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.