The battle of the footy codes heads into finals

There’s no more Ashes cricket after last night and this morning. The first session of day four of the fifth test averaged 814,000 nationally for Nine; a 12.7% audience share that was more than the audiences for the ABC (12.5%) or the Ten Network (12.2%). The Block topped the night with 1.57 million and that was the night. The final of Seven’s Australia’s Got Talent managed 1.04 million but went all but unnoticed.

The AFL finals on Friday night and late Saturday afternoon easily out-rated the NRL and cricket on both days. Geelong’s win on Friday night over the West Coast was watched by 1.13 million on Seven, against 712,000 for the first NRL final. The first session of the test was watched by 692,000. Saturday night saw the 951,000 watch the Sydney Giants beat the Brisbane Lions in the second qualifying AFL final, while 760,000 watched the NRL final between Melbourne and Canberra. 585,000 watched Manly beat Cronulla. The test cricket averaged 430,000 for the first session. Yesterday’s NRL final which saw Parramatta win over Brisbane was watched by 789,000 and the test’s first session last night had an audience of 814,000.

In regional markets it was Seven News with 477,000, Nine/NBN News with 446,000, The Block with 438,000, Australia’s Got Talent with 390,000 and the 7pm ABC News with 340,000.

And an apology: I killed off Shaun Micalleff’s Mad As Hell a week early. It ends its 2019 season this week.

Network channel share:

1. Nine (42.5%)
2. Seven (26.5%)
3. ABC (12.5%)
4. Ten (12.2%)
5. SBS (6.5%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (23.5%)
2. Seven (17.8%)
3. ABC (7.9%)
4. Ten (7.4%)
5. SBS ONE (4.1%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. Gem (12.7%)
2. GO (3.9%)
3. 7TWO (3.0%)
4. 7mate (2.9%)
5. 10 Bold (2.8%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. The Block (Nine) — 1.577 million
2. Nine/NBN News — 1.549 million
3. Seven News — 1.435 million
4. Australia’s Got Talent (Seven) — 1.049 million
5. 7pm ABC News — 937,000
6. Cricket, 5th Ashes Test, Day 4, Session 1 (Nine) — 814,000
7. NRL: Elimination Final 2 (Nine) — 789,000
8. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 740,000
9. Sunday Night (Seven) — 659,000
10. Attenborough: Empire of The Ants (ABC) — 547,000

Top metro programs:

1. The Block (Nine) — 1.139 million
2. Nine News– 1.103 million

Losers: The final sessions of the test meant no losers — except Australia.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Nine News— 1.103 million
2. Seven News — 958,000
3. 7pm ABC News – 597,000
4. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 500,000
5. Sunday Night (Seven) — 400,000
6. The Sunday Project 7pm (Ten) — 344,000
7. Ten Eyewitness News — 250,000
8. The Sunday Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 249,000
9. SBS World News — 147,000

Morning (National) TV:

1. Insiders (ABC, ABC News) — 494,000
2. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 409,000
3. Landline (ABC) — 397,000
4. Weekend Today (Nine) — 249,000
5. Offsiders (ABC) — 234,000
6. Sports Sunday (Nine) — 185,000

Top five pay TV programs:

1. NRL: Parramatta v Brisbane (Fox League) — 318,000
2. Supercars Auckland (Fox Sports) — 173,000
3. Supercars The Grid (Fox Sports) — 110,000
4. NRL: Big League Wrap (Fox League) — 108,000
5. Supercars Auckland (Fox Sports) — 105,000