Tokyo nets Seven a gold, despite broadcasting snafu.

Games, games, games, games, and more games. The AFL and NRL buried. Seven won and the other networks ran dead. Insiders popped to 747,000 nationally, bolstered at the start by viewers seeking overnight news from the Olympics and local sport.

There have been numerous complaints about Seven’s ham-fisted switching of coverage  of the men’s basketball final between Seven’s main digital channels and its streaming services on 7Plus. Viewers complained of the sudden move to a streaming channel, which saw the commentary lost. 

The same happened with the women’s road race late Sunday afternoon when the broadcast suddenly switched to the Australian men’s water polo game, and the road race coverage ended up on a streaming channel with an NZ commentary team. It was another example of how Seven’s live sport coverage has frayed in the past couple of years.

Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer’s shock win in the women’s road race (the race Seven ruined) will turn out to be one of the best wins in these games — beating the Dutch and Italian hotpots and soloing from 41km out (of a 137km race). Heroic stuff.

Tonight, for Games refugees, Have You been Paying Attention? on Ten and Jimmy Carter — Rock & Roll President (about the music of the late 70s), followed by a repeat of I Am Johnny Cash. Four Corners on the dangers of TikTok will also be worth a watch all the way through.

Network channel share:

1. Seven (49.1%)
2. Nine (22.1%)
3. Ten (13.9%)
4. ABC (9.7%)
5. SBS (5.3%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (35.7%)
2. Seven (16.6%)
3. Ten (9.3%)
4. ABC (7.0%)
5. SBS ONE (3.2%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. 7mate (8.4%) 
2. 7TWO (4.0%)
3. 10 Bold (2.5%)
4. GO (2.0%)
5. Gem (1.8%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Seven News  — 2.324 million
2. Tokyo Games Day – Night (Seven) — 2.240 million
3. Tokyo Games Day – Evening (Seven) — 2.016 million
4. Tokyo Games Day – Afternoon (Seven) — 1.867 million
5. Tokyo Games Day – Late Afternoon (Seven) — 1.677 million
6. Nine News — 1.425 million
7. Tokyo Games Day – Morning (Seven) — 1.158 million
8. 7pm ABC News —1.028 million
9. Beauty and the Geek (Nine) — 903,000
10. Tokyo Games Day – Late Night (Seven) — 857,000

Top metro programs: 

1. Tokyo Games Day – Night (Seven) — 1.585 million
2. Seven News — 1.559 million
3. Tokyo Games Day – Evening (Seven) — 1.407 million
4. Tokyo Games Day – Afternoon (Seven) — 1.391 million
5. Tokyo Games Day – Late Afternoon (Seven) — 1.3190 million
6. Nine News — 1.078 million

Losers: none. The Games distort viewing patterns.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 1.559 million
2. Nine News — 1.078 million
3. 7pm ABC News — 671,000
4. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 522,000
5. The Sunday Project 7pm (Ten) — 425,000
6. Nine Late News — 369,000
7. The Sunday Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 316,000
8. Ten News First — 313,000
9. SBS World News — 224,000

Morning (national) TV:

1. Insiders (ABC, ABC News) — 747,000
2. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 585,000
3. Landline (ABC) — 373,000
4. Weekend Today (Nine) — 320,000
5. Offsiders (ABC) — 262,000
6. Sports Sunday (Nine) — 204,000

Top five pay TV programs:

1. AFL: Geelong vs Richmond (Fox Footy) — 210,000
2. NRL: Canterbury vs Cronulla (Fox League) — 161,000
3. NRL: St George vs Gold Coast (Fox League) — 156,000
4. NRL: Sunday Ticket (Fox League) — 136,000
5. AFL: Sunday Ticket (Fox Footy) — 131,000