The Winners: The second final of Australia’s Got Talent averaged 1.610 million got top spot on the most watched list last night. Seven News was second with 1.556 million, Today Tonight was third with 1.505 million and Ten’s The Biggest Loser averaged 1.295 million from 7pm for 4th spot. The Gruen Transfer averaged 1.244 million at 9pm and was 5th. Spicks and Specks at 8.30pm averaged 1.240 million and was again solid. Seven’s 8.30pm program, Criminal Minds averaged 1.228 million at 7pm. Nine’s repeat of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.122 million at 7pm and 9th was Nine News with 1.110 million. Home and Away averaged 1.097 million for 10th spot. A Current Affair was 11th with 1.093 million, The new Simpsons episode on Ten at 8pm averaged 1.062 million, Cold Case averaged 1.057 million at 9.30pm for Nine and the 7pm ABC News was 14th with 1.032 million. The Cook and The Chef at 6.30pm the ABC, 604,000 (more viewers than Hot Seat on Nine an hour earlier and in a tougher timeslot). Food Safari repeated on SBS at 7.30pm, 314,000. All that butter last night!

The Losers: What’s Good For You and RPA on Nine between 7.30pm and 8.30pm (see below). Life at 9.30pm on Ten, 715,000. House, 946,000. That’s OK, but still a shadow of itself. Likewise The Mentalist on Nine at 8.30pm: 936,000. It’s better than that and better than Criminal Minds which continues to remind me of Hawaii Five-O. My Name Is Earl returned at 9.30pm with 720,000. For a program that was getting 1 million plus figures on a Thursday night, it’s a come down. But Seven did waste it Sunday evenings late last year.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market as did Today Tonight. Nine News finished 1,000 viewers behind the ABC 7pm news in Sydney in the rankings and ACA finished 3000 behind The 7.30 Report in the same market. Nationally The 7.30 Report averaged 807,000 with Kerry O’Brien returning. Lateline averaged 274,000, Lateline Business, 176,000. Ten News averaged 916,000 (a solid week so far). The late News/Sports Tonight averaged 352,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 131,000, 216,000 for the 9.30pm edition. 7am Sunrise, 377,000. 7am Today, 307,000.

The Stats: Seven won 6pm to midnight All People with a share of 28.7% (30.7%) from Nine with 24.7% (22.9%), Ten with 23.2% (21.8%). The ABC was on 18.0% (18.9%) and SBS was on 5.4% (5.6%). Seven won all five metro markets. Seven and Nine now are tied for the lead over the week with 27.4%. In regional areas a win for Prime/7Qld with 29.5%, from WIN/NBN with 26.6%, Southern Cross on 19.3%, the ABC on 17.3% and SBS on 7.7%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: A win for Seven, a win for Ten in the 16 to 39 and 18 to 49 demos. And a win for the ABC with Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer both solid again. The Gruen Transfer was actually the best it has been this series. It was far more informative, far more insightful and instead of going for cheap jokes, the comedy came from insight. As well, there was a certain level of frankness about some ads that was absent at times earlier in the series.

Nine’s RPA is being harmed by What’s Good For You. It’s lightweight, derivative and no better than ACA or Today Tonight. It now has all the hallmarks of a program that is done quickly and on the cheap with no thought to the content. And it is showing with viewers: 942,000 last night is not good, and it dragged RPA down to 966,000, despite it still having superior content and production values.

Nine News and ACA maintained their slow slide down the audience lists again. Hot Seat averaged 582, 000. Steadying? 191,000 in Melbourne: not good as its Eddie McGuire’s home town. Deal or No Deal up to 795,000 on Seven, the second nightly increase this week against Hot Seat.

TONIGHT: The AFL and NRL Footy Shows. 20 to 1, Two and a Half Men. Getaway, all for you on Nine.

Seven has Home and Away, Ghost Whisperer, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice. Heroes at 10.30pm.

Ten has The Biggest Loser, Bondi Vet, Law and Order SVU and Life On Mars.

SBS has Mad Men after Inspector Rex.

The ABC has Lost In Flanders (it’s a WW! program — Anzac Day is on Saturday!). Q&A on the ABC at 9.30pm has PJ O’Rourke added to the cast of thousands.

For me it’s The 7.30 Report for a look, Inspector Rex and or Getaway, then Mad Men or the ABC, then the Footy Show (NRL in Sydney) and Q&A. Might do that first to see if Mr O’Rourke is as tired as he sounded in Crikey yesterday.

If you follow any of those recommendations do so in the knowledge that I am a bear of less than half a brain now after saying Nine News topped the most watched list Tuesday night when it was Seven.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports