Seven’s ABBA-Queen showdown the highlight of a dreary night on the screen

A rare tie between Nine and Seven in total people last night — Nine won the main channels by 0.2 points. Ten was third as the audience for Hunted dipped to 826,000 from 993,000 on Tuesday and 851,000 on Monday for the launch. Ten’s moment of glory winning the main channels on Monday night quickly faded — it had one show too few last night for a repeat victory.

Seven gave us the night’s highlight: ABBA vs Queen, a confected comparison between a Swedish singing group and a British rock/pop band — and it drew 649,000. Nine’s highlight was Beauty and the Geek with 528,000 — that’s Big Brother numbers, making the show one for Nine’s BVOD PR machine, I think.

And that was the night. Shaun Micallef is back for Ten in Brain Eisteddfod tonight. Will Ten’s core viewers cope with the idea of an eisteddfod? Its brief synopsis makes it ideal for Mad As Hell to parody, like it has done with Vera and Shetland, in the new MAH season beginning tonight.

Network channel share:

1. Nine, Seven (25.8%)
2. Ten (20.6%)
3. ABC (16.6%)
4. SBS (11.3%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (17.7%)
2. Seven (17.5%)
3. Ten (14.1%)
4. ABC (11.8%)
5. SBS ONE (7.4%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. 7mate (4.1%)
2. 10 Peach (3.5%)
3. 7TWO (3.1%)
4. Gem (2.6%)
5. GO (2.5%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Seven News — 1.480 million
2. Seven News 6.30pm — 1.444 million
3. Nine News — 1.115 million
4. Nine News 6.30pm — 1.082 million
5. A Current Affair (Nine) — 887,000
6. 7pm ABC News — 886,000
7. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 882,000
8. Hunted (Ten) — 826,000
9. Home and Away (Seven) — 729,000
10. 7.30 (ABC) — 683,000

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

Regional Top 5: Seven News, 561,000; Seven News 6.30pm, 520,000; The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 346,000; Nine News, 303,000; 7pm ABC News, 297,000.

Losers: Beauty and the Geek — it’s a BVOD show.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News 6.30pm — 924,000
2. Seven News — 918,000
3. Nine News — 812,000
4. Nine News 6.30pm — 794,000
5. ACA (Nine) — 620,000
6. 7pm ABC News — 590,000
7. 7.30 (ABC) — 474,000
8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 410,000
9. Ten News First — 313,000
10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 260,000

Morning (national) TV:

1. Sunrise (Seven) — 361,000/211,000
2. Today (Nine) — 281,000/190,000
3. ABC News Breakfast — 272,000/176,000
4. ABC News Mornings — 237,000
5. The Morning Show (Seven) — 219,000
6. Today Extra (Nine) — 152,000
7. Studio 10 (Ten) — 49,000

Top 5 pay TV programs:

1. The Twelve (Fox Showcase) — 62,000
2. Credlin (Sky News) — 59,000
3. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 55,000
4. Paul Murray Live (Sky News), AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) — 48,000