England Cricketer Ben Stokes (Image: AAP/Dave Hunt)

Australia was finally ejected from Third Test Island at Headingley just after 1am Monday — but not before a gripping trial by torture with cricket bat and ball. I am pained to say that we lost the match thanks to poor reviews — and just one person on top of those poles in the middle of the pitch in Leeds. Every young boy and girl dream of winning a big game single-handedly — and that is what Ben Stokes did. He also single-handedly won the night for Nine, with Gem getting a share of 15.8%. That meant only Nine’s main channel (21.4%) and Seven’s main Channel (15.4%) had more viewers. 1 million watched the first session, 694,000 watched the post lunch session, and 358,000 lonely and frustrated souls were watching the Test’s thrilling climax. It was why you watch and love test cricket. The test, and especially the last session, was a real example of what reality TV really can be.

Nothing else mattered last night — The Block had a solid 1.48 million, Australia’s Got Talent did OK with 1.12 million, while Australian Survivor kept 937,000 people anchored on Ten’s island. In regional markets it was Seven’s News with 517,000 from Australia’s Got Talent with 388,000, The Block with 385,000, Nine News with 367,000 and the 7pm ABC News with 320,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (42.7%)
  2. Seven (24.1%)
  3. Ten (16.3%)
  4. ABC (11.4%)
  5. SBS (5.5%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (21.4%)
  2. Seven (16.4%)
  3. Ten (11.9%)
  4. ABC (8.2%)
  5. SBS ONE (3.5%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. Gem (15.8%)
  2. GO (3.6%)
  3. 7mate (3.13%)
  4. 7TWO (2.6%)
  5. 10nbold (2.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.614 million
  2. The Block (Nine) — 1.479 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.373 million
  4. Australia’s Got Talent (Seven) — 1.119 million
  5. Third Ashes Test: Day 4, Session 1 (Gem) —1.001 million
  6. Australian Survivor (Ten) — 937,000
  7. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 934,000
  8. 7pm ABC News — 933,000
  9. Sunday Night (Seven) — 739,000
  10. Seven’s AFL Afternoon — 715,000

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News  — 1.096 million
  2. The Block (Nine) — 1.094 million
  3. Nine News — 1.006 million

Losers: Australia — but not fans who saw a fab test.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.096 million
  2. Nine News — 1.006 million
  3. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 624,00
  4. 7pm ABC News — 606,000
  5. Sunday Night (Seven) — 477000
  6. The Sunday Project 7pm (Ten) — 377,000
  7. 10 News First — 331,000
  8. The Sunday Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 228,000
  9. SBS World News — 158,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Insiders (ABC, ABC News) — 477,000
  2. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 385,000
  3. Landline (ABC) —370,000
  4. Weekend Today (Nine) —275,000
  5. Offsiders (ABC, ABC News) — 248,000
  6. Sports Sunday (Nine) — 212,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. NRL: Canberra v Manly (Fox League) —256,000
  2. AFL: Richmond v Brisbane (Fox Footy) — 214,000
  3. AFL: Footscray v Adelaide (Fox Footy) —172,000
  4. NRL: Melbourne v Gold Coast (Fox League) —150,000
  5. Supercars: The Bend (Fox Sports) — 136,000