Seven soars in news, stumbles in prime time

Seven’s lack of prime time, rating-winning content problems were again cruelly exposed last night. For the third night in a row its 6pm news topped the 2 million mark — 2.03 million — which was near 600,000 more than Nine’s 6pm news.

But then Seven’s night fell in a heap — Home and Away managed 1.04 million (but not a top 10 finish as usual) and then nothing as the network fell away. 

Nine won the night in total people and the main channels and Seven was fourth in the main channels behind Ten and the ABC. It was a performance that made a mockery of claims in the Fairfax/Nine print media on Thursday that Seven wants to grab a seat at the negotiating table with the NRL. It just doesn’t have the financial firepower, and if it tries its banks will be tempted to pull the plug on the $600 million plus in debt.

In breakfast Seven’s Sunrise easily won the slot (525,000 national and 303,000 metro) but for the second morning in a row ABC News Breakfast was a solid second (381,000 and 258,000) and well ahead of Nine’s weakening Today (352,000 and 234,000). That’s a headache for Nine that isn’t going away.

Network channel share:

1. Nine (25.7%)
2. Ten (24.4%)
3. Seven (21.7%)
4. ABC (19.8%)
5. SBS (8.4%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (17.4%)
2. Ten (16.9%)
3. ABC (15.0%)
4. Seven (13.7%)
5. SBS ONE (4.3%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. 10 Bold (4.6%)
2. 7TWO (3.6%)
3. GO (3.0%)
4. 10 Peach (2.8%)
5. Gem (2.5%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Seven News —2.039 million
2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.904 million
3. Nine/NBN News — 1.444 million
4. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.393 million
5. 7pm ABC News — 1.366 million
6. Masterchef Australia (Ten) — 1.349 million
7. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 1.147 million
8. 7.30 (ABC) — 1.1 million
9. ACA (Nine) — 1.055 million
10. Hard Quiz (ABC) — 1.044 million

Top metro programs:

1. Seven News — 1.316 million
2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.251 million
3. Nine News  — 1.094 million
4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.039 million
5. MCA (Ten) — 1.032 million

Losers: Seven — House Rules is a dud.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 1.316 million
2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.251 million
3. Nine News  — 1.094 million
4. Nine News 6.30 — 1.039 million
5. 7pm ABC News — 951,000
6. 7.30 (ABC) — 752,000
7. A Current Affair (Nine) – 735,000
8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 667,000
9. ACA &.30 (Nine) — 597,000
10. Ten Eyewitness News — 512,000
11. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 451,000

Morning (National) TV:

1. Sunrise (Seven) — 525,000/303,000
2. News Breakfast (ABC, ABC News) — 381,000/258,000
3. Today (Nine) — 352,000/234,000
4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 305,000
5. Mornings (Nine) — 197,000
6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 102,000

Top five pay TV programs:

1. Gogglebox Australia (LifeStyle) — 199,000
2. Selling Houses Australia(LifeStyle) — 182,000
3. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 96,000
4. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 90,000
5. Supercars eSeries (Fox Sport) — 74,000