Glenn Dyer’s TV ratings: Nine’s audience numbers continue to dive

My Kitchen Rules won last night as it streeted the first T20 game between Australia and England. Nine stayed in the hunt because the T20 game ran from 7.30 to 10.30pm whereas My Kitchen Rules ended at 8.45 and the movie Notting Hill (a repeated of a repeat of a repeat etc etc) could only manage just over half the T20’s audience. (1.816 million national/ 1.172 million metro/ 644,000 regional viewers). My Kitchen Rules had 2.482 million national/ 1.685 million metro/ 797,000 regional viewers). For all the stuff written about how exciting T20 cricket has become (no doubt helped by the News Corp PR machine for Ten’s Big Bash contests), I found last night’s first of three games between Australia and England a flat affair — the final ODI on Sunday night, and the one in Brisbane where Australia snatched improbable wins, had more drama — as did much of the Test cricket I managed to see either on TV here, or on YouTube.

Nine and Seven tied in the main channels, as did ABC1 and Ten  so it was a close night. But My Kitchen Rules easily won the demographics, helped by the female viewers who flocked to avoid the T20 game on Nine and whatever was on Ten. Nine won the regionals, overall and the main channels. Seven’s Million Dollar Minute at 5.30pm with 829,000 national viewers, had a small, rare win over Nine’s Hot Seat with 827,000. Because of the T20 game, ACA and Nine’s 6.30 news were pre-empted in some markets, so the comparisons with the night before are not accurate. Seven’s 6pm news eked out a rare small win over Nine in Sydney.

Thanks to the first episodes of The Block and last night’s T20 international, Nine’s audiences are up on its weak start a year ago. But the fact remains The Block has failed to have any impact on My Kitchen Rulesand the T20 game last night was equally powerless to halt it, which had its highest audience of the week. The unpalatable fact for Nine’s media and ad industry cheer squads is thatMy Kitchen Rules has made a record start to this year and The Block has been unable to stop that. One solution might to to shove ACA back to 6.30pm and start The Block at 7pm, like it was last year. That in turn would be an admission the hour news idea from 6pm and the moving of ACA to 7pm have limited Nine’s flexibility. Head-to-head My Kitchen Rules is winning easily. Tonight with My Kitchen Rules finished for the week, The Block should improve.

Network channel share:

1. Nine (32.3%)
2. Seven (32.1%)
3. Ten (15.5%)
4. ABC (15.1%)
5. SBS (5.3%)

Network main channels:

1. Seven (26.3%)
2. Nine (26.3%)
3. Ten (9.9%)
4. ABC1 (9.9%)
5. SBS ONE (3.9%)

Top digital channels: 

1. 7mate (3.4%)
2. ABC 2 (3.1%)
3. GO, Gem (3.0%)
4. Eleven (2.9%)
5. 7TWO (2.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 2.482 million
2. Seven News — 1.817 million
3. T20 International Game 1 (Nine) — 1.816 million
4. Home and Away (Seven) – 1.638 million
5. Nine News — 1.633 million
6. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.460 million
7. ABC News — 1.206 million
8. 7.30 (ABC1) — 980,000
9. Notting Hill (Seven) — 962,000
10. Ten Eyewitness News — 901,000

Top metro programs:

1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 1.685 million
2. Seven News — 1.206 million
3. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.173 million
4. T20 International Game 1 (Nine) — 1.172 million
5. Nine News — 1.138 million
6. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.042 million

Losers: The English cricket team.Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 1.206 million
2. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.173 million
3. Nine News — 1.138 million
4. ABC  News — 835,000
5. Nine News 6.30, 7.30 (ABC1)  – 695,000
6. Ten Eyewitness News — 662,000,
7. A Current Affair (Nine) — 610,000
8. The Project (Ten) — 400,000
9. SBS World News — 145,000
10. ABC Late Edition — 144,000

Metro morning TV:

1. Sunrise (Seven) – 336,000
2. Today (Nine) – 289,000
3. The Morning Show (Seven) — 162,000
4. News Breakfast (ABC1, 73,000 + 59,000 on News24) — 132,000
5. Mornings (Nine) — 101,000
6. Wake Up (Ten) — 44,000
7. Studio 10 (Ten) — 38,000

Top pay TV channels:

1. Fox 8 (3.0%)
2. TVHITS! (2.5%)
3. LifeStyle (2.2%)
4. Disney (1.9%)
5. A&E, Sky News (1.4%)

Top five pay TV programs:

1. The Simpsons (Fox 8) – 66,000
2. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 64,000
3. Grimm (Fox 8), Coronation Street (UKTV) — 56,000
4. Jessie (Disney) – 57,000
5. Pawn Stars (A&E) – 47,000

*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.