Australia voted last night and despite all the hype from the Corby family and their online friends, the TV audience overwhelmingly favoured Seven’s INXS: Never Tear Us Apart over Nine’s Schapelle, by a ratio of two to one. Schapelle managed 1.349 million national / 1.022 million metro / 327,000 regional viewers. INXS: Never Tear Us Apart had 2.881 million national / 1.974 million metro / 907,000 regional viewers. Nine held on, Ten struggled. Seven won nationally in metro and regional markets.

Of special interest last night was the way viewers in regional market gave the Corby story a bigger thumbs down than did metro audiences. No one can fault Nine from bringing forward the screening of the Corby doco by a night, but what can’t be denied is that when faced with a choice between the story of an iconic rock band and the mixed up tale of a young women in drug trouble in Bali (and an icon in her own way), Australian TV viewers overwhelmingly chose the INXS story. If anything, the ratings from last night should dramatically lower the amounts of money reportedly being waved around the Corby camp for an exclusive interview. Australians showed last night that her story doesn’t really interest them. Many have already made up their minds, and probably did so years ago.

Nine’s Sunday reveal edition of The Block did very well with million 1.810 million national / 1.274 million metro / 536,000 regional viewers.  Ten’s broadcast of the gold medal in the women’s snowboard, slopestyle, averaged 1.238 million national / 996,000 metro/ 242,000 regional viewers, which will bring a smile to Ten’s dial this morning. But the most telling figures last night for Ten were those for the launch episode of So You Think You Can Dance Australia — 619,000 national / 466,000 metro / 153,000 regional viewers. Not good, even on such a big night of viewing. Rake on ABC1 topped it with 942,000 national / 645,000 metro / 297,000 regional viewers. Different demographics I know, but Rake did well among its target audience. So You Think You Can Dance didn’t.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (37.6%)
  2. Nine (27.0%)
  3. Ten (20.5%)
  4. ABC (11.9%)
  5. SBS (3.1%)

Network main channels:

  1. Seven (33.1%)
  2. Nine (21.7%)
  3. Ten (11.1%)
  4. ABC 1 (8.5%)
  5. SBS ONE (2.9%)

Top digital channels: 

  1. ONE  (7.2%)
  2.  GO (3.1%)
  3. 7TWO (2.5%)
  4. Gem, Eleven (2.2%)
  5. 7mate (2.0%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (Seven) — 2.881 million
  2. Sunday Night (Seven) — 2.635 million
  3. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 2.406 million
  4. Seven News – 1.914 million
  5. The Block (Nine) — 1.810 million
  6. Nine News — 1.651 million
  7. Schapelle (Nine) — 1.349 million
  8. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 1.270 million
  9. Sochi Live women’s snowboard/slopestyle (Ten) — 1.238 million
  10. ABC News — 1.180 million

Top metro programs:

  1. INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (Seven) — 1.974 million
  2. Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.793 million
  3. My Kitchen Rules (Seven) — 1.640 million
  4. Seven News — 1.292 million
  5. The Block (Nine) — 1.274 million
  6. Nine News  — 1.223 million
  7. Schapelle (Nine) — 1.022 million

Losers: No one lacked choice last night. I will be watching Rake again tonight because I was badly distracted.Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Sunday Night (Seven) — 1.793 million
  2. Seven News — 1.292 million
  3. Nine News  — 1.223 million
  4. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 806,000
  5. ABC News – 790,000
  6. Ten Eyewitness News — 587,000
  7. SBS World News — 202,000 

Metro morning TV:

  1. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) – 343,000
  2. Weekend Today (Nine) – 277,000
  3. Insiders (ABC1, 177,000 + 93,000 on News 24) — 270,000
  4. Landline (ABC1) — 266,000
  5. Offsiders (ABC1) — 146,000

Top pay TV channels:

  1. TVHITS!  (2.6%)
  2. Fox 8 (2.1%)
  3. Foxtel Moves (1.9%)
  4. LifeStyle  (1.7%)
  5. Disney, A&E -(1.6%)

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Top Gear (BBC Knowledge)  — 83,000
  2. Oblivion (Foxtel movies) – 73,000
  3. The Simpsons (Fox 8) – 69,000
  4. The Little Mermaid  (Disney) – 65,000
  5. NCIS (TVHITS!) – 57,000

*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.) and network reports.