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The ratings race: week 21

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth reading but not current. To discuss the latest trends in television, click here.


Nine won last week with 31.6 per cent of the prime time audience, thanks to the escape artists and the biffo boys, followed by Seven on 25.9, Ten on 22.2, ABC on 13.1, and SBS on 7.1.

What Australia watched, week ending May 27
1 The Great Escape (9) 2.79m
2 60 Minutes (9) 2.04m
3 Border Security (7) 1.88m
4 State of Origin rugby league (9) 1.88m
5 Nine news Sunday (9) 1.84m
6. Medical Emergency (7) 1.79m
7. Thank God You're Here (10) 1.69m
8. Where Are They Now (7) 1.64m
9. Soccer- Aus v Greece (SBS) 1.64m
10. Desperate Housewives (7) 1.60m
11. 20 to 1 repeat (9) 1.59m
12. Cold Case repeat (9) 1.55m
13. Today Tonight (7) 1.55m
14. Seven news (7) 1.54m
15. Seven news Sunday (7) 1.54m
(OzTAM mainland capitals)
(The Bill on Saturday got 883,000 across the capitals and 251,000 in Melbourne; on Tuesday, 897,000 and 258,000)

Updated 10 am Friday May 26.
The Greeks came bearing gifts for SBS last night -- a soccer match against the Australians turned into the most watched program of the year for the multicultural broadcaster, giving SBS an unheard-of audience share of 19.2 per cent (to Seven's 26.5, Nine's 24.9, Ten's 20.3 and the ABC's pathetic 9.1).

The match, which did almost as well in Sydney as in Melbourne and was huge with viewers under 40, stole audience from Seven's 'Lost' and Nine's 'Hello Goodbye', as well as decimating the ABC. If that's what a "friendly" game can achieve, what might a real game do? Nine must now be thinking of The Other Kind Of Football as an alternative next year to the AFL, which it is losing to Seven.

Meanwhile, Seven was cheered to find its news and Today Tonight were back to beating Nine's news and A Current Affair in every capital. The miner afterglow can only last so long.

What Australia watched, Thursday.
1. Seven news (7) 1.55m
2. Today Tonight (7) 1.55m
3. Soccer- Aus v Greece (SBS) 1.52m
4. Nine News (9) 1.27m
5. Lost (7) 1.22m
6. A Current Affair (9) 1.17m
7 The Amazing Race (7) 1.14m
8. Home and Away (7) 1.12m
9. Missing Persons Unit (9) 1.11m
10. Medium (10) 1.09m.
(OzTAM mainland capitals, preliminary figures)

What viewers aged 16-39 watched
1. The Amazing Race (7)
2. Soccer: Aus v Greece (SBS)
3. Lost (7)
4. Big Brother (10)
5. Las Vegas (7)
6. Neighbours (10)
7. The Footy Show (9)
8. American Dad (7)
9. Medium (10)
10. Family Guy (7)

Updated 11.45 am Thursday May 25.
Channel Ten's decision to show Thank God You're Here on Tuesday in Sydney and Brisbane and on Wednesday in the other capitals paid off. The total audience was 1.69 million. Channel Seven's decision to show Prison Break only in the non-rugby league cities attracts a giant question mark. That episode won't be shown in Sydney and Brisbane till Wednesday of next week (as part of a double), and that will confuse the ratings boffins. It totalled 765,000 last night.

The strong results for repeats of House and NCIS show that there are plenty of people, even in Sydney and Brisbane, who will watch anything in preference to biffo. But of course, Nine won the night with 36.5 per cent of the prime time audience (ABC 12.5, Seven 23.1, Ten 24.6, SBS 3.3).

What Australia watched, Wednesday.
1 State of Origin rugby league(9) 1.91m
2. Seven news (7) 1.60m
3. Today Tonight (7) 1.52m
4. Nine News (9) 1.40m
5. A Current Affair (9) 1.37m
6. Temptation (9) 1.37m
7. House repeat (10) 1.26m
8. Big Brother (10) 1.26
9. Home and Away (7) 1.23m
10 NCIS repeat (10) 1.2m.
(OzTAM mainland capitals, preliminary figures)

Updated 10 am Wednesday May 24.
What a difference a day makes, and what a difference geography makes. If you compare the rating charts below, you'll see that Sydney must have been more convinced than the rest of the country by the promos about Nine's current affairs coverage during the miners' interview. So Nine won Sydney and Seven won the rest of the nation.

And Ten did better in Sydney than elsewhere because it showed Thank God You're Here (while Melbourne has to wait till tonight, while the northerners watch biffo).

Nationally, Seven made a big comeback, with 31.2 per cent of the prime time audience (Nine 28.9, Ten 22.1, ABC 13.3, SBS 4.5). But in Sydney, Nine won the night, with 30.2 per cent (Seven 28.4; Ten 23.1; ABC 13.1; SBS 5.2).

Click here to discuss how Channel Nine should recompense the ABC for postponing its miniseries 'Answered By Fire' and thus maximise the miners' audience.

What Australia watched, Tuesday.
1 Border Security (7) 1.89m
2 Medical Emergency (7) 1.79m
3. Seven news (7) 1.59m
4. Today Tonight (7) 1.56m
5. Nine News (9) 1.54m
6. All Saints (7) 1.43m
7. CSI repeat (9) 1.40n
8. A Current Affair (9) 1.39m
9. Temptation (9) 1.35m
10. Home and Away (7) 1.35m
(OzTAM mainland capitals, preminary figures)

What Sydney watched, Tuesday.
1. Border Security (7) 549,000m
2. Medical Emergency (7) 480,000
3. Nine News (9) 441,000m
4. All Saints (7) 434,000m
5. A Current Affair (9) 433,000
6. CSI repeat (9) 428,000
7. Temptation (9) 403,000
8. Today Tonight (7) 378,000m
9. Thank God You're Here (10) 366,000
10. Seven news (7) 365,000.

Updated 10 am Tuesday May 24.
Many viewers must have been impressed by those promos during the miners' interview on Sunday which touted the virtues of Nine's news coverage and poked poop at Seven's. Nine news was the most watched program of last night, reversing Seven's usual dominance in the 6-7pm current affairs hour. It led Nine to a rare Monday victory, with 30.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 28.3 per cent, Ten got 20.6, ABC got 15.1 and SBS got 5.5.

What Australia watched, Monday.
1 Nine News (9) 1.6m
2. Today Tonight (7) 1.6m
3. Desperate Housewives (7) 1.6m
4. A Current Affair (9) 1.6m
5. 20 to 1 repeat (9) 1.6m
6. Seven news (7) 1.5m
7. Home and Away (7) 1.4m
8. Cold Case repeat (9) 1.3m
9 Temptation (9) 1.3m
10 Big Brother (10) 1.2m
(OzTAM mainland capitals, preminary figures)

You can find past Tribal Mind columns at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. This ratings blog is updated every weekday. David Dale is the author of 'Who We Are -- A miscellany of the new Australia' (Allen and Unwin).

COMMENTS

Nice to see ch9 back on top - still the one, I guess.
Why is it that the ABC and SBS consistently bring up the tail when it comes to viewer patronage?
How long will it be before our wasteful government ceases the churning of taxpayer money through irrelevant institutions like the ABC & SBS. If these television stations were so popular, they could exist in their own right by way of advertising revenue.

  • by Craig Burden on May 23, 2006 at 10:23 AM

I dont believe that the confidence in 9 news will last. Wait and see what happens for the rest of the week.

  • by JAK on May 23, 2006 at 10:28 AM

Nice work by Nine News and ACA last night but now they must work even harder to keep us assured that they are indeed the "news breakers" and not the "ambulance chasers."
The work has only just begun for Nine to restore its news credibility. It's time for Today to bunker down and offer a decent, newsworthy and trust-worthy alternative in the morning. Adding Ghidella more to the mix with incisive news reports and in-depth features can only surely help the programme.

  • by Mark on May 23, 2006 at 10:30 AM

I have a feeling that Nine's news victory will be short-lived. Many viewers would have tuned in last night to watch the interview highlights during the news, especially if they missed the program on Sunday. And Ch 9 cleverly included unseen portions of the interview in A Current Affair which would have artificially boosted their ratings last night. I'm sure viewers will return to Ch 7 tonight.
I think it was very unwise for Ch 9 to poke fun at Ch 7 and other networks. It just shows their arrogance again and this is a real turn-off for viewers. If you have to try and convince viewers that you are better by putting down your opposition then you are not better at all. If you really want us to believe that you have a quality news service then tell us why you're better and not what the others did badly.
Bit of a shake-up on Monday nights from next week. '20 to 1' is gone from the schedule.

  • by J Bar on May 23, 2006 at 10:33 AM

Would it be possible to get the breakdown for Perth News ratings? I still believe over here Nine has no regard for its viewers - in the past Channel Nine in Perth has dragged down the overall network by the hundreds of thousands - was there a distinct improvement? Last time I looked 7 were getting around 250,000 and 9 were about 70,000.

Tribal Mind replies: Nine news in Perth last night got 134,000; Seven news got 258,000.

  • by VJ on May 23, 2006 at 10:43 AM

Hi David,
This is a bit left field of this blog but I heard that The Miners will be appearing on Oprah in the USA in the coming weeks. It made me think about how our image of Australia is projected out to the world through the media.
Australians are generally interested in how we are percieved globaly, (EG: How the bloody hell are you!) and these two larikan Heros will soon be sent into 20 million American homes, is this an image we are comfotable with after seeing their last interview? Will this fit the stereotypical Aussie the world thinks we are?
As a contrast, our PM, John Howard recieved a very rare state dinner with planes and tanks etc recently and it barely raised a blip on the US media. I welcome comments from fellow bloggers on this subject.

  • by Daytona on May 23, 2006 at 10:54 AM

Credibility? Nine?
I think not.
This is the explanation:
People who watched the miners left their TV on nine when they went to bed on Sunday night.
When they turned it on on Monday night, they didn't think about what channel the set was tuned to.
That explains nine's Monday ratings.

  • by Sal on May 23, 2006 at 10:58 AM

How should Channel 9 recompense the ABC?
Easy.
Give them Jessica Rowe.

  • by Slippery Sam on May 23, 2006 at 11:02 AM

Hey TM!
Just wondering what Channel 9 means when it says it wants to bring back the blockbuster movies to Sunday nights? What will happen to the CSIs?
thanks :)

Tribal Mind replies: They are nearly out of new eps of CSI, so the movies are the only alternative. Also they suspect, like us, that Grey's Anatomy will be on Sundays, so they are getting in early to counteract it.

  • by William on May 23, 2006 at 11:21 AM

It was a disgusting,unspeakable, degrading act by Channel Nine to run promos describing itself as "We're not ambulance chasers.We are the news breakers."
It was clearly visible that David Koch on Sevens Sunrise was upset. Whatever his critics think of him,he does not deserve this pathetic rubbish from a rival Channel.
The facts are,Todd Russell in his exhilaration of freedom invited Kochie to join him in the ambulance.It has been said that Davids presence was of comfort to the miner.
Channel Nine should be ashame of itself to stoop so low in this blantant stupidity.Shame,shame shame.

  • by Winstone Robinson on May 23, 2006 at 12:03 PM

It'll never end! Nine's still pissed off that they lost the number one spot in news and current affairs last year and this. Obviously they will play dirty to win, then claim the high ground to make themselves seem godly. Typical snobs

  • by Penny Trate on May 23, 2006 at 12:53 PM

After Nine showed the promo having a go at 7 for 'ambulance chasing' did they think that it could be possible that they may inadvertently increase Seven's morning Sunrise ratings with people switching on to see Koch's reaction? I know we did - and they handled it beautifully by not stooping to the same level.

  • by VJ on May 23, 2006 at 01:02 PM

Could you please tell me the ratings for Bert's FF in Sydney last night. Thanks.

Tribal Mind replies: Bert is doing well lately, probably because the cold weather is bringing people home earlier. Yesterday across the capitals he got 738,000 and 246,000 in Sydney, while DOND got 1.01 million and 295,000.

  • by Daniel 3 on May 23, 2006 at 01:13 PM

Mr TM: I didn't call sundays figures for TGE correct but manged to pick commercial share right - 49 according to one report. cheers

  • by paora on May 23, 2006 at 01:24 PM

I dont think 9's lead will last at all. See what happens across the rest of teh week. Now the story is over people will return to 7 i feel.

  • by JAK on May 23, 2006 at 01:32 PM

wini...get a sense of humour...Kochie is an absolute tosser and deserves everything he gets from nine...hillarious.....

  • by sam on May 23, 2006 at 01:49 PM

William at May 23, 2006 11:21 AM
Nine are running low on new eps of CSI so five weeks of odd stuff for sundays.

  • by paora on May 23, 2006 at 01:50 PM

I think the note Posted by: Winstone Robinson at May 23, 2006 12:03 PM - was misguided, the question was nothing to do with those fools on ch: 7 or anything about ch: 7.
The only thing nine should do for the ABC is buy the Bill off them, nine is the only commercial station without a soap, and ABC should have more credability than to play one.

  • by Brad Lawrence on May 23, 2006 at 01:58 PM

Won't be long. Greys is coming back. When that happens, it's going to be bye bye Channel 9. Can't wait. The question remains is what day...

  • by Shez on May 23, 2006 at 02:21 PM

Totally agree with Winstone Robinson's post at May 23, 2006 12:03 PM
Why don't 9 people do something to restore their reputation, instead of throwing around words everywhere. Words are too easy. Can we have some action as well, please?

  • by Ibrahim Bek on May 23, 2006 at 02:31 PM

Brad Lawrence at 01:58 PM, are you being sarcastic? Days of our lives, Young and the Restless.....ring a bell? These soapies are on Channel 9

  • by Annabelle on May 23, 2006 at 03:34 PM

Credibility and Nine is a big a contradiction as the I for intelligence in ASIO stands for. NONE.
During the Miners story, i keep thinking the whole time, i wish it was Denton doing this interview.

  • by Garry S on May 23, 2006 at 03:43 PM

Calling 7 ambulance chasers after paying a well publicied 2.7 million for the interview is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
ch9 you're not abulance chasers your just a money tree. I'd say its more pathetic to see big Eddie fly to tassie just to try and secure the interview by waving the ol' chequebook around.
ch7 all the way.

  • by Mattb on May 23, 2006 at 04:26 PM

Re Daytona�s post 10:54 am 23 May
�John Howard recieved a very rare state dinner with planes and tanks etc recently and it barely raised a blip on the US media.�
I don�t think there were any planes or tanks as they are either in Iraq or Aghanistan
As far as the �ambulance chaser� promo is concerned I think Mr Koch and his supporters should get over it. Ever since Sunrise has rated above Today Mr Koch himself is not too reluctant at all to take a snipe at the Today show whilst on air. Remember �If ya gunna dish it out�..!� So alls fair in this ratings war.
And I�m no Ch 9 apologist. I just hate the way they start everything 10 to 15 minutes after its original schedule.

  • by Michael Curran on May 23, 2006 at 05:31 PM

PEOPLE start watching DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES AGAIN.

  • by benny on May 23, 2006 at 06:08 PM

I have to say I missed the ambulance chaser promos for the Miners story (please note NOT the Miners escape or rescue - their story), but would like to think they were MEANT to be funny. If they weren't then maybe Channel 9 should get Hinch to join their stable - shame Channel 9 Shame. And if he brings his All Bran with him - the Miners will have new stories to tell about bowel movements - but then again - watching Hinch had that effect on me.

  • by David H on May 23, 2006 at 06:26 PM

BB this year has been great except for one thing.....what happened to the DOLMIO ads?? I used to enjoy seeing Italian puppet immitations of big brother. Now they put them on during neighbours and how boring are their ads now?? Wrong choice Dolmio

  • by Forever Charmed on May 23, 2006 at 06:48 PM

Just like the Comm Games, people will naturally 'stick around' after a big event for a little while.... so for Seven News and TT to only marginally lose last night in wake of Sunday's interview, I think shows that by the end of the week, probably even tonight, they will be back on top.
Now I'm no expert here, but if Nine was getting on a bit of a roll with Cold Case, why oh why would they stick on a repeat episode as they did last night? It was thumped by DH, and may now not recover. Even if they are running low on new eps if I were in the programming department at the most arrogant network around, I'd be milking the recent success of CC for all it was worth.

  • by Daniel2 on May 23, 2006 at 07:01 PM

It was "interesting" how 20 to 1 was presented on Monday night. Yes it was a repeat but it was a repeat from when Bud Tingwall was hosting the series, just with Bud taken out and Bert put in. Complete with the same jokes! Sad thing is that they were funnier when said by Bud.

  • by Lucy on May 23, 2006 at 07:12 PM

Lucy, yes the same line from Bert is nowhere near as funny as when it was delivered by Bud Tingwall.

From Bud it seemed somehow off the cuff and flippant, from Bert it comes over contrived with a hint of menace. Not quite sure why that is, but that is how I saw it.

Mind you, Bert looks a little like Chucky from that horror movie, so maybe that explains it.

  • by David H on May 23, 2006 at 08:08 PM

I noticed the Ten promo tonight about a special one-hour live episode of Big Brother this Sunday at 6.30pm, in place of the daily show. Then I remembered last night on the nominations show, Gretel Killeen said Big Brother himself would go inside the house this Sunday. I guess it was Ten's plan to compete with the debut of It Takes Two on Seven then?
On the previous ratings blog I predicted State of Origin would attract an average audience of 1.9 million, with the Australia-Greece soccer match getting 1.5 million. Now I think the soccer may only get 1.3-1.4 million.

  • by Johnson on May 23, 2006 at 08:11 PM

Michael Curran, I think you missed my point, The Miners will go into 20 million US homes. The PM didnt even get on US CNN. It it a big deal that our PM was invited to dinner with the US armed services all present and included a flyby by a comple of F15 homicide bombers..
My Question is how you feel about the 2 miners going on Oprah? Will they say 'how the bloody hell are ya? and will this fit the stereotypical Aussie the world's media thinks we are?

  • by Daytona on May 23, 2006 at 08:22 PM

Daytona is concerned that the Miners appearance on American TV (not sure they are actually going on Oprah - I heard it was someone else) will reinforce the Okker perception Americans have of Australians.
Firstly I don't actually think the opinions of Americans has much credibility. Most do not know anything about the rest of the world outside their own country.
Secondly it would not matter who appeared on US TV, they would not change the perception of the viewers anyway. If they didn't fit the stereotype, the viewer would discard them as unique or not even associate them with Australians and if they did fit, that would then reinforce their belief and thus not change it.
Having said that, if I was given a choice of who I would prefer to be "lumped" together with as a stereotype (if I HAD to be stereotyped) I would probably choose the miners rather than Howard, Beazley, Keating, Hawke, Costello and their ilk.
The miners came over as honest average guys and at least one of them is very articulate. If you actually listen to Todd Russell he rarely if ever Umms or errs when answering a question and managed to form answers quite quickly. On the one occasion he paused long and hard to think about a question, he came up with a logical and very honest answer and STILL didn't umm or err.
I would think that being associated with someone like that would be preferable to someone who even Australians don't believe when they answer questions about a wheat scandal and the death of an Australian soldier, where their only defence is they didn't remember anything as they actively cover up the facts and shut down the enquiries.

  • by David H on May 24, 2006 at 03:49 AM

In repsonse to Craig Burden at May 23, 2006 10:23 AM, the ABC & SBS definately hold their own. These two stations are the only free to air channels that actually provide news. I can't believe that there are people out there who still think that the commercial channels provide news. They provide a censored mash of light entertainment, with sport taking up most of the half hour time slot.

I just want to thank SBS for their report on North Korea last night and their refugee crisis. This is news.

  • by Shells on May 24, 2006 at 08:20 AM

totally agree with craig burden re ABC being a waste of taxpayers money.Way too snobby for me.

  • by bobmar28 on May 24, 2006 at 08:31 AM

Channel 9 have done it again. Their treatment of viewers of late night quality programs such a 6 Feet Under, West Wing & The Sopranos is abominable. Continued time changes. Late running of preceding programs. Disappearance of program for weeks or complete dropping of it before series is complete. Etc etc
In the latest outrage, Channel 9 moved 6 Feet Under on Monday nights from 10:30 PM to midnight. Never mind that the series is 3/4 finished. Never mind that the the 2 replacement programs were rubbish, including a British sex doco that commenced with a discussion of the joys of anal penetration. To add to the insult, 6FU didn't actually start till 12:20 AM, playing havoc with video recording, the only feasible means to view at that hour.
Return 6 Feet Under to its 10:30 PM slot for the rest of the season, channel 9.

  • by PK on May 24, 2006 at 08:57 AM

It never ceases to amaze me how many Australians suffer from cultural cringe. I can't believe somebody is so concerned about the miners appearing on American television because they might be too ocker. How rididculous. What are you suggesting? That maybe we should send a couple of mining engineers in their place, who might be more articulate, so that Americans think that we're more educated or cultured than they are? Far out! The miners are just presenting their story the way it is. We should be proud of all Australians no matter what. It makes no difference if they're private school educated or working class. Who cares what Americans think of us anyway?

  • by Levendi on May 24, 2006 at 09:17 AM

PK- you said it !!!...i taped 6 feet under and missed half an hour......im so mad and have never missed a minute before....i feel like giving up and waiting for the DVDs to come out to watch the last 4 or 5 episodes.....Channel 9 YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • by shanna on May 24, 2006 at 09:47 AM

I watched Rove last night and he had a skit about the Channel 7 reaction to the "ambulance chaser" ad. They made an ad showing Jessica Rowe with her giggling. It was hilarious

  • by Peter Hellier on May 24, 2006 at 10:00 AM

Daytona
I did get your point. It?s just in the absence of a weekly hand grenade from Andrew West?s Blog I had to say something at least fleetingly political re Howard and Bush.
But I really don?t care how the Miners are perceived by the Yanks. We should be more worried about publicity in relation to Aborigines rather than have this cultural cringe about 2 country lads from the back blocks of Tassie landing on US TV.
Off to find out where Mr West is.

  • by Michael Curran on May 24, 2006 at 10:02 AM

Just as I suspected, the viewers returned to Ch 7 now that the miners story. I believe Ch 9 might have shot themselves in the foot with that shocking ambulance-chasers promo. I got to see it on Rove last night and noticed at the ned of the promo they even used the Ch 7 cartoon logo being knocked aside by the Ch 9 logo. So they no longer care about proving that they're better at news, they just want to have a go at what the competition does. Rove had a funny sketch afterwards where Ch 7 supposedly created their own ad having a go at the way Jessica Rowe laughs, on what is supposed to be their quality news program. Too funny!
By the way, it looks like Mishelle Laurie is a regular on Rove now, she's appearing every week in the panel segment. Adam Richards has also been appearing regularly this year and they both worked really well together with Peter Hellier and Rove on the panel this week. Probably the best one they've done this year. Are Meshel and Adam being groomed as a replacement for Rove next year???
By the way, will the ratings for 'Thank God You're Here' be combined in the weekly ratings, since it screens in NSW/Qld on Tuesday and in other states on Wednesday?

  • by J Bar on May 24, 2006 at 10:07 AM

Missed the sketches on Rove last night. I must say I've gone off Rove this year. Corrine was the one funny there and she isn't there this year. The ratings have dropped for Rove as well, I'm not surprised. Is it just me or have anyone else noticed that Rove has a stutter problem? Every second word there is errr or an arrr. Not very good for a TV personality...

  • by SC on May 24, 2006 at 10:35 AM

Can the programmers at Channel Nine please show some respect towards the last few episodes of SIX FEET UNDER. TV Guides advertise the starting time to be midnight on a Monday night. (outrageous!) Last night I sat down to watch the video recording only to find that the starting time was delayed by an additional 30 minutes. I missed half the epsiode. Thanks Channel Nine - you're definitely STILL THE ONE to ANGER late night tv viewers.

  • by AYJ on May 24, 2006 at 10:44 AM

TGYH last night was so good! As was Rove, i actually watched past 10:00pm and wasn't cringing at bad comedy attempts. Good work rove keep it up! But i hate that Border Security and TGYH clashed last night, could onyl watch bits and pieces of Border Security!
Did anyone else enjoy Rove more last night?
And when are we going to get over the miners story and 9's crappiness about it.... im getting bored, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

  • by Annabelle on May 24, 2006 at 11:00 AM

Hey Levendi
Absolutely agree with you. I?m so tired of people being concerned about how we might appear on overseas TV. The story of how the miners coped not knowing if they were to survive speaks volumes itself rather than what they sound like.

  • by Michael Curran on May 24, 2006 at 11:07 AM

Shanna - sorry to hear that you missed the final minutes of 6FU this week. I can reveal what happened - it is quite dramatic. Post if you want to know. I also know what happens next, having seen that (I think, penultimate) episode when in the USA last year. Won't reveal that though.
I only hope that Ch9 does not bid for any more high quality HBO programs, leaving the field to ABC or SBS who might treat viewers better. Better still, why can't pay TV include a direct feed of HBO? I would definitely subscribe if this were so.
I called up Ch9 today. They said they had to move 6FU as it was coming last in its time slot. Inferred that we should be grateful they are showing remining episodes at all. I responded that the replacement tacky sex doco won't rate and was told that it won its spot. How depressing!

  • by PK on May 24, 2006 at 11:35 AM

i think fans of Six feet under should be thankful that nine didnt pull the show altogether. There are so many shows that just get taken off - not even moved to a later timeslot. I know you just want to have a whinge but you are doing in the wrong place. Write to Eddie. Lateness of shows happens all the time - not just to you.

  • by Julie Boyd on May 24, 2006 at 11:36 AM

I couldn't agree more about 6 Feet Under. It is such a fantastic, cleverly written show. Much higher standard of show than what you usually find on TV in prime time (especially the pathetic A-Z of Sex, which has replaced its timeslot). Chanel 9 treatment of it absolutely Sux. I avoid chanel 9 like the plague. The treatment the Sopranos is just as bad. Fortunately for me my boyfriend downloads them for me so i what then the same time as they are on in America. Chanel 9 have absolutely no idea!

  • by Vanessa on May 24, 2006 at 11:51 AM

My God
This Blog now has a Daniel4.
Now we know what the original Daniel gets upto after watching the Bill.
Are there no Daniellas out there.

  • by Michael Curran on May 24, 2006 at 12:05 PM

How sad. A cheap and tacky sex doco gets bigger ratings than quality drama like Six Feet Under. I hope Boston Legal retained it's audience.

  • by J Bar on May 24, 2006 at 12:18 PM

For those in Melbourne today, watch Thank God You're Here tonight. We saw it last night because of league tonight and it is a good episode. Yes, there's no Fifi Box. Tanya Bulmer was really good

  • by Gregory on May 24, 2006 at 01:02 PM

RE: Show running late or not on time. I have a solution for that having been stung previously. Set your VCR or DVD Recorder at least half an hour before and let it go for a further half hour or let the tape runs its course. I know its not the best solution but it does the job. I have stopped watching 6FU this season due to the time and also depressing storyline. Has it gone any better?

  • by ozboy1999 on May 24, 2006 at 01:11 PM

I'm in an area that gets both channel 9 and a regional version of 9 (Win). The regional channel aired 6 feet under in the normal timeslot, in case anyone is interested. I hope they keep it that way - 6FU at midnight? Freaking ridiculous. Maybe 6FU would win its timeslot if 9 put it on earlier and stopped changing the starting time...chumps.

  • by Kelli M on May 24, 2006 at 01:12 PM

Advise to Channel 7, dump that pathetic show 'Commander in chief' or move it to a later time slot, and schedule Boston legal in its time slot. It is a shame that you dont promote a Multi-emmy award show like the Boston legal and instead waste your efforts on Commander in chief that has been dumped in the US anyway.

  • by Greg H on May 24, 2006 at 01:26 PM

I'm another one who fell foul of Ch 9 on Monday night.
I thought I'd allowed a generous extra time at the beginning and the end of the recording of Six Feet Under, but only got the first 36 minutes of the actual show.
After looking at the recording though, I won't bother trying to get the last few episodes from Ch 9.
I'd forgotten how revolting all those sex ads are, you know the ones for the really desperate to log onto meet-a-slut websites, or chat-to-a-whore.
Those poor girls must need cash really badly to pose for such smutty, degrading ads.
The TV advertisers in general should be aware that our disposable income is being channeled away from their products.
We now have to allocate our leisure dollars to the purchase or hire of decent TV programs.
Or explore the world of the illegal downloads - I never thought I'd be looking at doing that!

  • by Sal on May 24, 2006 at 02:01 PM

Six Feet Under... like many others, I set the video for midnight to tape the show... only to find out I missed the last 10 minutes due to Channel 9 running overtime.. oh well, can't have missed anything important.. until i read a summary of the episode on the web and realised I missed one of the most crucial plot points of the season! ARGHH! have been watching the show (or trying too.. thanks channel 9) for 5 seasons.. and now channel 9 does this to me.. damn you channel 9! DAMNNNNN YOUUUUUUUUU!

  • by PopCornBoy on May 24, 2006 at 02:01 PM

Yes I agree with SC. I have noticed that Rove and his stuttering has gotten worse. Have the producers of his show not noticed it? You'd think he would do something about it. I am also in the same boat as everyone else, very peeved that TV shows don't run on time. Makes setting the recorder very hard.

  • by Shez on May 24, 2006 at 02:02 PM

I agree with Greg H. Channel 7 should put Boston Legal in place of Commander In Chief. CIC gets worse by the episode.

How did Boston Legal rate against that crap sex doco anyway?

  • by Helena on May 24, 2006 at 02:30 PM

NO! Commander in Chief is good, have you actually watched it? I would be glad though if they moved either Boston Legal or CIC to Tuesday so I had something to watch in place of the OC/Rove. All Saints has had its day, and don't even talk to me about the waste of space that is Medical Incredible.

  • by Kelli M on May 24, 2006 at 02:40 PM

Dont you people who taped 6FU know you are breaking the law.
Thank god for the enlightened federal government who will soon make it legal to tape the show, provided you erease it as soon as you watch it (and only once thank you very much)

  • by tim on May 24, 2006 at 03:19 PM

Allow me to preface the following by saying that, ch 9 have been involved in may high quality moments of news and current afairs reporting over many years.

Then comes the now infamous, Not ambulance-chasers promo!

This from the network who in the mid 1990's landed their helicopter between the police lines and a house containing a number of heavily armed muderers, during a seige situation in Northern NSW.

From the network who prevented the police negotiators from talking to the murderers because they [ch 9]tied up the only telephone line into the house, while they conducted a telephone interview with the murderers.

These men had brutally murdered several people, over a period of several hours, at various locations in northern NSW. The victims where unknown to their killers and sadly just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Perhaps other readers of this blog may also recall examples of Ch 9's not so ethical and/or moral values when reporting, and wish to share them with us.

  • by TGO on May 24, 2006 at 03:26 PM

Agreed. Boston Legal is excellent, and the final season of 6FU is really good too. Ch9 & Ch7 waste these top notch products constantly. Las Vegas and Hotel Babylon, whilst admittedly trashy, also make for divertingly entertaining viewing. The networks should pair up BL with LV and 6FU with HB.

  • by peter on May 24, 2006 at 03:27 PM

For those commenting on their shows being repeats this is really worth a read:
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/Can_you_repeat_that_240506.html

  • by VJ on May 24, 2006 at 04:17 PM

How much did CH9 pay alleged terror group member Mamdouh Habib for an interview that did not actually prove anything except he was in Afghanistan looking for allegedly looking for a school to send his children ?
I know some people don't like public education but that is a bit extreme, not that I am implying he is an extremist or trying to get tribal mind in any sort of defamation case since he lost his one against the papers today.

  • by david on May 24, 2006 at 08:00 PM

I have tried to watch boston legal several times but the way the camera zooms in and out and can move side to side gave me motion sickness

  • by sarah on May 24, 2006 at 08:03 PM

yea well i used to watch ch.9 before it became channel 1999. i perosnllay think that seven has gotten better, nine has gotten worse and ten has...well i cant honestly say considering i wasnt watching ten up until a few years ago

  • by Maz on May 24, 2006 at 10:12 PM

Hi TM, did you find out the ratings figures for home viewing of the Mundine vs Green fight on MainEvent?
Apologies if you already answered this one but I haven't checked the blog for a while.
Also, what were the ratings for State of Origin last night?
cheers - Joe

Tribal Mind replies: Foxtel is claiming that 150,000 households bought the special package to see the fight.

  • by Joe on May 25, 2006 at 11:03 AM

David,
Could you please compare the ratings for Monday night's 'A-Z of Sexual Practice' against what 'Six Feet Under' was rating in that 10.30pm timeslot

Tribal Mind replies: Sexual Practice got 603,000 last Monday. Six Feet Under used to get 350,000.

  • by par3182 on May 25, 2006 at 11:12 AM

How did 7 and 9 news compare in the capital cities? Did 7 news and TT recover in Sydney?

Tribal Mind replies: Seven news beat nine news in Sydney and Melbourne. ACA beat TT in Melbourne and Brisbane..

  • by JAK on May 25, 2006 at 12:09 PM

I was wondering how the State Of Origin rated here in Perth, as it was played in an earlier timeslot than usual, at 9:30pm.

Tribal Mind replies: see above

  • by Dan on May 25, 2006 at 12:10 PM

TM wrote in his column "The strong results for repeats of House and NCIS show that there are plenty of people, even in Sydney and Brisbane, who will watch anything in preference to biffo."
Biffo?? BIFFO??? How dare you call the sport of the noble college of bottom sniffers BIFFO!
These boys spend years being groomed to use all their intellect to scrum down together or throw a punch in order to give away a penalty in front of their own try line with minutes to go, so how can you dismiss this as biffo?
Next you will suggest that AFL is some form of aerial ping pong! Humph!
By the way, the House episode may have been a repeat but it was one I had missed, so I for one was delighted the "biffo" was on and TEN ran a repeat.

  • by David H on May 25, 2006 at 12:17 PM

Hey TM,
Could you find out the ratings for the Origin shown in Melbourne @ 9:30pm. Thanks

Tribal Mind replies: see above

  • by Tuan Pham on May 25, 2006 at 12:44 PM

I'm annoyed.... I hadn't realised that TGYH got switched to Tuesday for the biffo states. I went to switch it on last night and was disappointed it wasn't on. Its the only show I watch on 10 so I missed any promos they might have had to let everyone know. I sure there are a quite a few others like me that missed it.
I'm sorry I missed Rove... I haven't seen the ambo promo and to have seen him lampooning Jessica Rowe would've been amusing.

  • by downloader on May 25, 2006 at 12:49 PM

On all three weeknights so far this week a repeat has made it in to the top 10. Do people really have no alternative to a TV?

  • by Dr DK on May 25, 2006 at 02:03 PM

That's massive ratings for the State of Origin considering it only screens in prime time in NSW and Qld. I'd really like to know a bit more about how this breaks down. What part of the 1.91m comes from outsides these two states? After State of Origin, what were the next highest rating shows in NSW and Qld at 7.30pm/8.30pm/9.30pm?

Tribal Mind replies: Since I have to earn a living, I don't have time to go into the detail you seek. However, the footy got 944,000 in Sydney, 255,000 in melb, 618,000 in melb, 59,000 in adelaide and 34,000 in perth.

  • by J Bar on May 25, 2006 at 02:22 PM

Good Nine Network commentary in OZ media section, should make anti nine crowd smile.

  • by paora on May 25, 2006 at 03:02 PM

Kelli M,
'Commander in Chief' is canned in the US after just one season after poor ratings, it is just too cheesy and the whole idea behind the Presidency being some kind of soap opera did not catch on. Yeah I do watch it , just want to finish and start the Boston Legal show.

  • by Greg H on May 25, 2006 at 06:47 PM

Amazing Race was great last night! It really showed off our amazingly unique outback!! I watched MPU for the first time last night and found it good. Not great like Border Security but just good enough to fill in half an hour. That 8:30-9:30 time slot last night was BOOOORING.
I am looking forward to Close to Home because i love the main character but im disappointed that its starting at 9:30!

  • by Annabelle on May 26, 2006 at 09:49 AM

It was another fantastic episode of the Amazing Race last night. Nail biting finish. I was hoping MoJo would finish last. Bring on the last few eps. Can't wait!!!

  • by SC on May 26, 2006 at 10:08 AM

How many viewers did Smallville get last night? What demographics watch it? I'm the only person I know who watches it - everyone else is like ... SmallWHAT?

Tribal Mind replies: 856,000 last night. You will see above that it was not in the top ten for viewers aged 16-39 (despite Ten buying it from Nine to attract those very people). So its audience must be very young or very old. It does not raise optimism for the soon to be released Superman movie.

  • by Niall on May 26, 2006 at 10:21 AM

The NCIS repeat was better, with the NCIS team meeting its civilian equivalents and then the nerd to human and reverse speech tranlation is always a cracker. As the sign in the computer room said "There are 10 people in the world who understand binary
1. Those that do
2. Those that don't"

  • by Dommy on May 26, 2006 at 10:26 AM

Interesting results between the much maligned State of Origin and soccer. The State of Origin drew 1.91 m, despite being shown live in only two cities, as against 1.52m for the soccer, live in all cities and saturation coverage from the press.
Also, what happened to the rest of soccers audience 2.46m for the World cup qualifying match. That's a lost of almost a million viewers. I suppose that means we can tell the difference between the real thing and some mickey mouse friendly.
Or is it - the fact that the poor old maligned biffo, is just that more popular in the two cities that count - Sydney and Brisbane.
Go on, bite on this summary, fellow bloggers.

  • by Garry S on May 26, 2006 at 10:34 AM

Have to say that the soccer last night was mind-numbingly tedious.
I don't think the chiefs at the AFL and NRL have anything to worry about if this is the best spectacle they can offer.

  • by Thomas on May 26, 2006 at 10:34 AM

That's pretty good for Soccer and SBS. I thought the ratings might have been a bit higher considering last year's qualifying match rated 2.5 million. An interesting point to consider though is the huge number of viewers that go unmeasured by OzTam for big sporting events that are viewed at clubs. All the pubs and clubs in my local area were packed last night with patrons watching the soccer. So I'd say the viewers for these big events are actually much higher.

  • by J Bar on May 26, 2006 at 10:37 AM

interesting that the "football" did so well in the friendly vs greece would be very interesting if you had the state of origon up against the football --id like to see results of that.

  • by Ang on May 26, 2006 at 10:37 AM

I emailed that binary joke as our joke of the day, got a great reaction from the software programmers! Just think though, very very few people in Australia would know or care what the word binary means, let alone get the joke. I enjoy it very much, but this blog is just a cute little community. Did anyone really expect that, in the real world, a sex show wouldn't out-rate 6FU by heaps, no matter how clever/funny/thoughtful/innovative 6FU might be?

  • by kj on May 26, 2006 at 10:47 AM

TM: You remarked that Nine must now be thinking of The Other Kind of Football since they are losing the AFL. If you are refering to soccer I think you will find that the rights for all internationals and A league games have been signed to fox sports after the world cup. A big money deal I believe.

Tribal Mind replies: But cannot Fox sports onsell?

  • by Peter a on May 26, 2006 at 11:02 AM

Seems to me that Channel 7 is making a bit of a come back this week - (apart from the footy) do you think that they will win the week.

Tribal Mind replies: No.

  • by dublinaussie on May 26, 2006 at 11:06 AM

NCIS is my guilty pleasure. I know it's wrong, but I can't help myself. Everything about the show is so undeniably cheesy...but in such an entertaining way
And surely the guy who plays Tony is the Dirk Bennedict of the new millennium?

  • by Awesome Wells on May 26, 2006 at 11:07 AM

David, I think your condemnation of the ABC as "pathetic" for its 9.1% ratings last night was a bit harsh, given that for the last two Thursdays the ABC has had 11.1% and 10.3% of the audience share. It seems that last night's result was well within its ballpark.
Not many people realise the word "decimate" means "to reduce by a tenth", but in fact you were technically correct - the ABC lost only 10% of its average Friday share thanks to the football. However, if you want to see which stations were demolished by the Australia-Greece game, you should be looking to the commercials, particularly Channel 9 which had 30.8% last Thursday and 35.3% the Thursday before, and Seven, which had 30.3% last week, and 28.1% the week before - both scalped by a triumpanht SBS.

Tribal Mind replies: I wasn't describing the ABC as pathetic. I said an audience share of 9.1 per cent is pathetic.

  • by Jason on May 26, 2006 at 11:18 AM

I resemble that remark, pathetic, this household watched the 7.30 Report then The West Wing.
If thats what it means to be in the 9% of the unworkable AusTam ratings, I'm proud to be to be a part of the ABC's patheticness.
Oh, and before I forget we couldn't record the footie we had to record Smallville, I just love being pathetic
Tell you what is pathetic, Australia's Telly Ratings system.....

  • by gasbo on May 26, 2006 at 12:02 PM

TM - how does 9.1% stack up against the ABC's normal Thursday night ratings? It seems "The West Wing" isn't doing much for them.

Tribal Mind replies: It certainly isn't. Normal Thursdays they get abut 11 per cent.

  • by camry_driver on May 26, 2006 at 12:28 PM

I'm actually quite surprised to see "Medium" in the top ten, what with all the "grab a pair of 3D glasses" promos. As a short-sighted person, I own three pairs of glasses, none of them 3D. I thought it was rather stupid of them to have a 3D episode without having some sort of cross-promotion (eg with a magazine) where you could GET a pair of 3D glasses.

  • by Timmy A on May 26, 2006 at 12:32 PM

DD
Will Oztam install a box in a home that watches more then a few hours of SBS per week?

Tribal Mind replies: They try to have a representative sample of the whole Australian community, so I assume about five per cent of their sample are people who watch SBS.

  • by TGO on May 26, 2006 at 12:42 PM

Timmy, TV week had the 3D glasses included with the magazine. The TV week TV ad said that they came with them

  • by Timbo on May 26, 2006 at 12:44 PM

Ten advertised last sunday you could get your free 3D glasses
with this week's issue of TV Week
in order to watch the Medium event.

  • by andi28 on May 26, 2006 at 12:46 PM

I saw some promos for Nine's new show "What's good for you". I think it is a dead rip-off from a BBC show shown last year at ABC - If I am not wrong, it was on Catalyst show where an English doctor host the show and have people testing various situations e.g. eating different types of foods and finding out if you fart more or less, something along that line. Be creative, think of something original, don't just copy and paste!

  • by ozboy1999 on May 26, 2006 at 01:35 PM

On Wednesday night, did foxtel start screening the State of Origin in Perth before channel 9 broadcast it there?

Tribal Mind replies: Presumably there is a reader who can answer that. I'm more interested in knowing why you ask.

  • by Beach on May 26, 2006 at 01:40 PM

haha so defensive over your darling Auntie.. (referring to Jason's comment). good reply by TM. read properly people before you start yelling abuse :P

  • by clem on May 26, 2006 at 02:01 PM

andi28 & Timbo - thanks for setting me straight, but I do think my point still kind of stands. I watch far more TV than is good for me, and saw plenty of promos for Medium and none for TV week.

Tribal Mind comments: but surely, every home has a pair of 3D glasses. They have so many uses these days.

  • by Timmy A on May 26, 2006 at 02:22 PM

To: ozboy1999 at May 26, 2006 01:35 PM
If Howard and his other incompetent cabinet idiots adquately funded the ABC, we might get "something original"!
Mate, you are a first-class boofhead!

  • by Alf Wendia on May 26, 2006 at 03:38 PM

I enjoyed Medium last night, even though I didn't have 3D glasses. I think the show is getting better by the episodes. But I also just wanted to say; will TEN have Late News with Sandra Sully in 3D? ...lol

  • by Signor Nick on May 26, 2006 at 04:09 PM

Signor Nick wrote.."will TEN have Late News with Sandra Sully in 3D? ..."
If they don't Nick, try asking for Pam Anderson in DD. I think it is readily available.

  • by David H on May 26, 2006 at 05:22 PM

To Alf Wendia at May 26, 2006 03:38 PM, you completely missed my point. I argued that Nine copied something from ABC/BBC, not the other way round. Anyway, there are plenty of originalities with the limited public funding both at SBS & ABC (Remote Area Nurse, Kath & Kim etc to name a few). Another point is this blog is for us to share our thoughts on TV viewing, not to make personal attack as you have disgracefully perpetrated. Shame on you.

  • by ozboy1999 on May 26, 2006 at 05:45 PM

To: ozboy1999 at May 26, 2006 01:35 PM
If Howard and his other incompetent cabinet idiots adquately funded the ABC, we might get "something original"!
Mate, you are a first-class boofhead!
Posted by: Alf Wendia at May 26, 2006 03:38 PM
Alf the way I read it ozboy1999 was having a go at CH9 not ABC so settle down and don't use such profanities as "Howard" on this blog without a reader warning first

  • by dan on May 26, 2006 at 06:55 PM

not really on ratings but since it was so big on tele last night
our team is called the Socceroos
the official govenring group of the sport in Australia is Soccer Australia
yet i get told off for refering to it as soccer instead of football by all the fans.
does this mean we should be calling them the footballroos ? doesn't have the same feel to it and if someone asks did you watch the footy game on the weekend you will have to ask was that AFL footy, Leauge footy, Rugby footy or football footy

  • by joe on May 26, 2006 at 07:08 PM

does any one else think the wedge looks like an bogan version of little brittan ?

  • by peta on May 26, 2006 at 09:56 PM

Beach asks: On Wednesday night, did foxtel start screening the State of Origin in Perth before channel 9 broadcast it there?
Yes it did, because the Fox Sports channel which showed SOO is shown live across Australia on the same signal.

  • by Johnson on May 26, 2006 at 10:58 PM

the governing body of football is football australia...

Tribal Mind asks: And does it also preside over rugby league, rugby union and AFL? Incidentally, what do the initials AFL stand for?

  • by Les Cooper on May 26, 2006 at 11:01 PM

So is it just me, or does nine generally have nothing worth viewing these days? how do they manage to scrape in weekly wins? is in only on the back of the afl or forking out millions for special interviews? also i can remember as a child, my whole family watched 'today' every single morning. this year, since jessica "giggles" rowe has joined, even my nine-loyal parents have "made the switch" to seven. love your work sunrise!

  • by steve on May 26, 2006 at 11:45 PM

I'll nibble,
The term "soccer" is short hand for Association Football.
so by calling it Soccer you are infact referencing its full title of, Association Football.
The sports governing body, used to be called Soccer Australia,
but has, since the passing of Johnny Warren, been changed to the "Football Federation of Australia."
Last nights match was a friendly...
which i admit, was an average match.
But neither AFL, nor Rugby League can ever hope to match the spectacle of our qualifier against Uruguay.
How about you eggballers wait for our game against the Japanese?
The players, who represent your country, deserve much more respect, than you give them, and certainly more respect than anyone who plays an eggball sport.

  • by Knid on May 27, 2006 at 12:02 AM

Tribal mind.AFL stands for australian football league and NRL stands for national rugby league.

Tribal Mind comments: As I thought. If two games are officially calling themselves football, and two games are officially calling themselves league, and two games are officially calling themselves rugby, we need some new names for all these sports. Language should be a precise tool for communication.

  • by bobmar28 on May 27, 2006 at 08:15 AM

Garry s wrote.Rugby league more popular in the two cities that count,Sydney and Brisbane.You could make that the two states that count,NSW and QLD(55% of Australias population),not to mention New Zealand.I wonder if tribal mind can give us TV ratings figures for state of origin in New Zealand?I believe it has quite a following over there.

TM replies:I'm sure there's a reader who can give us NZ ratings.

  • by bobmar28 on May 27, 2006 at 09:10 AM

don't want to be captain obvious - but Victoria has a bigger population than queensland.
also, melbourne has 3.5 million people. brisbane something less than 1.5 million
also melbourne has bigger tv audience than here in sydney on occasion.
Go swans!

  • by danny on May 27, 2006 at 01:44 PM

"Nine won the week with 32.1 per cent of the prime time audience, followed by Seven on 25.8, Ten on 22.1, ABC on 12.6, and SBS on 7.4."
err...the week isn't over yet.

Tribal Mind replies: I mean the week up to now. I assume readers will make these mental links for themselves.

  • by Lesley on May 27, 2006 at 02:07 PM

Tribal Mind comments: If two games are officially calling themselves football, and two games are officially calling themselves league, and two games are officially calling themselves rugby, we need some new names for all these sports. Language should be a precise tool for communication.
In England, Football is soccer, League is Rugby League and Union is Rugby Union. Any reference to AFL is Australian Rules. Simple and precise.
As the language we speak (some of us anyway) is called ENGLISH, it would appear it is a local problem of word usage and abusage, NOT a language one as such. We Australians seem to have confused it because in each of the main states we had one particularly popular code of game which used a ball kicked by a foot. Hence each state incorrectly called THEIR version of the game Football.
In Oz, Rugby Union has now sneakily "stolen" the name Rugby as theirs, and Soccer has perhaps accurately grabbed the title Football, based on its proper title of Football Association, adding to the confusion, but it is not the fault of our language - it is the localised incorrect use that has created the problem.
I suggest we blame it on the newspaper reporters and writers, JUST so we can blame it on someone!
YOUR FAULT David!

  • by David H on May 27, 2006 at 03:00 PM

I get very confused by all the football references on the radio and tv in Sydney and it's annoying to have to double check to see which form of sport they're actually referring to.
Do they refer to Rugby and Soccer as 'football' in Melbourne too?

  • by tubbyk on May 28, 2006 at 09:03 AM

ABC should get 2.0 but will probably get 1.5m. ITT will probably get 1.91. Have a good day TM.

  • by Jane on May 28, 2006 at 09:55 AM

Ah statistics,statistics.Yes victoria has 5.3 million people,NSW-6.8 million,QLD-5 million,Australia-20.4 million,hence NSW & QLD = 53% of the total population.I could go on,Sydney-4.2 million,melbourne-3.5 million,brisbane-1.7 million but why bother?
Go bulldogs.

Tribal Mind comments: But the number of people in NSW and Qld who are NOT interested in NRL is far greater than the number of people in Vic, SA, and WA who are NOT interested in AFL.

  • by bobmar28 on May 28, 2006 at 11:38 AM

Bring back shows like Buffy. TV is getting really bad, the new shows America is dishing out are all the same. They've lost the love, now its all about suspence and ditsy music playing in the background as housewives walk down the road with their hair bouncing and blah blah blah... bring back shows like Buffy which actually have meaning and stand out from the crowd!

  • by adam on May 28, 2006 at 09:09 PM

"Tribal Mind asks: And does it also preside over rugby league, rugby union and AFL?"
nah, just football...
"Incidentally, what do the initials AFL stand for?"
australian football league... ie, the league for the genre called 'australian football'...
hope that clears things up ? ;-)

Tribal Mind replies: Thanks, but see comments below for language problem. Soccer lays claim to the entire genre.

  • by Les Cooper on May 28, 2006 at 09:52 PM

TM, did anyone bother to watch 9's "special" extended encore presentation of the "great escape" on Saturday? How did it compare to the original night?

Tribal Mind replies: 367,000 watched it, against 773,000 who watched afternoon AFL on Ten.

  • by Mike on May 28, 2006 at 10:23 PM

tribal mind.Far greater?How far is that?Anyway the code that dominates in NSW and QLD is NRL.

  • by bobmar28 on May 29, 2006 at 08:28 AM

Tribal Mind replies: Presumably there is a reader who can answer that. I'm more interested in knowing why you ask.

My response: If foxtel started showing the State of Origin in Perth before channel 9. It kind of kills the potential State of Origin ratings for 9 there if fans are watching the earlier broadcast on Foxtel either at home or in a pub/club.

  • by beach on May 29, 2006 at 10:57 AM