The Winners: Seven News was tops with 1.194 million, Today Tonight was second with 1.158 million ACA was under a million) and the repeat of The Mentalist was 3rd with 1.022 million. For the second night in a row Home and Away had less than a million viewers, it averaged 957,000 (and was beaten by the 7pm ABC News with 978,000). Cougar Town at 8.30pm, 857,000, 841,000 for How I Met Your Mother. Law and Order SVU on Ten at around 9pm, 857,000. The Biggest Loser, also on Ten at 7.30pm, 828,000. The Footy Shows, 811,000 on Nine from 9.30pm. Not good, despite what Nine might think. Getaway on Nine at 7.30pm, 989,000. It’s weaker this year, like so many other programs.

The Losers: Ten, especially Medium, at 10pm, 534,000. So You think You Can Dance Australia from 8pm to 9pm, 792,000. In fact viewers generally because of the rotten quality of what was on offer last night.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Melbourne. Nine News averaged 990,000 viewers. A Current Affair averaged 928,000 nationally and lost every metro market to TT. The 7pm ABC News had more viewers a with 978,000. The 7.30 Report averaged 661,000 (and continues the trend of not being able to hang onto the 7pm audience). Lateline averaged 219,000, Lateline Business, 120,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 164,000, 140,000 for the late edition. 7am Sunrise, 337,000, 7am Today, 303,000.

The Stats:

FTA: Nine won with a share of a 6pm to midnight combined overnight All People share of 31.8% from Seven with 26.9%, Ten with 20.4%, the ABC with 16.4% and SBS with 4.6%. Nine won Sydney, Melbourne (by 10 points, thanks to the AFL Footy Show’s reduced, but still significant boost) and Perth. Seven won Brisbane and Adelaide.

Main Channels: Nine won with 27.4% from Seven with 24.2%, Ten with 19.3%, ABA 1 on 14.2% and SBS ONE, 3.9%. Nine won Sydney and Melbourne, Seven won Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Seven leads the week 27.0% to 26.9%, close!

Digital: GO won with 4.4%, from 7TWO with 2.7%, ABC 2 with 1.5%, ONE with 1.1%, ABC 3, 0.7% and SBS TWO, 0.7% as well. the six digital channels had a combined share of 11.1%, which isn’t a surprise given the appalling main channel offerings. GO leads the week with a share of 3.2% to 7TWO’s 2.6%.

Pay TV: Nine averaged 25/3%. Seven, 21.4%, Pay TV, 17.8%, Ten, 16.2%, the ABC, 13.0% and SBS, 3.7%. The 11 FTA channels had a combined share of 82.2% and Pay TV’s 100 plus channels, 17.8%.

Regional: A win to Nine through WIN/NBN with a combined overnight All People 6 pm to midnight share of 29.7%, from Prime/7Qld with 25.8%, Ten (Southern Cross) with 20.2%, the ABC, 18.9% and SBS, 5.4%. WIN/NBN won the main channel battle over Prime/7Qld. GO won the digital battle, with a 2.6% share from ABC 2 with 2.0% and 7TWO with 1.9%. WIN/NBN leads the week, 28.7% to Prime/7Qld with 28.2%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: So, what happens when you are a TV Network and not many people watch a night of relatively costly programming, especially two so-called flagships, the NRL and AFL Footy Shows? The answer is last night’s effort on Seven, Ten, Nine and the ABC. Underwhelming is a word that’s not quite strong enough. Poor or appalling might be better descriptions of what was on offer last night. Just three programs with a million or more viewers the most watched was the 6 pm news on Seven with a low 1.194 million. That’s how poor.

But Seven, for example, will look at the figures and find that How I Met Your Mother, which averaged 841,000 total viewers, did very well with female viewers and in all demographics, while Nine will look at the rotten Footy Shows and conclude that because they did well in male demos (especially 25 to 54, and boosted Nine home in Sydney and Melbourne, but not Brisbane), all is right with the world. And while the Footy Shows were tops with men in the 25 to 54 age group, How I Met Your Mother and Cougar Town (also on Seven at 8.30pm) were 1st and 2nd in the rankings in the 25 to 54 demo, which again proves that women dominate the remotes.

The Footy Shows only managed 811,000 viewers from 9.30pm to around 11pm to 11.15pm. The NRL show in Sydney averaged 199,000 viewers, 103,000 in Brisbane and 319,000 in Melbourne for the AFL version. The return of both programs has been heavily promoted. In defence of the AFL show, the season proper doesn’t start until the end of the month, (but the Melbourne media is full of stories anyway). The NRL season starts tonight. But so weak were the programs on Seven, Ten and the ABC that the Footy Shows won their timeslots.

TONIGHT: NRL returns tonight on Nine in Sydney and Brisbane and in some regional areas. Better Homes and Gardens is on Seven at 7.30pm. Ten has TBL for 90 minutes, then a repeat of NCIS. The ABC has Criminal Justice 8.30pm.

TOMORROW: NRL on Pay TV. Blue Murder repeat on the ABC at 9.15pm, nothing else anywhere. bean counter movies on Seven. Nine and Ten. The AFL NAB Cup Final is on Ten live in southern markets, later in the north. A truly horrid night if watching TV is the only thing available.

SUNDAY: Don’t forget the morning chats if you like live moving lips. Sunday Night at 6.30pm on Seven, Border Security at 7.30pm, perhaps Bones at 8.30pm. 60 Minutes on Nine at 7.30pm (poor old dear it is). V for all the Sci-Fi desperates. Ten has Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation and then The Good Wife at 8.30pm.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports