The Winners: Thank God You’re Here returned to TV on Seven and topped the night with 1.741 million viewers. Seven News was second with 1.685 million and Today Tonight was next with 1.554 million. Criminal Minds was 4th at 8.30pm for Seven with 1.342 million and Nine News was 5th with 1.292 million people, a solid effort. The ABC’s Spicks and Specks was 6th with 1.282 million at 8.30pm. Home and Away relished the ending of The Biggest Loser on Ten. Home and Away won 7pm last night with 1.282 million (meaning Seven won from 6pm to well past 9pm). Two and a Half Men was close behind though for Nine at 7pm with 1.274 million people for a repeat and A Current Affair was 9th with 1.249 million. The Gruen Transfer on the ABC at 9pm averaged 1.226 million, with RPA in 11th spot with 1.220 million at 8pm. What’s Good For You perked up and averaged 1.201 million at 7.30pm, and the 7pm ABC News averaged 1.150 million people. The new Simpsons episode on Ten at 8pm averaged 1095 million and out-rated the third episode of MasterChef Australia at 7pm to 8pm with 994,000. Hot Seat on Nine at 5.30pm, 585,000 (not really building). Deal Or No Deal, 879,000. Ten News won the 5pm to 6pm anyway. The repeat of Food Safari on SBS at 7.30pm, 339,000.

The Losers: A few. Life on Ten at 9.30pm, 776,000. My Name Is Earl on Seven at 9.30pm, 723,000. House on Ten at 8.30pm, 910,000 (should be doing better). Cold Case on Nine at 9.30pm: 947,000. Won the timeslot with that, so not a winner, but it’s a shadow of its former self.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market as did Today Tonight. Nine News was stronger in Sydney with 382,000 and a clear second to Seven on 466,000. Ten News At Five averaged 988,000, the late News/Sports Tonight, 398,000. The 7.30 Report averaged 815,000. Lateline, 259,000, Lateline Business, 169,000. SBS News at 6.30pm with 175,000; 232,000 for the 9.30pm late edition. 7am Sunrise, 398,000, 7am Today, 327,000.

The Stats: Seven won 6pm to midnight All People with 29.9% (28.7%) from Nine with 25.6% (24.7%), Ten on 21.2% (23.4%), the ABC on 18.1% (18.0%) and SBS on 5.2% (5.4%). Seven says it won 18 to 49 and 25 to 54 from 6pm to 10.30pm. Ten won 16 to 39. Ten still leads the week, 27.2% to Seven with 26.7% and Nine on 25.4%. In regional areas a win to WIN/NBN with 27.8% from Prime/7Qld with 27.4%, The ABC with 19.0%, Southern Cross (Ten), 18.9% and SBS with 6.8%. It could be a tough winter for Ten and its affiliate, Southern Cross (Macquarie Media Group).

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Thank God You’re Here did what the Seven Network wanted it to do last night: it anchored the night, topped the ratings, entertained (Colin Lane and Cal Wilson were very funny) and was chock full of paying ads. The 1.7 million was just under the 1.8 million it averaged at Ten previously, but judging on last night it will build.

Nine’s rather average So What’s Good For You and RPA both jumped from the week before to average over 1.2 million viewers. That was better than expected.

MasterChef had fewer than 1 million viewers last night with 994,000. Ten says it’s doing better than The Biggest Loser did week one of this year, as it should because it’s the first season of MasterChef and the Biggest Loser is now a mature and well known program with viewers. MasterChef still has a tinge of novelty. The real test will come in a couple of weeks when it’s into the boring bits of any program like this: the tedious elimination of people week after week.

TONIGHT: The Footy Shows in Nine at 9.30pm for those NRL and AFL desperados. Before that Getaway. 20 to 1 is a repeat. The ABC has Q&A at 9.30pm. The Tim Minchin story at 8.30pm … will anyone watch? SBS has Inspector Rex in repeat and Mad Men. Seven has Ghost Whisperer, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Ten has MasterChef, Bondi Vet, Law and Order SVU. Life On Mars seems to have been taken by aliens, or by Ten programmers upset at its death by ratings. Ten doubles up episodes of SVU at 9.30pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports