It wuz Vera (891,000 nationally) wot dun it, guv, by which we mean the ABC crimebuster disrupted the cosy Sunday night free-to-air TV viewing party between Ten, Nine and Seven. In the spec of two eps, she showed that Australian TV viewers appreciate well-drawn characters, a solid storyline and a bit of vicarious travel (all those lingering shots of grey skies, verdant moors and the vibrant nightlife of Newcastle, not to mention the River Tyne — a great place to dispose of a body).
Vera’s brief Australian holiday didn’t disrupt The Block on Nine (1.346 million and number one nationally) — The Block is making its contribution to regional tourism in Victoria. Ten’s The Masked Singer final reveal averaged 934,000 (couldn’t top the million mark), and the finale itself averaged 764,000 — so on the whole, still stuck behind Vera. Spicks and Specks on the ABC averaged 752,000. And where was Seven’s poor old boring MKR? Making 687,000 nationally — towelled again by the opposition but still struggling into the national top 10. It can’t even raise a souffle.
Without the lead-in of the Sunday afternoon AFL game, Seven News struggled nationally and finished second (with 1.269 million) behind The Block.
Network channel share:
- Nine (31.7%)
- Seven (22.9%)
- ABC (19.5%)
- Ten (18.4%)
- SBS (7.5%)
Network main channels:
- Nine (25.5%)
- Seven 16.3%)
- ABC (15.7%)
- Ten (12.6%)
- SBS ONE (4.3%)
Top 5 digital channels:
- 7mate (3.8%)
- 10 Peach (2.6%)
- GO (2.2%)
- 10 Bold (2.1%)
- 7TWO, 9Life (2.0%)
Top 10 national programs:
- The Block (Nine) — 1.346 million
- Seven News — 1.269 million
- Nine News — 1.253 million
- The Masked Singer final reveal (Ten) — 934,000
- Vera (ABC) — 891,000
- 7pm ABC News — 855,000
- The Masked Singer finale (Ten) — 764,000
- Spicks and Specks (ABC) — 752,000
- 60 Minutes (Nine) — 690,000
- My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 687,000
Top metro programs: none with a million or more viewers.
Regional Top 5: Seven News, 479,000; The Block (Nine), 365,000; Nine News, 332,000; Vera (ABC), 294,000; 7pm ABC News, 276,000.
Losers: MKR — top 10 finish again but struggling for traction.
Metro news and current affairs:
- Nine News — 921,000
- Seven News — 790,000
- 7pm ABC News — 579,000
- 60 Minutes (Nine) — 484,000
- The Project 7pm (Ten) — 336,000
- 7News Spotlight — 251,000
- Nine News Late — 250,000
- The Sunday Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 215,000
- Ten News First — 208,000
- SBS World News — 136,000
Morning (national) TV:
- Insiders (ABC) — 532,000
- Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 332,000
- Landline (ABC) — 283,000
- Weekend Today (Nine) — 249,000
- Offsiders (ABC) — 199,000
- Sports Sunday (Nine) — 157,000
Top 5 pay TV programs:
- NRL: Gold Coast v Newcastle (Fox League) — 206,000
- NRL: Sunday Ticket (Fox League) — 172,000
- NRL: Wests Tigers v St George (Fox League) — 171,000
- F1: Belgium Race (Fox Sports 506) — 116,000
- NRL: Sunday Night With Matty Johns (Fox League) — 96,000
