The Winners: Seven News was tops with 1.534 million, followed by RSPCA Animal Rescue with 1.510 million at 7.30pm and Medical Emergency at 8pm on Seven with 1.394 million. Criminal Minds won the 8.30pm slot with 1.390 million, while The Gruen Transfer did very well at 9pm with 1.386 million viewers. This Is Your Life (Bert Newton) averaged a solid 1.334 million (better than his hosted 20 to 1 series) and Spicks and Specks averaged 1.289 million at 8.30pm. Home and Away won the 7pm slot with 1.276 million people, with Nine’s repeat of Two and a Half Men just behind with 1.229 million in 10th spot. The 7pm ABC News was 11th with 1.180 million viewers and Nine News was 12th with 1.139 million. Seven’s 9.30pm repeat episode of Criminal Minds averaged 1.137 million and A Current Affair averaged 1.113 million at 14th spot. Next was the returning McLeod’s Daughters with 1.089 million viewers and Ten’s US episode of So You Think You Can Dance averaged 1 million viewers from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Fowl Dinners was next with 967,000 (and beat The Hollowmen). The New Inventors averaged 852,000 viewers.

The Losers: The ABC’s The Hollowmen: not because of the slide in the audience to 950,000, but because it is a form of video wallpaper. Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer have colour, movement and entertain and hold you. I couldn’t wait until The Hollowmen ended so I could switch to the bike riding on SBS for a while from 10pm. Prison Break on Seven at 10.30pm: 428,000. Almost out of sight and out of mind. Missing Person’s Unit, 9.30pm on Nine: 747,000. Strangled by Nine: wrong night, wrong timeslot (try Thursdays at 8.30pm)…

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market. Today Tonight won every market but Brisbane — and won nationally. Seven won Melbourne, the ABC was second and Nine was a surprisingly weak third, just as ACA was a surprisingly weak third in the same market. The 7.30 Report averaged 853,000 viewers. Lateline averaged 286,000, Lateline Business, 146,000. Nine’s Nightline, 232,000. Ten News 811,000, the late News/Sports Tonight 363,000. SBS News at 6.30 pm, 238,000, Dateline, 191,000, the 9.30pm SBS News, 186,000. 7am Sunrise, 330,000, 7am Today 241,000.

The Stats: Seven won 6pm to midnight All People with 28.3% (26.9%) from Nine with 23.6% (22.0%), Ten with 21.4% (24.4%), the ABC on 18.4% (20.0%) and SBS with 8.3% (6.7%). Seven won all five metro markets. Nine can at least say it has lifted its game and is now second on Wednesdays. Seven leads the week 27.9% to 25.8% and will win the week. In regional areas a win to Nine through WIN/NBN with 29.6% from Prime/7Qld with 28.8%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 17.2%, the ABC with 16.4% and SBS with 8.0%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Nine’s sacrificing of McLeod’s Daughters on Wednesday nights in the wrong timeslot of 8.30pm has exposed its programming shortcomings, but it might just be saved, by the ABC. You see, The Gruen Transfer ends next week and The Hollowmen moves into the 9pm timeslot, until the Olympics, and then returns after the games in the same slot for seven more weeks. On last night’s effort, The Hollowmen is shallow, lacking in insight and a one trick wonder. McLeod’s Daughters at least offers an alternative for viewers who want drama, but not the sort offered by Criminal Minds on Seven. Viewers think The Hollowmen is lacking in something to hold them: its audience slipped to 950,000: the audience has fallen each night (this was the third program) and it’s looking weak. And that could help McLeod’s Daughters.

Tonight, it’s The Footy Shows. Will the AFL version halt the slide, and will anyone in Sydney and Brisbane remember that the NRL version is on? Q&A on the ABC at 9.30pm only attracts just over half a million viewers, but compared to The NRL Footy Show, it’s witty, fast paced and has real content. The ABC also has another Gil Mayo mystery at 8.30pm. SBS wakes up dear, departed Inspector Rex at 7.30pm, Nine has Getaway followed by The Celebrity Singing Bee — I fear this will be the episode that tips it over. Ten has the two Law And Orders and Seven returns Ghost Whisperer instead of Earl and How I Met Your Mother. Seven also has Bones at 8.30pm. SBS also has the bike race at 10pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports