Four sleeps to go and no coal please, Mr Santa, I’m not ScoMo or Matt Canavan. I’m being very nice.

The non-main channels of the five networks had a collective share of 34.6% last night, down from 39.2% last night, and down from the high 43.7% of prime time viewing a fortnight ago. So does that tell us anything? Nope. TV on the main channels was boring and Seven couldn’t be bothered changing its ratings codings for Sunday to take account of the early finish on Saturday to the first cricket test against India. That ended in two and half days — half the duration of the test, meaning Seven will have to move those ads not shown in the final two and a half days to the second test, or show them in high ratings periods at a discount to give the test advertisers the value they were looking for. (“Make goods” is the TV jargon.)

The ABC’s Spicks and Specks special — 863,000, the most watched non-news program. The Mad As Hell Christmas special — 583,000. Flat and out-of-date because it was done in October (as they admitted on air).

The ABC’s decision to rest the sports program Offsiders (10am Sundays) until January 10 was made to look very dumb by the early and sensational result in the Adelaide test and then the decision to cancel the 76th Sydney to Hobart yacht race for the first time. (That’s another sports right headache for Seven.) False economy from ABC managers.

In regional markets: Seven News, 442,000; 7pm ABC News, 308,000; Nine News, 296,000; Seven (supposed to be test coverage), 270,000; Spicks and Specks, 60 Minutes, 261,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Nine (30.5%)
  2. Seven (27.2%)
  3. ABC (18.4%)
  4. Ten (14.9%)
  5. SBS (9.0%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (21.2%)
  2. Seven (19.6%)
  3. ABC (12.7%)
  4. Ten (7.1%)
  5. SBS ONE (5.6%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 10 Bold (4.8%)
  2. 7mate (3.8%)
  3. GO (3.0%)
  4. ABC Kids/Comedy (2.9%)
  5. Gem (2.7%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.32 million
  2. Nine/NBN News — 1.16 million
  3. 7pm ABC News — 1.00 million
  4. Spicks and Specks Special (ABC) — 862,000
  5. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 824,000
  6. Supposed to be Test coverage (Seven) — 725,000 
  7. Supposed to be Test coverage (Seven) — 624,000 
  8. A Very Royal Christmas (Nine) — 620,000
  9. Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell: A Very Pagan Christmas (ABC) — 583,000
  10. Supposed to be Test coverage (Seven) — 553,000 

Top metro program: None with a million or more viewers

Losers: Is it Christmas yet? not long

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 882,000
  2. Nine News — 860,000
  3. 7pm ABC News – 696,000
  4. 60 Minutes (Nine) — 564,000
  5. Ten News First — 312,000
  6. SBS World News — 176,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) – 458,000
  2. The Sunday Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 257,000
  3. Landline — Summer (ABC) — 326,000
  4. Weekend Today (Nine) — 325,000