The Winners: Seven News was tops with 1.508 million viewers, with Today Tonight second with 1.363 million (a sizeable turnoff). What’s Good For You returned well for Nine at 7.30pm with 1.310 million (but it will sag if there’s not more solid content instead of fluff). RPA came back as well at the earlier time of 8pm and did well with 1.230 million (even if there’s a lot of graphic stuff for that earlier time slot). The ABC’s Spicks and Specks was 5th with 1.228 million at 8.30pm (and was the best so far this year) and Home and Away averaged 1.100 million at 7pm. The Gruen Transfer was 7th at 9pm for the ABC with 1.087 million (and was better than previous episodes — see below in comments). The Biggest Loser was 8th for Ten at 7pm to 8pm with 1.078 million and Seven’s Criminal Minds averaged 1.074 million at 8.30pm. The 7pm ABC News averaged 1.059 million people in 10th spot. Next was the worst show this week — The World’s Got Talent. It was a repeat on Seven at 7.30pm. The program was a misnomer made of highlights from similar programs around the world. It was rotten the first time around on Seven and it hadn’t got any better by last night. A Current Affair averaged 1.033 million in 12th spot (and I notice that Nine’s PR team has stopped bagging the ratings of Seven’s Today Tonight — something to do with the enormous lead TT has most nights over ACA?). Nine’s Two and a Half Men repeat averaged 1.027 million. Nine News was 14th and last in the million viewer club with 1.007 million. Not good. Guerrilla Gardeners on Ten at 8pm, 800,000. getting better.

The Losers: Nine and Ten viewers. RPA and What’s Good For You won the 7.30pm to 8.30pm slot for Nine, but the rest of the line up was poor. Likewise Ten. House, 933,000 without any real competition. It was a fresh episode, it did well in the demos, but should have pulled in more viewers. The ABC duo, Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer were the only opposition. Life at 9.30pm, on Ten, 708,000. It’s dying quickly, waiting to be interred. Ten missed that in its morning report which claimed victory in 16 to 39 and 18 to 49 last night in prime time.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market as did Today Tonight. In Sydney it was a terrible night for Nine. The news was watched by just 247,000 people. Seven had 431,000. That’s a huge 184,000 viewers ahead, one of the largest margins recorded. The 7pm ABC News had 294,000 viewers in Sydney, The 7.30 Report, 305,000 (ACA had 252,000 in Sydney). Nine News was closer in Melbourne and Brisbane, so there is something wrong in Sydney. The 7.30 Report averaged 942,000 nationally. Lateline averaged 254,000. Lateline Business, 154,000. Ten News averaged 865,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 370,000. SBS News at 6.30pm 154,000. The 9.30pm edition, 146,000. 7am Sunrise on Seven, 357,000, 7am Today, 295,000.

The Stats: Seven won All People 6pm to midnight and 25 to 54 with 29.0% (27.2%), from Nine with 24.3% (30.6%), Ten with 21.0%, the ABC 19.6% (17.2%) and SBS with 5.5% (4.0%). Seven won everywhere bar Melbourne where Nine snuck home. In Sydney Ten finished 4th behind Seven, Nine and the ABC. Seven leads the week, 26.0% to 25.7% for Nine and 24.7% for Ten. In regional areas a win for Prime/7Qld with 26.5% from WIN/NBN with 24.5%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 21.6%, the ABC with 15.5% and SBS with 5.8%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: The Gruen Transfer last night was OK; a bit more interesting than in previous weeks. But perhaps the panel could have been better informed about Chevron and what it does in Australia. Chevron was one of the petrol companies (their words) whose advertising in Australia was examined. Apart from Todd Sampson, no other panellist mentioned the relationship between Chevron and Caltex Australia: Chevron is the parent.

Few people in this country would be aware of that, but it should have been pointed out. Research would have picked up that Chevron is on the verge of spending (or not spending) upwards of $10 billion or more on two of the biggest gas projects in the country off the WA coast. The best known is the Gorgon field and LNG proposal that will produce “clean” gas for export. Chevron’s advertising has nothing to do with petrol or Geo Thermal power (one of the ads shown). It’s all about selling its corporate presence ahead of the decision on the gas projects.

The program was worth it for the Caltex ad from 1961 with Sabrina. It was mad, bad and sexist in the extreme, and cringingly funny for all of that. Will Anderson should have pointed out which ad agency made that ad.

Seven won last night because on the whole, viewers preferred its repeats to the repeats and fresh material on Nine and Ten. For Nine the return of What’s Good For You and RPA was good. But it only was an hour. Apart from that Nine has a below par night. What’s Good For You though is a bit light on for content. the producers working on it are more interested in the look and not the content.

OVER EASTER: Sports, check your guides, eat lot’s of chocolate, buns, fish, chips, the odd glass of something refreshing. There’s not much on TV. The Footy Shows tonight on Nine, Q&A, Rebus, Vincent tomorrow night. New Tricks on Saturday, Mr Poirot and the India program on the ABC on Sunday.

Monday night: Top Gear etc etc. There will be a lot of repeats.

60 Minutes, Sunday Night will be “fresh” after a fashion. It has a segment on bottled water. Gawd, every program has done that over. The Gruen Transfer was the latest last week. It’s a holiday Sunday night, so the story must be lightweight.

On Sunday Night Ten has The Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance Australia, but I don’t think these are very important to the progress of either program. Monday night there is no So You Think You Can Dance Australia. The Biggest Loser is a normal half hour episode.

Nine repeats Underbelly again for nearly three hours. The Customs program at 8pm is a final.

Four Corners, Media Watch and The 7.30 Report on the ABC, plus Spooks, which still looks out of place.

And AFL, NRL, Cricket (on pay TV), golf on Ten (The Masters), bike and car racing. Horse racing. And hopefully catching up with family. Another bun and a coffee please for me!

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports