ABC sneaks into No. 2 spot as frisky Fisk premieres

Let’s get Wednesday night out of the way: Nine wins (thanks to MAFS with 1.37 million national viewers); Seven and Ten DOA; the ABC No. 2 from 7.30pm.

MAFS had a series-high audience and that helped Amazing Grace which averaged 583,000 nationally from 9 to 10pm. Fisk, the new ABC comedy at 9pm, had more viewers in the first 30 minutes with 797,000. The same for The Weekly With Charlie Pickering — which featured a nice segment at the end with Kitty Flanagan as a segue to Fisk. (Psst, she’s the star, but Julia Zemiro as the as the office hard lady won my heart.)

Seven sneaked The Front Bar back — 367,000 — with 191,000 of those in Melbourne. Surely The Front Bar for its first ep of the new season deserved a broadcast at 9.30pm in Sydney (rather than 10.10pm) instead of a repeat of a reheated look at UK serial killer Fred West (190,000)? After all there are two AFL teams in Sydney: Swans and GWS.

Today and News Breakfast had another weak morning.

Tonight the NRL round two and the cavalry are on time to save Seven’s bacon for a second year in a row in the shape of the AFL: Tigers v Carlton at the Gee. Dusty Martin v The Blues.

Breakfast: Sunrise, 429,000 nationally and 248,000 metro; Today, 297,000 and 193,000; News Breakfast, 284,000 and178,000.

Regional top five: Seven News, 549,000; Seven News 6.30, 518,000; Home and Away, 351,000; MAFS, 342,000; The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 315,000

Network channel share:

1. Nine (33.5%)
2. Seven (23.4%)
3. ABC (18.6%)
4. Ten (16.4%)
5. SBS (8.1%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (25.5%)
2. Seven (16.2%)
3. ABC (13.7%)
4. Ten (9.2%)
5. SBS ONE (5.73%)

Top 5 digital channels:

1. 10 Bold (4.0%)
2. GO (2.9%)
3. Gem (2.7%)
4. 10 Peach (2.6%)
5. ABC Kids/Comedy/Plus (2.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Seven News — 1.435 million
2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.403 million
3. MAFS (Nine) — 1.373 million
4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.182 million
5. Nine News — 1.110 million
6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.047 million
7. 7pm ABC News — 942,000
8. Hard Quiz (ABC) — 911,000
9. Home and Away (Seven), 7.30 (ABC) — 862,000

Top metro programs:

1. MAFS (Nine) — 1.03 million

Losers: Seven, Ten

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 899,000
2. Seven News —886,000
3. Seven News 6.30 — 885,000
4. Nine News — 879,000
5. ACA (Nine) — 763,000
6. 7pm ABC News — 635,000
7. 7.30 (ABC) — 600,000
8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 423,000
9. Ten News First — 312,000
10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 264,000

Morning (National) TV:

1. Sunrise (Seven) — 429,000/248,000
2. Today (Nine) — 297,000/193,000
3. News Breakfast (ABC) — 284,000/178,000
4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 215,000
5. Today Extra (Nine) — 131,000
6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 52,000

Top five pay TV programs:

1. Gogglebox Australia (LifeStyle) — 168,000
2. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 68,000
3. Credlin (Sky News) — 67,000
4. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 65,000
5. Alan Jones (Sky News) — 57,000