unlamented Plate of Origin all in one long, boring broadcast that goes for three hours that will only prolong Seven’s ratings pain. Plate of Origin is an avoidable blemish.

Ten finished fourth — its standout was Have You Been Paying Attention: 778,000 without a lead-in.

Well, it did an hour version of the Family Feud (aka a flop) — 386,000 nationally (hosted by the Grant Denyer). So double Feud’s audience turned on to Ten for Paying Attention. Now that’s a demonstration of real ratings pulling power.

In regional markets Seven News, 605,000; Seven News 6.30, 591,000; 7pm ABC News, 370,000; The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 363,000; The Block, 335,000. 373,000.

Network channel share:

1. Seven (29.5%)
2. Nine (27.8%)
3. ABC (17.6%)
4. Ten (17.5%)
5. SBS (7.5%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (19.6%)
2. Seven (19.5%)
3. ABC (13.7%)
4. Ten (11.1%)
5. SBS ONE (4.3%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. 10 Bold (4.4%)
2. 7mate (4.3%)
3. 7TWO (4.0%)
4. GO (2.6%)
5. ABC Kids/Comedy (2.3%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Seven News —1.67 million
2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.49 million*
3. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.33 million
4. Nine/NBN News  — 1.301 million
5. The Block  (Nine) — 1.22 million
6. 7pm ABC News — 1.15 million
7. A Current Affair (Nine)  — 1.08 million
8. 7.30 (ABC) — 945,000
9. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 938,000
10. Australian Story (ABC) — 905,000

Top metro programs:

1. Seven News — 1.06 million
2. Nine/NBN News — 1.01 million
3. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1 million

Losers: Seven viewers — the AFL is for ratings help. All the flavour brought to us from a studio in Melbourne.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 1.06 million
2. Nine/NBN News — 1.01 million
3. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1 million
4. Seven News 6.30 — 905,000*
5. 7pm ABC News — 781,000
6. ACA (Nine) — 776,000
7. 7.30 (ABC) — 627,000
8. Australian Story (ABC) —  575,000
9. Four Corners (ABC) — 483,000
10. The Project 7pm (ABC) — 457,000

Morning (national) TV:

1. Sunrise (Seven) — 469,000 national and 265,000 metro
2. Today (Nine) — 311,000 and 205,000
3. News Breakfast (ABC, ABC News) — 304,000 and 194,000
4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 232,000 
5. Today Extra (Nine) — 167,000
6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 64,000

Top five pay TV programs:

1. AFL: Collingwood v Port Adelaide (Fox Footy) — 237,000
2. AFL: On The Couch (Fox Footy) —118,000
3. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 78,000
4. Credlin (Sky News) — 62,000
5. The Bolt Report, Alan Jones (Sky News) — 56,000