Delta Goodrem as Olivia Newton-John (Image: 7plus.com.au)

The realities of late winter have finally settled on Seven as the network wonders why it gave new life to an old dud: My Kitchen Rules (684,000 nationally).

Even though Nine has been doing the same with The Block (1.091 million) for years, The Block is a property play, and as we see every day, property is our preoccupation — to the point of financial ruin at times. MKR, though, is based on old ideas of competition and wasteful extravagance — all that food wasted in those boring sub-suburban kitchens, and production shoots that go on for hours, all to give the illusion of a snappy dinner party when the reality is that it’s a badly cast version of Gladiator with pots and pans. So where is Russell Crowe when you need him? Get him to star as Chefius Maximus and take control of a dud operation in the kitchens of Australia.

The Masked Singer on Ten — 697,000 nationally for the reveal, 621,000 for the lead. For obvious reasons, Nine repeated Grease, which drew 618,000 after The Block. Seven had the first part of an encore of Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You — 329,000 after MKR. With that rotten lead-in, no wonder the Grease repeat won easily.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (33.6%)
  2. Seven (26.0%)
  3. Ten (17.6%)
  4. ABC (14.5%)
  5. SBS (8.3%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (25.8%)
  2. Seven (19.3%)
  3. Ten (11.9%)
  4. ABC (9.8%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.1%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (3.5%)
  2. ABC Kids/Plus (2.6%)
  3. Gem, 10 Peach (2.5%)
  4. GO, 10 Bold (2.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.514 million
  2. Seven News 6.30pm — 1.497 million
  3. Nine News — 1.179 million
  4. Nine News 6.30pm — 1.178 million
  5. The Block (Nine) — 1.091 million
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 976,000
  7. Home and Away (Seven) — 885,000
  8. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 865,000
  9. 7pm ABC News — 837,000
  10. The Masked Singer Reveal (Ten) — 697,000

Top metro programs: none with a million or more viewers last night.

Regional Top 5: Seven News, 553,000; Seven News 6.30pm, 507,000; The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 349,000; Nine News, 305,000; Nine News 6.30pm, 283,000.

Losers: MKR.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 938,000
  2. Seven News 6.30pm — 934,000
  3. Nine News 6.30pm — 880,000
  4. Nine News — 863,000
  5. ACA (Nine) — 708,000
  6. 7pm ABC News — 575,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 457,000
  8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 373,000
  9. Ten News First — 313,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 252,000

Morning (national) TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) — 406,000/235,000
  2. Today (Nine) — 312,000/200,000
  3. ABC News Breakfast — 273,000/171,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 247,000
  5. ABC News Mornings — 237,000
  6. Today Extra (Nine) — 142,000
  7. Studio 10 (Ten) — 34,000

Top 5 pay TV programs:

  1. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 51,000
  2. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) — 50,000
  3. The Twelve (Fox Showcase) — 47,000
  4. The World According To Rowan Dean (Sky News) — 47,000
  5. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 44,000