The Winners: Seven’s 8pm program, The Force was tops with 1.538 million and Border Security at 7.30pm on Seven averaged 1.424 million. Seven News was 3rd with 1.385 million and Sunday Night at 6.30pm averaged 1.386 million. The ABC’s 8.30pm remake of The 39 Steps averaged 1.144 million and Bones at 8.30pm on Seven returned for a new series and 1.144 million as well. Nine News was 7th with 1.113 million, Ten’s Australian Idol jumped back to average 1.064 million and 60 Minutes was 9th with 1.059 million. Nine’s 6.30pm program, 20 to 1, averaged 1.035 million and Nine’s 8.30pm program Rescue Special Ops averaged 1.020 million. Rove averaged 851,000.

The Losers: Hard to say. 60 Minutes (1.059 million ) was drab and pedestrian compared with Sunday Night on Seven an hour earlier (1.175 million). Sunday Night‘s Airbus story was OK, its Macquarie Island report which was done by a scientist and his wife was not only “viewer generated” but was very good wildlife TV. Seven’s Castle returned at 9.30pm with 774,000. It was beaten by the terrible CSI Miami with 809,000 for Nine. Both were behind up the ABC’s The 39 Steps until it finished around 10pm or just after.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market. The 7pm ABC News averaged 966,000. Ten News, 789,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 136,000 for SBS. In the morning, Weekend Sunrise on Seven, 331,000, Today on Sunday on Nine, 247,000. Insiders on the ABC at 9am, 219,000, Inside Business, 169,000, Offsiders at 10.30am, 134,000. Dateline on SBS at 8.30pm, 154,000. Meet The Press on Ten at 8am, 64,000. Landline at Noon on the ABC, 203,000.

The Stats: Nine ostensibly won with a combined 6pm to Midnight All People share of 28.1% (27.4%), from Seven with 26.5% (29.1%), Ten with a combined 22.8% (19.1%), the ABC with a combined 18.1% (19.1%) and SBS with 4.5% (5.2%). Nine won Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide. Seven won Brisbane and Perth on combined figures.

Digitally: The reality is that Nine’s share was boosted by the high share for its GO digital channel with 4.20. That left Nine’s main channel on 23.90%. Seven was on a single 26.5%, Ten’s ONE averaged 2.00% (Ten’s main channel, 20.80%, ABC 2 was on 0.70%, ABC 1 with 17.40%, SBS TWO with 0.30% and SBS ONE was on 4.20%. In regional markets a close finish with Prime/7Qld on 27.5%, WIN/NBN on 27.4%, Southern Cross (Ten) with 22.7%, ABC TV with 16.8% and SBS with 5.6%.

Last night Nine’s GO with 4.20% boosted Nine’s overall share to 28.1% and past Seven’s 26.5%. But Nine’s Main channel was on 23.90% (and Ten’s main channel was on 20.8%), so in reality an easy win to Seven. The Top Five programs on Digital FT TV last night was Wipeout on Go with 294,000, Big Bang Theory on Go with 146,000; South Park on Go with 131,000, The Moto GP on Ten’s ONE with 113,000 and The Nanny on Go with 106,000.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: A clear win to Seven last week, even without the influence of Nine’s digital channel GO (Seven is inching towards launching its channel in a few weeks’ time). Only one program had more than a million viewers on Saturday night: Seven News with 1.153 million. Nine News on Saturday nights has a WIN provincial look about it. The night was dull. The Hey Hey program was a repeat of the first episode — it averaged just over 700,000 viewers.

TONIGHT: Top Gear at 7.30pm on SBS. Australian Story on the ABC at 8pm. Four Corners at 8.30pm on the ABC. FlashFoward on Seven at 8.30pm, The Mentalist on Nine in the same slot. Good News Week from 8.30pm to 10pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports