The Winners: Packed to the Rafters at 8.30pm on Seven averaged 1.697 million viewers was on top, followed by RSPCA Animal Rescue at 7.30pm on Seven which averaged 1.447 million. Ten’s NCIS at 8.30pm returned with 1.420 million. 4th was Seven News with 1.387 million and Last Chance Surgery on Seven at 8pm was next with 1.331 million. Today Tonight was 6th with 1.295 million (a bit low). The 7pm repeat of Two and a Half Men averaged 1.242 million for Nine and 8th was 20 to 1 at 7.30pm on Nine with 1.207 million viewers. A Current Affair was next with 1.186 million, Seven’s Home and Away was 10th with 1.182 million and All Saints at 9.30pm on Seven averaged 1.123 million viewers. Nine News was 12th with 1.121 million and the 9.30pm repeat of NCIS averaged 1.064 million for Ten and 13th spot.

The Losers: Nine’s movie, Shrek the Third, 783,000 viewers from 8.30pm. Nine just can’t take a trick it seems these days. The Spearman Experiment on Ten at 7.30pm for an hour, 668,000. Ten is matching Nine in duds, it seems. The 7pm Project on Ten, 609,000. Losing steam, is it the fact that its recording starts around 5pm?

News & CA: Seven News might have won nationally, but it needed big winning margins in Brisbane and Perth to stave off Nine; likewise Today Tonight. Nine News and A Current Affair beat Seven News and Today Tonight in Sydney for the first time together for some months. Seven News is over 100,000 down on some of nightly figures a month or so ago in Sydney. Seven News won Melbourne, but Today Tonight lost to ACA (which is more normal). School holidays etc might have played a part, but Seven’s audiences, especially in Sydney have shrunk noticeably in the past 10 days.

Deal or No Deal also slumped badly last night to 641,000 nationally at 5.30pm. Still I was still 10,000 in front of Hot Seat and Eddie McGuire. Ten News averaged 756,000 and the late News/Sports Tonight averaged 499,000. The 7pm ABC News averaged 958,000, The 7.30 Report, 796,000. Lateline, 172,000, Lateline Business, 107,000. SBS News at 6.30pm, 210,000, Insight at 7.30pm, 273,000, the late News at 9.30pm, 154,000. Nine’s late News, 134,000. 7am Sunrise on Seven, 350,000, 7am Today on Nine, 300,000.

The Stats: Seven won 6 pm to midnight All People with 32.8% (33.4% a week ago), from Nine with a combined share of 26.4% (27.6%), Ten third with a joint share of 23.2% (21.8%), the ABC with a combined share of 13.0% (12.6%) and SBS on a combined 4.6% (unchanged from a week earlier). Seven won all five metro markets and leads the week 30.8% to a combined 25.4% for Nine.

Digitally: Nine’s GO averaged 2.20% (leaving Nine’s main channel with 24.20%) from ABC 2 with 1.40% (11.60% for ABC 1); Ten’s ONE was on 0.80% (22.40% for the main channel) and SBS TWO was on 0.30% (ABC ONE, 4.30%).

Glenn Dyer’s comments: The win by Seven was predictable, but the fresh episode of NCIS made some inroads into the audience of the Seven program, and will continue to do so. But that has been Ten’s only success of the week so far. Ten said in its morning report that the return of fresh episodes of NCIS shook up Tuesday night. Nah, it only disturbed it.

TONIGHT: It’s the return to TV of Hey Hey It’s Saturday on a Wednesday night from 7.30pm pm Nine. That’s up against the start of Celebrity MasterChef Australia, which is in the same class as the Hey Hey comeback. Viewers will probably start with Hey Hey, flick to Ten, back to Nine, then check out Spicks and Specks on the ABC at 8.3 pm and those with stamina, will finish off with Darryl. It will do better in Melbourne, OK in Sydney and it will be a yawn by the time it gets to Perth.

For those interested, there’s the new program, Hungry Beast, at 9pm on the ABC from Andrew Denton’s production company. Seven has World’s Strictest Parents and then City Homicide. A big night overall. SBS caters for lovers of repeats of Inspector Rex at 7.30 pm. Ten has NCIS Los Angeles at 8.30pm tonight. That might be a bit crowded.

Source: OzTAM, TV Networks reports