(Image: Nine)

Nine’s night thanks to The Block (1.25 million nationally) and ACA (1.02 million nationally) plus the hour of news (1.28 million) from a weak Seven which again lost despite the hour of news (1.55 million for the 6 to 7pm period) and Home and Away (936,000) from 7 to 7.30pm.

But the night belonged to The Dog House Australia on Ten from 7.30 to 8.40pm — 708,000 — feel-good TV in these days of reality trash (Love Island Australia, 392,000 on Nine) and rip offs (The Cheap Seats on Ten after the doggies with 480,000) and tonight, on Ten, The Bachelorette. It doesn’t have to be much good to better the weak 2021 The Bachelor a month or so ago on Ten.

The Dog House Australia (a Channel 4 format from the UK) underlines how Ten continues to try new ideas that are good TV, cost effective and broaden its viewing base ever so slightly. The Cheap Seats is a step too far and too blatant a rip-off of Have You Been Paying Attention?, another modest-made (local ) idea that is knocking ’em dead (and I know same producers for both programs). Making It Australia was like The Dog House — modest in budget, modest in ambition, but filling a niche.

The model seems to be The Living Room on Friday nights which has been going head-to-head with Seven’s veteran Better Homes and Gardens for years and still working as a TV idea. Seven’s Home and Away should also be mentioned for hanging in there among all the flash and trash. If it wasn’t for Home and Away and Neighbours, would we have had a domestic TV industry producing world class stars (such as Kylie and the Hemsworths?)

Breakfast: Sunrise, 451,000 nationally and 260,000 metro; Today, 353,000 and 247,000; News Breakfast, 296,000 and 193,000.

Regional top five: Seven News, 583,000; Seven News 6.30, 581,000; Home and Away, 380,000; 7pm ABC News, 344,000; Nine News 6.30, 335,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (30.9%)
  2. Seven (26.1%)
  3. Ten (20.0%)
  4. ABC (14.4%)
  5. SBS (8.6%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (22.2%)
  2. Seven (17.0%)
  3. Ten (12.7%)
  4. ABC (10.4%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.7%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7TWO (4.1%)
  2. 10 Bold (3.5%)
  3. Gem (3.4%)
  4. 7mate (3.1%)
  5. 10 Peach (3.0%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.594 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.5069 million
  3. Nine News  — 1.298 million
  4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.280 million
  5. The Block (Nine) — 1.257 million
  6. A Current Affair (Nine); 7pm ABC News — 1.020 million
  7. Home and Away (Seven) — 936,000
  8. The Chase 5.30pm (Seven) — 883,000
  9. 7.30 (ABC) — 720,000

Top metro program: 
1. Seven News — 1.010 million

Loser:  Love Island, again. It’s a recidivist

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 1.010 million
  2. Nine News  — 967,000
  3. Seven News 6.30 —955,000
  4. Nine News 6.30 — 946,000
  5. ACA (Nine) — 706,000
  6. 7pm ABC News — 676,000
  7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 484,000
  8. 7.30 (ABC) — 482,000
  9. Ten News First — 319,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 292,000

Morning (national) TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) — 451,000/260,000
  2. Today (Nine) — 353,000/247,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC) — 296,000/193,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 219,000
  5. Today Extra (Nine) — 176,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) —  45,000

Top five pay TV programs: 

  1. Wentworth (Fox Showcase) — 64,000
  2. The Bolt Report (Sky News) —63,000
  3. Alan Jones, Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 58,000
  4. Credlin (Sky News) — 53,000