seven news TV ratings
(Image: Seven News)

COVID-19 is back for the evening news broadcasts with Seven’s 6pm to 6.30pm news seeing its audience leap to more than 2 million and the hour average over 1.9 million. Sunrise’s audience jumped back past half a million from 7am to 9am, Today’s numbers improved a touch as did figures for Nine News and the 7pm ABC News. A second wave for viewers — unwanted.

So it was Nine’s night from a distant Seven, the ABC in third ahead of a weak Ten. 

Ten’s Bachelor In Paradise gets average figures — 656,000 last night for the 2020 season. It does OK in the demos, especially for young females, but its weakness has lopped more than 300,000 off the figures for Have You Been Paying Attention which is now no longer a bottom top 10 national program for Monday nights (as it was when MasterChef was the lead in). There is still a solid turn-on to Have You Been Paying Attention — 94,000 last night, which proves its greater attraction. 

Ten can brag about how well Bach is doing in the demos, but the bottom line is that its overall weakness in total people has damaged the demos for attention.

In other words, Bachelor In Paradise is a bit of a programming dud. Have You Been Paying Attention is a far more important program for Ten. Attention is cheap and has more ratings bang for the low bucks it costs. Bach would be lucky to washing its face. 

In breakfast Sunrise, 518,000 national, 288,000 metro viewers, ABC News Breakfast, 343,000 and 229,000, Today, 335,000 and 229,000.

In regional markets Seven News, 725,000, Seven News 6.30, 669,000 Farmer Wants A Wife, 476,000, The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 419,000, Home and Away, 412,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (29.7%)
  2. Seven (26.7%)
  3. ABC (18.8%)
  4. Ten (18.0%)
  5. SBS (6.9%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (22.2%)
  2. Seven (18.4%)
  3. ABC (14.3%)
  4. Ten (12.6%)
  5. SBS ONE (4.4%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (3.6%)
  2. 10 Bold (3.5%)
  3. 7TWO (3.0%)
  4. ABC Kids/Comedy (2.3%)
  5. GO (2.2%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 2.01 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.90 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.55 million
  4. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.46 million
  5. 7pm ABC News — 1.22 million
  6. Farmer Wants A Wife (Seven) — 1.22 million
  7. Australian Ninja Warrior (Nine) — 1.20 million
  8. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.17 million
  9. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 1.10 million
  10. Home and Away (Seven) –1.06 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.29 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.24 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.22 million
  4. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.11 million

Losers: Ten, Seven — both should be doing better

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.29 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.24 million
  3. Nine/NBN News — 1.22 million
  4. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.11 million
  5. 7pm ABC News – 857,000
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 813,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 682,000
  8. Australian Story (ABC) — 660,000
  9. Four Corners (ABC) — 628,000
  10. Media Watch (ABC) — 592,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) — 518,000/288,000
  2. News Breakfast (ABC, ABC News) — 343,000/229,000
  3. Today (Nine) – 335,000/229,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 251,000 
  5. Today Extra (Nine) – 189,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 77,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. AFL: Port Adelaide v Footscray (Fox Footy) — 182,000
  2. The Bolt Report (Sky News) – 94,000
  3. Afternoon Agenda (Sky News) — 92,000
  4. Afternoon Agenda (Sky News) — 82,000
  5. Alan Jones (Sky News) – 80,000