Cantankerous clash an eye-grabbing spectacle — much like a bonfire

An ill-tempered argument on Nine last night dominated the night’s events — poorly moderated (the host got little help from fellow panelists), poorly produced by Nine, and the two leaders showed neither manners nor civility. Nationally, Nine raked in 904,000 viewers from 8.30pm to well past 10.15 pm — good figures. The metros brought in 644,000 while the regions only 263,000, noticeably weaker. 

It gave Nine the night overall, but Seven’s The Voice with 1.139 million had slightly better demographics, but not by much. Lego Masters also did very well, and this helped the leaders debate. Nine started the debate at 8.45pm with only five minutes or so left on The Voice. The debate and wrap-up ended at 10.17pm — an odd time, yes, but it meant that Nine’s late news started with a big audience and momentum, which showed with a national audience of 551,000, very high for that late on a Sunday night. 

The whole debate circus returns on Seven on Wednesday night after Big Brother, which could very well be the kiss of death because Big Brother is not well liked these days. You will probably find there will be a bit of streaming of the show during the debate, which will be hosted only by Seven’s political editor Mark Riley, plus a legion of undecided voters in pubs in various parts of the country. 

Regional top 5: Seven News, 453,000; The Voice, 372,000; Nine News, 344,000; Lego Masters, 289,000; 7pm ABC News, 269,000.

Network channel share:

1. Nine (33.5%)
2. Seven (30.4%)
3. Ten (15.8%)
4. ABC (12.5%)
5. SBS (7.9%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (25.2%)
2. Seven (23.4%)
3. Ten (10.7%)
4. ABC (9.0%)
5. SBS ONE (5.1%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. GO (3.1%)
2. 7TWO (2.8%)
3. 7mate (2.5%)
4. 10 Bold, Gem (2.4%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Seven News — 1.332 million
2. Nine News — 1.206 million
3. The Voice (Seven) — 1.139 million
4. Lego Masters (Nine) — 953,000
5. 60 Minutes: The Debate (Nine) — 904,000
6. 7pm ABC News — 854,000
7. Grand Designs (ABC) — 627,000
8. MasterChef Australia (Ten) — 596,000
9. 7News Spotlight — 577,000
10. Insiders (ABC, ABC News) — 565,000

Losers: Barons on the ABC at 8.30pm — weaker, 202,000 nationally.

Metro news and current affair

1. Seven News — 879,000
2. Nine News — 862,000
3. 60 Minutes: The Debate (Nine) — 644,000
4. 7pm ABC News — 581,000
5. Nine News Late — 402,000
6. Sunday Project 7pm (Ten) — 307,000
7. The Project 6.30pm (ABC) — 206,000
8. Ten News First — 198,000
9. SBS World News (ABC) — 112,000

Morning (national) TV:

1. Insiders (ABC, ABC News) — 565,000
2. Weekend Sunrise (Nine) — 401,000
3. Landline (ABC) — 291,000
4. Weekend Today (Nine) — 265,000
5. Offsiders (ABC) — 208,000
6. Sports Sunday — 192,000

Top 5 pay TV programs:

1. AFL: Carlton vs Adelaide (Fox Footy) — 203,000
2. NRL: Cronulla vs NZ (Fox League) — 202,000
3. AFL: Melbourne vs St Kilda (Fox Footy) — 182,000
4. NRL: Melbourne vs St George (Fox League) — 180,000
5. NRL: Sunday Ticket (Fox League) — 177,000