It’s a lesson the Ten network has had to learn time and time again in the past nine months: the first night figures for a new series, especially a reality program, bear no resemblance to what the audience will do. We saw it with American Idol and on MasterChef: The Professional this year, and with Everybody Dance last year as well as The Shire, Being Lara Bingle, etc. Audiences know instinctively if they will return after a first viewing. In Ten’s cases the first night’s audience has been a peak for the series, even ones built to move towards a climax, such as MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.

And so it was last night with the second episode of the new series of The Biggest Loser, which dropped 25% of its first-night audience. It averaged national 816,000/ 600,000 metro/ 216,000 regional viewers against the 1.086 million national/ 815,000 metro/ 271,000 regional from the return episode on Monday night. The program described itself, it was the biggest loser last night. It is also another black mark on the reputation of Shine, (owned by News Corp), which produced it. Shine produced MasterChef: The Professionals to an indifferent finish, with Sunday night’s figures well below the first night’s level back in January. The Biggest Loser is heading that way. How will new CEO Hamish McLennan get Shine to lift its game when its owned by Lachlan Murdoch’s family company?

But the night overall was the same old, same old with Seven’s My Kitchen Rules (2.54 million national/ 1.73 million metro/ 815,000 regional) dominating the night once again, dragging a faltering Revenge (1.74 million national/ 1.15 million metro/ 583,000 regional) with it. That, plus a good night for Seven News, Today Tonight and Home and Away let Seven win the night easily in metro and regional markets, with Nine second and the ABC1 a solid third as Ten slid back to what is now its usual spot, a weak fourth.

The about-to-end The Block All Stars on Nine (2.009 million national/ 1.4 million metro/ 613,000 regional), again running second. The auction is in Sydney later today and that will be wrapped up, along with the winners and the cash, in a two-hour finale from 7pm Wednesday. That should be an extravaganza. Watch Seven News and Today Tonight tonight to see if they run spoiler stories on the auction to try and lessen the impact of tomorrow night’s finale. The auctions start at 2pm in Bondi in Sydney.

Network share:

  1. Seven (34.1%)
  2. Nine (27.2%)
  3. ABC (19.7%)
  4. Ten (15.4%)
  5. SBS (3.6%)

Main channels: 

  1. Seven (27.4%)
  2. Nine  (21.4%)
  3. ABC1  (15.4%)
  4. Ten (10.1%)
  5. SBS ONE (2.8%)

Digitals:

  1. 7TWO (3.8%)
  2. GO (3.4%)
  3. ONE (3.0%)
  4. 7mate (2.9%)
  5. ABC 2 (2.6%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) –2.544 million
  2. The Block All Stars (Nine) – 2.009 million
  3. Seven News — 1.766 million.
  4. Revenge (Seven) — 1.740 million
  5. Nine News — 1.681 million
  6. ABC1 News — 1.401 million
  7. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.396 million
  8. Australian Story (ABC1) — 1.372 million
  9. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.287 million
  10. The Big Bang Theory repeat episode two (Nine) — 1.252 million

Top metro programs:

  1. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 1.729 million
  2. The Block All Stars (Nine) — 1.397 million
  3. Seven News — 1.171 million
  4. Nine News — 1.140 million
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.043 million

 

Metro/regional: Seven won (overall and main channels) across all five metro markets and the regions (Prime/7Qld), with Nine (and WIN/NBN) second and the ABC/ABC1 third. Ten/SC Ten was a very weak fourth. Seven now leads the week, but Nine will be looking to the finale of The Block and then the NRL on Thursday and Friday nights to lift it to a win.

Losers: Ten … The Biggest Loser. Nothing “next generation” about the loss of audience last night, it was real and now. Can of Worms, also on Ten, at 8.30pm. (National 638,000/ 426,000 metro/ 212,000 regional). Weak, just weak. 

News and current affairs:

  1. Seven News  – 1.171 million
  2. Nine News  – 1.14o million
  3. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.043 million
  4. A Current Affair (Nine) – 974,000 million
  5. ABC News – 958,000
  6. Australian Story (ABC1) — 899,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC1) — 762,000.
  8. Four Corners (ABC1) — 748,000.
  9. Media Watch (ABC1) — 730,000.
  10. Ten News — 670,000.

Morning TV:

  1. Today  (Seven) – 351,000
  2. Sunrise (Nine) – 324,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1) – 52,000 + 26,000 on News 24

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox Sport 1– 4.1%
  2. Fox Sport 2  – 3.8%
  3. Fox 8– 2.6%
  4. LifeStyle  – 2.1%.
  5. TV 1  – 1.9%

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. NRL: Souths v/ Cronulla  (Fox Sport 1) – 315,000
  2. Monday Night With Matty Johns (Fox Sport 1) – 146,000
  3. Cricket: 3rd Test, India v Australia (Fox Sports 2, evening) – 110,000
  4. Cricket: 3rd Test, India v Australia (Fox Sports 2, afternoon) – 75,000
  5. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 66,000

Tonight: More MKR on Seven, The Block All Stars on Nine, The Biggest Loser on Ten, Foreign Correspondent on ABC1 and Insight and Dateline on SBS ONE.

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. The data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM. (All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight all people.) Plus network reports.