Nine’s night, but it was another strong performance by House Rules, especially in regional markets that stood out — apart from the beating Nine gave Seven in Melbourne — 35.9% to 24.5%, which was way bigger than the winning margins in Sydney and Brisbane. Seven won Adelaide and Perth (by an equally compelling margin). But Nine’s win in Melbourne stood out last night.  In regional areas, Seven won overall, Nine scored in the main channels.

House Rules had 1.894 million national/ 1.236 million metro/ 658,000 regional viewers. The Block’s main program had 1.848 million national/ 1.276 million metro/ 572,000 regional viewers. The silly Unlocked segment had 1.207 million national/ 886,000/ 321,000 regional viewers and combined the program had 1.527 million national/ 1.061 million metro/ 460,000 regional viewers. Either way, House Rules easily accounted for The Block last night.

Seven News and Today Tonight took another pounding from Nine News and A Current Affair in Sydney and Melbourne. Seven News and Today Tonight won Brisbane last night, but in Melbourne, Nine News won by a huge 274,000 viewers — 493,000 to 319,000.

Ten’s MasterChef Australia Masterclass added viewers last night to average 549,000 in metro markets, up 110,000 on last week. It had 772,000 national viewers and 223,000 regional viewers. That still doesn’t justify its standing. it’s stuck in its format rut, a fate that gets all reality programs towards the end.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (31.3%)
  2. Seven (27.3%)
  3. Ten (19.2%)
  4. ABC (16.1%)
  5. SBS (6.2%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (23.9%)
  2. Seven (20.5%)
  3. Ten (14.1%)
  4. ABC1 (11.3%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.3%)

Top digital channels: 

  1. GO (4.7%)
  2. 7TWO (4.3%)
  3. Eleven (2.9%)
  4. Gem, ABC 2 (2.8%) 

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.936 million
  2. House Rules (Seven) — 1.894 million
  3. Seven News — 1.890 million
  4. The Block (Nine) — 1.848 million
  5. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.522 million
  6. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.370 million
  7. ABC1 News — 1.342 million
  8. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.272 million
  9. The Footy Shows (Nine) — 1.230 million
  10. Hot Seat (Nine) — 1.225 million

Top metro programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.301 million
  2. The Block (Nine) — 1.276 million
  3. Seven News — 1.258 million
  4. House Rules (Seven) — 1.236 million
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.069 million
  6. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.051 million 

Losers: Kristie’s Vintage Home on ABC1 at 8.30pm — 549,000 national/ 364,000 metro/ 185,000 regional viewers. Not good, but the program is worse than those figures. It’s not main channel material — ABC2, yep. LifeStyle You on pay TV, yep, but not the main channel of a leading national broadcaster.  

Metro news and current affairs:

  1.  Nine News — 1.301 million
  2. Seven News — 1.258 million
  3. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.069 million
  4. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.051 million
  5. ABC1 News — 887,000
  6. Ten News — 781,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC1) — 610,000
  8. The Project (Ten) — 564,000
  9. Ten Late News — 260,000
  10. Lateline (ABC1) — 228,000 

Metro morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 340,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 330,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1) – 57,000 + 40,000 on News 24 

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. Fox 8 – 2.8%
  2. TV1 – 2.4%
  3. LifeStyle – 2.2%
  4. UKTV, Sky News – 1.8%.
  5. Fox Classics – 1.6%

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 98,000
  2. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) – 98,000
  3. The Simpsons (Fox 8) – 83,000
  4. Futurama (Fox) – 76,000
  5. The Simpsons (Fox 8) — 76,000

Tonight/Weekend: Avoid the weak Financial Review Sunday program at 10am on, well Sunday. It’s soft and lightweight with hint of laziness thrown in. Also avoid The Observer Effect on SBS ONE on Sunday night at 8.30pm. The main interview  is Ray Martin. That means you have a former Nine/ABC person in host Ellen Fanning talking to a former Nine/ABC host in Martin. Talk about a negative feedback loop. Also avoid The Bolt Report on Ten at 10am just on principle. Go out and have a nice breakfast, read the papers (save an endangered species).

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. The data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM. (All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight all people.) Plus network reports.