Gogglebox Australia's Elias family (Image: Ten)

Watching TV on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights should be a viewing crime under the Interesting Free To Air TV Watching Convention.

Last night was exhibit #345671 (nights) where we have been bored to Netflixing, except for those who like a rose and a meat market or a giggling, self-absorbed TV viewer on Gogglebox.

NRL and AFL viewing is not an exempt activity under the Convention. The drone of the commentators, especially Brian Taylor on the AFL, is a cruel and very inhumane punishment.

The Tour de France might be exempt but only if an Australian is doing well.

Gogglebox Australia, up again to 839,000 viewers and beat the lacklustre St Kilda-West Coast game on Seven (666,000) and the Wests-Souths NRL game on Nine (550,000).

So uninterested in the AFL game result that an extra 163,000 people tuned in the for the post-match chat. No such increase in audience for the NRL post-game chat show on Nine called Golden Point — 190,000 nationally, to a huge turn-off. That’s because it goes on and on.

Rose murdering on The Bachelor on Ten averaged 731,000. With Gogglebox, Ten won the demos, easily.

In breakfast: Sunrise, 451,000 national and 255,000 metro viewers; Today, 329,000 and 217,000; ABC News Breakfast, 91,000 and 186,000.

In regional markets Seven News, 588,000, Seven News 6.30, 563,000, The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 361,000; 7pm ABC News, 346,000; Home and Away, 310,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (29.7%)
  2. Nine (24.2%)
  3. Ten (21.1%)
  4. ABC (13.6%)
  5. SBS (11.5%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (18.7%)
  2. Nine (17.1%)
  3. Ten (14.7%)
  4. ABC (9.4%)
  5. SBS ONE (7.7%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (4.7%)
  2. 7TWO (4.4%)
  3. 10 Bold (4.3%)
  4. GO (2.4%)
  5. 9Life (2.7%), ABC Kids/Comedy, 10 Peach (2.1%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.59 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.46 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.26 million
  4. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.24 million
  5. 7pm ABC News — 1.06 million
  6. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 925,000
  7. A Current Affair (Nine) — 917,000
  8. Home and Away (Seven) — 803,000
  9. Gogglebox Australia (Ten) — 839,000
  10. Seven’s AFL- Post Game — 829,000

Top metro programs: None with a million or more

Losers: Snore and more snorrrrrre

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 997,000
  2. Nine/NBN News — 978,000
  3. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 931,000
  4. Seven News 6.30 — 904,000
  5. 7pm ABC News – 731,000
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 630,000
  7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 505,000
  8. 7.30 (ABC) — 480,000
  9. Ten News First — 344,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 316,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) — 451,000/255,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 329,000/217,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC, ABC News) — 291,000/186,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 244,000 
  5. Today Extra (Nine) – 152,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 73,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. NRL:Wests v Souths (Fox League) — 216,000
  2. AFL: St Kilda v West Coast (Fox Footy) — 195,000
  3. AFL: Post Game (Fox Footy) — 103,000
  4. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 86,000
  5. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 81,000

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Peter Fray
Peter Fray
Editor-in-chief of Crikey
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