(Image: AAP/Scott Barbour)

Ten Network will be grinding their collective balance sheets over the slump in viewers for its costly Melbourne Cup broadcast yesterday — 1.76 million, down from 2.48 million in 2018, and 2.4 million in 2017. It had little impact on Ten’s prime time performance except that there were a few thousand extra viewers for the news from 5pm and then The Project from 6.30. 

The Amazing Race from 7.30pm saw its audience again fall — 659,000 from 710,000 on Monday night. Nine won the night as The Block took the honours with 1.31 million exhausted viewers (when will it end?). Seven ran dead and the ABC again tailed off in fourth. Like Ten, which overbid Seven for the Melbourne Cup rights and have ended up paying too much, Love Island (397,000) has proved yet again to be a very expensive flop for Nine. In regional markets it was Seven News/TT with 496,000, Seven News with 482,000, the cup with 438,000, the cup presentation with 384,000 and Home and Away with 343,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (34.2%)
  2. Seven (24.6%)
  3. Ten (18.1%)
  4. ABC (14.9%)
  5. SBS (8.2%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (23.5%)
  2. Seven (15.6%)
  3. Ten (11.1%)
  4. ABC (10.5%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.0%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 10 Bold (4.7%)
  2. GO (4.3%)
  3. Gem (4.1%)
  4. 7mate (3.4%)
  5. 7TWO (3.3%)
  6. 7TWO (3.5%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Melbourne Cup Race (Ten) — 1.761 million
  2. Melbourne Cup Presentation (Ten) — 1.517 million
  3. Seven News/TT — 1.335 million
  4. Seven News — 1.330 million
  5. The Block (Nine) — 1.312 million
  6. Nine/NBN News 6.30  — 1.145 million
  7. Melbourne Cup The Mounting Yard (Ten) — 1.117 million
  8. Nine News — 1.058 million
  9. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.044 million
  10. 7pm ABC News  — 971,000

Top metro programs:

  1. Melbourne Cup Race (Ten) — 1.324 million
  2. Melbourne Cup Presentation (Ten) — 1.113 million

Losers: Flop Island, Bride & Prejudice,

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News 6.30 — 877,000
  2. Seven News/TT — 834,000
  3. Seven News — 848,000
  4. Nine News — 825,000
  5. A Current Affair (Nine) — 764,000
  6. 7pm ABC News — 665,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 504,000
  8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 444,000
  9. Ten News First — 430,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm — 306,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Sunrise: National: 470,000, Metro: 2841,000
  2. Today: National: 264,000, Metro: 179,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC, ABC News) — 250,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 229,000
  5. Today Extra (Nine) —131,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 71,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. Cricket: Twenty20, Australian v Pakistan Game 1 (Fox Cricket) — 257,000
  2. Cricket: Twenty20, Australian v Pakistan Game 1 (Fox Cricket) — 215,000
  3. Cricket: Twenty20, Australian v Pakistan Game 1 Innings Break (Fox Cricket) — 196,000
  4. Racing: Melbourne Cup (Sky Racing) — 75,000
  5. Cricket: Twenty20, Australian v Pakistan Game 1 Pre-Game (Fox Cricket) — 68,000