The Sun-Herald

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The ratings race: Week 38

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying, but not current. For the latest ratings analysis, go to www.smh.com.au/sit (and please bookmark that in your favourites, because it will be our permanent address from now on). Or click here.Updated 10 am Sunday September 23
Finally rugby league is almost a national game. The semi-final that put a Melbourne team into contention for the grand final was watched by 375,000 people in Melbourne yesterday, which must be the biggest southern capital audience on record for a biffo match. Perth and Adelaide couldn't give a damn.

Meanwhile, here's detail on Saturday ...

Ten's AFL match was on in the afternoon, which means its audience did not count towards "prime time". Nine won Saturday with 34.2 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 21.5 per cent, Ten got 19.5, ABC got 18.6, and SBS got 6.2. And despite the biffo, Dr Who is making a comeback -- up to 834,000 last night.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AFL 2ND PRELIM. FINAL ADELAIDE V WEST COAST Ten 1,421,000 174,000 451,000 114,000 287,000 394,000
2 NRL FINAL SERIES PF 2 Nine 1,362,000 616,000 375,000 343,000 9,000 18,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,219,000 341,000 386,000 246,000 135,000 110,000
4 NRL FINAL SERIES PF 2 POST-MATCH Nine 1,164,000 430,000 464,000 270,000 -- --
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,136,000 315,000 338,000 238,000 130,000 115,000
6 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,066,000 328,000 245,000 187,000 100,000 207,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC 938,000 270,000 313,000 155,000 93,000 106,000
8 BILL ABC 931,000 239,000 298,000 160,000 104,000 129,000
9 DOCTOR WHO ABC 834,000 252,000 211,000 135,000 108,000 127,000
10 PARKINSON ABC 753,000 179,000 258,000 127,000 83,000 106,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Saturday September 23
When biffo goes up against aerial pingpong, grace and reach win over brawn and push. Ten's coverage of the AFL semi-final totalled 1.6 million viewers in the mainland capitals, while Nine's coverage of the NRL semi-final totalled 1.0 million

Ten won Friday with 33.0 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 27.7 per cent, Seven got 19.9, ABC got 14.7, and SBS got 4.6. Seven remains ahead for the week, but more rugby league tonight could turn it around for Nine.

What Australia watched, Friday
1 AFL PRELIM. FINAL SYDNEY V FREMANTLE Ten 1,659,000 339,000 531,000 74,000 259,000 456,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,143,000 312,000 368,000 265,000 145,000 52,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,130,000 318,000 388,000 242,000 129,000 53,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,118,000 307,000 379,000 183,000 146,000 104,000
5 TEMPTATION Nine 1,110,000 312,000 363,000 253,000 126,000 55,000
6 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,083,000 289,000 339,000 201,000 111,000 143,000
7 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,048,000 323,000 360,000 194,000 85,000 85,000
8 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF 1 Nine 1,032,000 531,000 28,000 446,000 11,000 16,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Friday September 22
On a night when nobody watched much television at all, Nine won the biggest share of the audience, mainly because of the appeal of its Footy Show in Melbourne. But Ten will show the actual games. Seven is still ahead for the week, but the next two nights will be a tussle between Nine and Ten and between biffo and aerial ping pong for the hearts and minds of Australia.

Nine got 31.4 per cent of Thursday's prime time audience, while Seven got 27.5, Ten got 21.5, ABC got 14.2, and SBS got 5.5.

What Australia watched, Thursday
RNK Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,323,000 345,000 386,000 220,000 133,000 239,000
2 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,313,000 370,000 433,000 244,000 105,000 161,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,266,000 362,000 397,000 222,000 106,000 179,000
4 JERICHO Ten 1,241,000 282,000 439,000 200,000 160,000 160,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,232,000 322,000 349,000 199,000 130,000 232,000
6 GETAWAY Nine 1,221,000 358,000 352,000 239,000 140,000 132,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,220,000 297,000 424,000 241,000 136,000 122,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,197,000 284,000 350,000 262,000 160,000 140,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,187,000 297,000 377,000 254,000 125,000 135,000
10 JAMIE'S KITCHEN AUSTRALIA Ten 1,158,000 254,000 376,000 192,000 161,000 176,000
11 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,150,000 298,000 394,000 233,000 100,000 125,000
12 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,109,000 235,000 412,000 174,000 152,000 137,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 1pm Thursday September 21
Who knew the Roman Empire stretched as far as South America? But those were definitely neat rectangular Brazilian waxjobs being sported by two patrician ladies in their full frontal scenes during the miniseries 'Rome' on Nine on Wednesday night. We hope the history scholars among our readers will be able to confirm that this was a fashion in 55 BC.

Meanwhile the medical experts will tell us if we heard correctly on 'House' -- was Dr Chase giving that sick baby "polyester"? How 70s.

Whatever else it may have raised, the nudity on Rome didn't lift NIne's ratings much. It attracted 770,000 viewers in the mainland capitals, while The Sopranos, following it at 10.40, averaged 460,000.

Ten won the night with 30.3 per cent of the prime time audience, whole Nine got 25.2, Seven got 24.7, ABC got 15.9, and SBS got 3.9.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. House Ten 1.89m
2. Thank God You're Here Ten 1.85
3. Nine News Nine 1.56
4. Seven News Seven 1.43
5. Today Tonight Seven 1.41
6. NCIS Ten 1.34
7. Home and Away Seven 1.32
8. Irwin Memorial Service 6:30 - 7:30pm Nine 1.32
9. Police Files Seven 1.26
10. The Force Seven 1.21
11. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.21
13. McLeod's Daughters Nine 1.17
14. ABC News ABC 1.13
15. CSI: Miami Nine 1.02
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 2pm Wednesday September 20
The extraordinary thing about the success of Border Security is that it's not just watched by viewers over the age of 40, solid respectable householders who proudly observe the guardians of our way of life.

On Tuesday it was also the favourite show of the slackers and groovers aged between 16 and 39, who are more usually associated with Ten vehicles such as Aus Idol and Big Brother.
That's why Seven so easily won the night with 32.7 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 28.2, Ten got 20.5, ABC got 14.9 and SBS got 3.7.

Click here to discuss the movies most deeply embedded in the Australian mind.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1. Border Security Seven 2.24m
2. Medical Emergency Seven 1.78
3. Seven News Seven 1.45
4. Nine News Nine 1.44
5. Today Tonight Seven 1.37
6. All Saints Seven 1.37
7. CSI Nine 1.36
8. Home and Away Seven 1.34
9. A Current Affair Nine 1.33
10. Temptation Nine 1.28
11. 20 to 1 Nine 1.17
12. ABC News ABC 1.05
13. The Simpsons 7:30pm Ten 1.04
14. Futurama 7:00pm Ten 0.93
15. Futurama 8:00pm Ten 0.93
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

All Saints

Updated 10 am Tuesday September 19
The failure of nostalgia must be driving Channel Nine's programmers nuts. It could only draw a million viewers in the mainland capitals to '50 Years of News' show on Monday night. Perhaps Nine should have hired Jamie Oliver as host instead of Brian Henderson, because Jamie boosted Andrew Denton's audience to 1.1 million and gave the ABC a rare 16.3 per cent of the prime time audience.

SBS managed a rare 7.0 per cent (thanks to Top Gear with 706,000) while Nine got 24.1, Ten got 22.5, and Seven won the night with 30.1 per cent.

What Australia watched, Monday
Channel. Five City Metro. Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 GREY'S ANATOMY (7) 1,716,508 459,883 565,119 318,153 158,422 214,931
2 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT (10) 1,514,976 426,430 467,763 297,019 157,137 166,625
3 HOME AND AWAY (7) 1,455,465 411,287 442,288 268,037 138,927 194,926
4 SEVEN NEWS (7) 1,444,074 386,439 411,122 259,823 159,682 227,008
5 TODAY TONIGHT (7) 1,380,327 409,972 361,314 224,509 163,090 221,442
6 NATIONAL NINE NEWS (9) 1,278,454 368,304 391,748 242,502 150,343 125,556
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR (9) 1,267,583 348,027 436,382 241,691 118,838 122,645
8 THE GREAT OUTDOORS (7) 1,267,162 335,539 410,618 217,845 134,663 168,497
9 TEMPTATION (9) 1,221,273 330,978 386,597 239,253 139,792 124,653
10 COLD CASE (9) 1,168,422 350,435 356,468 220,030 117,920 123,570
11 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON (ABC) 1,096,526 319,769 326,764 152,084 137,617 160,292
12 50 YEARS OF TELEVISION NEWS (9) 1,086,056 314,382 310,367 205,469 130,653 125,185

Updated 10 am Monday September 18
Seven's nostalgiafest for the 50th anniversary of television averaged 1.5 million viewers in the mainland capitals and Seven won Sunday with 33.9 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 25.5, Ten got 22.4, ABC got 14.9 and SBS got 3.3.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TV TURNS 50 - THE EVENTS THAT STOPPED A NATION Seven 1,546,000 459,000 400,000 284,000 161,000 242,000
2 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,537,000 414,000 469,000 275,000 188,000 192,000
3 SEVEN NEWS SUNDAY Seven 1,477,000 406,000 389,000 310,000 150,000 220,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,378,000 368,000 466,000 213,000 179,000 152,000
5 60 MINUTES Nine 1,279,000 372,000 357,000 258,000 134,000 157,000
6 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,209,000 495,000 322,000 167,000 224,000
7 PREHISTORIC PARK Nine 1,201,000 357,000 379,000 210,000 126,000 129,000
8 CSI -RPT EP1 Nine 1,182,000 336,000 347,000 238,000 144,000 117,000
9 THE WORST JOBS IN HISTORY ABC 1,061,000 375,000 266,000 168,000 123,000 128,000
10 CSI: -RPT EP2 Nine 1,022,000 265,000 328,000 194,000 138,000 95,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm Sunday September
Channel Nine is up to its old tricks. You'll recall last year it claimed that some of its most successful American dramas had reached their "season finales", when Nine was actually holding back episodes for showing in the new year. Many viewers would have been driven to download the missing episodes from the Net. Vigilant reader Aaron Ryan sends this report on the latest scam:

"On Wednesday 6 September, Channel Nine promoted and advertised that night's episode of 'Without a Trace' as the season finale. However, it was not in fact the final episode of the season. The episode that aired, 'White Balance', is the second last episode of season four of the popular American missing person series. The real season finale episode 'Cross Roads' is yet to be scheduled by Channel Nine.

In another programming bungle by the network, the media programming guide has the Monday 25 September episode of 'Cold Case' scheduled as the season finale but again it is not the true season finale. The episode on the 25th titled 'The River' is the second last episode of season three. The real final episode of season three, titled 'Joseph', is yet to be scheduled by Channel Nine.

This is not a new programming practice by the Nine Network. Last year, Nine advertised the second last episodes of most of its American dramas as season finales, including CSI, Without a Trace, The Closer, CSI: New York, CSI: Miami and Cold Case, infuriating viewers across the country. The real final episodes were played at the commencement of the 2006 season in February. In a media statement to launch the 2006 seasons, Nine said that this practice would not occur this year and that the American dramas would be played with fewer interruptions and repeats.

This statement holds little credibility, evidenced with CSI: New York being pulled from the schedule (returns 24 September), Close to Home being pulled from the schedule, season finales being falsely advertised and Nine having played just 18 episodes of CSI in 28 weeks, making for many repeats and preemptions.

It is not known if this season finale bungle will occur with the rest of the CSI franchise as their seasons come to a close over the next two months. Publicity Manager at Nine, Jamie Campbell, was given one week to respond to this story and has chosen not to."

We're grateful to Aaron for this analysis, which he first reported on the Crikey website. What's your reaction?

Click here for earlier discussions on why viewers may consider Nine a tad unreliable.

But perhaps Nine is right in thinking its viewers will tolerate anything. After all, it is winning the year. Despite a surge by Ten, Nine got 27.1 per cent of the prime time audience, while Ten got 25.5 per cent, Seven got 26.7 per cent, ABC got 15.5 and SBS got 5.1.

What Australia watched, week ending September 16
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 2,312,000 654,000 708,000 394,000 225,000 331,000
2 HOUSE Ten 1,966,000 497,000 671,000 340,000 213,000 244,000
3 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,907,000 479,000 654,000 310,000 235,000 229,000
4 60 MINUTES Nine 1,825,000 520,000 542,000 363,000 174,000 226,000
5 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,767,000 474,000 564,000 291,000 184,000 254,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,672,000 644,000 312,000 378,000 184,000 153,000
7 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,651,000 483,000 563,000 261,000 147,000 197,000
8 THE FORCE Seven 1,637,000 442,000 460,000 331,000 166,000 238,000
9 POLICE FILES UNLOCKED Seven 1,619,000 482,000 445,000 310,000 175,000 207,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,590,000 429,000 520,000 266,000 190,000 186,000
11 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,544,000 406,000 504,000 238,000 195,000 200,000
12 NCIS Ten 1,533,000 409,000 496,000 256,000 192,000 180,000
13 PREHISTORIC PARK Nine 1,446,000 456,000 422,000 265,000 162,000 141,000
14 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,394,000 357,000 404,000 254,000 157,000 223,000
15 FORENSIC INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,391,000 428,000 415,000 244,000 134,000 170,000
16 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,361,000 404,000 411,000 258,000 119,000 169,000
17 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,357,000 360,000 402,000 246,000 140,000 209,000
18 NINE NEWS Nine 1,343,000 360,000 426,000 288,000 148,000 121,000
19 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,342,000 415,000 475,000 173,000 134,000 145,000
20 JAMIE'S KITCHEN AUSTRALIA Ten 1,337,000 354,000 454,000 207,000 153,000 169,000
(OzTAM Mainland capitals)

The ratings race is updated every weekday for readers of David Dale's Tribal Mind column, published in The Sydney Morning Herald. David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A Miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on last week's trends in television, click here.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 11:19 AM
• Comments (242)

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Oh, the adventures we've shared

(To test yourself on whether you're fit to be an Australian citizen, click here.)

by David Dale.
They said it could never happen again. They said it was all over for mass market cinema, just as it's all over for mass market television, because audiences are fragmenting away to become internet surfers and video gamers and DVD scholars. But they -- and they include the writer of this column -- were wrong.

Earlier this year this column said you could carve in stone the names of the ten highest grossing movies of all time in Australia, because no film would ever again earn the kind of money made by Titanic (box office $58 million) or The Return of the King ($49m). We said the $35 million made last Christmas by The Chronicles Of Narnia and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire would be the upper limit for movies from now on, because any future blockbuster will have too much competition from other entertainments, and movie buffs know they'll be able to see it at home within six months.

As of yesterday, we have to smash the stone tablets and recarve the top ten. A movie has just jumped into number nine position, with ticket sales of $37.6 million. That movie is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Its combination of humour, spectacle, story, and star power has rewritten the rules of 21st century cinema. And not just in Australia. As of this week, Pirates 2 is the third highest grossing movie of all time in the world, with earnings of $US1,010 million. (That list, incidentally, is topped by Titanic with $US1,835 million and The Return of the King with $US1,129 million).

But hang on a minute, you cry. If we're going to compare the success of Pirates 2 with other blockbusters, surely the question is not how much money it made, but how many people went to see it. With average ticket price now about $11, we can estimate that Pirates 2 was seen by around 3.5 million Australians. Back in 1995, a movie called Babe also made $37 million. But in those days the average ticket price was around $7.50, which means Babe was seen by 5 million Australians. In a chart of box office takings, Babe now sits below Pirates 2. But in a chart of ticket sales, it should rank a lot higher.

So we did the maths and here's our latest update of the only chart that matters. Note where Pirates 2 now finds itself ...

Our shared culture: Films seen by the greatest number of living Australians
(based on box office total adjusted for ticket price that year)
1 The Sound of Music (1965)
2 Crocodile Dundee (1986)
3 Star Wars (1977/97)
4 E.T (1982)
5 Titanic (1997)
6 The Sting (1973)
7 Shrek 2 (2004)
8 Grease (1978)
9 Jaws (1975)
10 The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
11 The Towering Inferno (1974)
12 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
13 Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
14 Babe (1995)
15 The Man From Snowy River (1982)
16 Jurassic Park (1993)
17 Crocodile Dundee II (1988)
18 The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
19 Pretty Woman (1990)
20 Finding Nemo (2003)
21 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
22 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
23 Ryan's Daughter (1970)
24 Forrest Gump (1994)
25 Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
26 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
27 The Chronicles of Narnia (2005)
28 Meet The Fockers (2005)
29 Independence Day (1996)
30 Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones (2002)
31 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
32 The Lion King (1994)
33 Matrix Reloaded (2003)
34 Mrs Doubtfire (1993)
35 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
36 Shrek (2001)
37 The Exorcist (1973)
38 Gladiator (2001)
39 Return of the Jedi (1983/98)
40 The Sixth Sense (1999)
41 Ghostbusters (1984)
42 Gallipoli (1981)
43 The Godfather (1972)
44 Superman (1978)
45 The Empire Strikes Back (1980/97)
46 Alvin Purple (1973)
47 Mad Max II (1981)
48 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
49 Spider-Man (2002)
50 My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
51 Moulin Rouge (2001)
52 Strictly Ballroom (1992)
53 Ghost (1990)
54. The Incredibles (2005)
55. Monsters Inc (2001).

Click here to compare that chart with the box office top 120.

If you're a film buff, you'll note the absence of such classics as Gone With The Wind, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Ben Hur, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Dr Zhivago and The Ten Commandments, all hits of the 1940s, 50s and early 60s. Certainly they were seen by millions of Australians, but most of the people who saw them are now dead. Our list is designed to offer an insight into the mind of Australians today, so we concentrated on movies shown in the past 40 years.

Now it's over to you to explain what our favourite flicks reveal about us. Should a quiz on those films form part of any test of "Australian values" the government imposes on would-be immigrants to this country?

David Dale is the author of Who We Are: A miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on this week's trends in television, click here.

Footnote: In various sizes, shapes and colours, The Tribal Mind has appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald every week since 1995. Now it's about to morph again, emerging next week as an almost-daily segment of the Stay in Touch column, which will be co-edited by David Dale. So it's goodbye from here and, as of next Monday, hullo from there.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 12:53 PM
• Comments (42)

Sunday, September 17, 2006

The ratings race: Week 37

This is a historic blog. For the latest in TV trends, click here.
Updated 10 am Sunday September 17
Not even the Crocodile Hunter was enough to help Channel Seven beat Channel Nine on Saturday -- but he might have, if Seven had shown him in Melbourne instead of Comedy Classics (287,000) and Made in Melbourne Drama (203,000). Nine won the night with 26.8 per cent of the prime time audience, while Ten, helped by AFL, came second with 25.7, Seven got 25.3, ABC got 15.2 and SBS got 7.1 (thanks to Iron Chef on 330,000 and Rockwiz on 309,000).

What Australia watched, Saturday
RNK Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,163,000 366,000 335,000 263,000 111,000 88,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,146,000 295,000 443,000 204,000 138,000 66,000
3 AFL FINALS 2006: 1ST SEMI FINAL WEST COAST V BULLDOGS Ten 1,144,000 69,000 457,000 61,000 172,000 386,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,091,000 314,000 290,000 255,000 122,000 110,000
5 THE BILL ABC 827,000 276,000 219,000 123,000 73,000 135,000
6 M-THE CROCODILE HUNTER: COLLISION COURSE Seven 816,000 349,000 --- 258,000 105,000 104,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC 804,000 254,000 246,000 171,000 68,000 65,000
8 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES SF 2 Nine 788,000 387,000 30,000 350,000 14,000 7,000
9 DOCTOR WHO ABC 763,000 266,000 190,000 134,000 84,000 89,000
10 PARKINSON ABC 639,000 192,000 154,000 105,000 71,000 118,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11 am Saturday September 16
Finally the power of Australia's most popular form of footy asserts itself. Thanks to AFL, Channel Ten won Friday with 29.3 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine, helped by NRL, got 27.8, Seven got 22.9, ABC got 16.4 and SBS got 3.7.

What Australia watched, Friday
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,313,000 326,000 346,000 254,000 147,000 240,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,275,000 328,000 446,000 236,000 148,000 116,000
3 TEN'S AFL FINALS 2006: 2ND SEMI FINAL FREMANTLE V MELBOURNE Ten 1,264,000 71,000 582,000 25,000 218,000 369,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,262,000 371,000 320,000 225,000 149,000 197,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,217,000 402,000 337,000 231,000 115,000 132,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,184,000 330,000 395,000 237,000 126,000 96,000
7 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,175,000 355,000 384,000 226,000 110,000 100,000
8 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,140,000 375,000 332,000 212,000 137,000 84,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,102,000 326,000 350,000 219,000 127,000 80,000
10 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES SF 1 Nine 902,000 568,000 42,000 261,000 12,000 19,000

Updated 11 am Friday September 15
A cheeky chappy cheered up a pretty drab night of television on Thursday, in which no program could pull more than 1.4 million in the mainland capitals.

You'd imagine Jamie Oliver would appeal primarily to older viewers who like to cook at home, but apparently he brings out the hidden domesticity in Channel Ten's target 16-39 age group. This was the groovers' top ten (rather different from the "all people" chart below):

1. Jamie's Kitchen Australia (10) 2. My Name is Earl (7) 3. Celebrity Survivor (7) 4. Two and A Half Men (9) 5. How I Met Your Mother (7) 6. Home and Away (7) 7. Bones (7) 8. The Footy Show (9) 9. Futurama (10) 10. David Tench Tonight (10). Now you see why Ten will keep showing David Tench -- it appeals to the target audience, even if it only attracts 794,000 people in the mainland capitals.

Nine won Thursday with 30.7 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 28.2, Ten got 20.6, ABC got 14.9 and SBS got 5.4.

What Australia watched, Thursday
1. Seven News Seven 1.34m
2. Jamie's Kitchen Ten 1.33
3. Today Tonight Seven 1.33
4. Temptation Nine 1.27
5. Home and Away Seven 1.26
6. Nine News Nine 1.25
7. A Current Affair Nine 1.22
8. My Name Is Earl Seven 1.15
9. Two and a Half Men Nine 1.11
10. Getaway Nine 1.09
11. The Footy Show Nine 1.08
12. Celebrity Survivor Seven 1.06
13. The Good, The Bad and the Ugg Boot ABC 1.02
14. How I Met Your Mother Seven 0.98
15. Bones Seven 0.97
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Thursday September 14
It used to be Sunday, with the Sunday Night Movie. Then it became Monday, with 'Desperate Housewives'. Now it's Wednesday -- the night of the national corroboree, when Australians gather round the campfire to share stories.

Wednesday has become the top viewing night of the week, with four programs attracting more then 1.6 million in the mainland capitals -- 'House', 'Thank God You're Here', 'The Force' and 'Police Files Unlocked'. And next week it will be even bigger, when Nine starts showing 'Rome' at 9.30 and 'The Sopranos' at 10.40.

Ten won Wednesday with a thumping 32.7 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 29.1, Nine got 19.0, ABC got 15.1 and SBS got 4.0.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 HOUSE Ten 1,961,000 496,000 669,000 339,000 213,000 244,000
2 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,907,000 479,000 654,000 310,000 235,000 229,000
3 THE FORCE Seven 1,637,000 442,000 460,000 331,000 166,000 238,000
4 POLICE FILES UNLOCKED Seven 1,619,000 482,000 445,000 310,000 175,000 207,000
5 NCIS Ten 1,525,000 407,000 494,000 254,000 191,000 179,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,481,000 430,000 422,000 295,000 137,000 197,000
7 FORENSIC INVESTIGATORS Seven 1,391,000 428,000 415,000 244,000 134,000 170,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,377,000 363,000 431,000 246,000 132,000 207,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,376,000 364,000 455,000 273,000 145,000 139,000
10 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,369,000 366,000 406,000 249,000 149,000 198,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,288,000 379,000 386,000 267,000 138,000 119,000
12 TEMPTATION Nine 1,214,000 348,000 392,000 217,000 137,000 120,000
13 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,117,000 344,000 266,000 204,000 140,000 163,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Tuesday September 13
We thought the most watched series of the year was going to be 'Dancing With The Stars', but now it looks as if that honour will go to a program totally devoid of names, glitter or even plot. What started as a daggy little documentary, 'Border Security', is averaging 2.2 million viewers a week in the mainland capitals.

While it's now obvious that Channel Seven cannot win the year in terms of prime time audience share, there will be the consolation for Seven of having the two most watched shows, with both of them being Australian-made.

Seven won Tuesday with 31.9 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 28.1, Ten got 19.9, ABC got 13.8 and SBS got 6.2 (thanks to 'The Secret History of 9-11' with 400,000).

Click here to discuss how bad television made us better people.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1. Border Security Seven 2.31
2. Medical Emergency Seven 1.76
3. Seven News Seven 1.40
4. Temptation Nine 1.37
5. Nine News Nine 1.36
6. Home and Away Seven 1.34
7. Today Tonight Seven 1.34
8. All Saints Seven 1.34
9. A Current Affair Nine 1.31
10. CSI Nine 1.29
11. 20 to 1 Nine 1.28
12. ABC News ABC 1.03
13. The Simpsons 7:30pm Ten 1.03
14. Futurama 8:00pm Ten 0.94
15. Ten News Ten 0.88
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Tuesday September 12
What do you need to do to get Australians reflecting? The networks must be pondering that problem after the deeper issues failed to pull big audiences on Sunday night and on Monday night. Apparently most Sunday viewers didn't want to know about the legacy of September 11, or the biggest stars in TV history, or the contribution of Peter Brock, or even the love life of Elizabeth I.

And apparently most Monday viewers didn't want to know about global warming (Andrew Denton's interview with Al Gore drew just 971,000) or terrorism ('The Path to 9/11' drew just 677,000 despite a lead-in from 'Grey's Anatomy') or even smart Australian drama ('Two Twisted' drew 642,000). Looks like most people went to bed early.

Seven won Monday with 28.1 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 24.6, Ten got 24.2, ABC got 16.6 and SBS got 6.5 (thanks to 'Top Gear' with 699,000).

Click here to discuss how bad television made us better people.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,651,000 483,000 563,000 261,000 147,000 197,000
2 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,575,000 424,000 517,000 263,000 187,000 184,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,537,000 367,000 451,000 309,000 178,000 232,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,483,000 439,000 472,000 271,000 124,000 177,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,464,000 356,000 456,000 281,000 154,000 216,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,424,000 392,000 458,000 322,000 132,000 120,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,403,000 433,000 426,000 304,000 134,000 106,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,298,000 367,000 408,000 280,000 137,000 106,000
9 50 YEARS 50 SHOWS Nine 1,271,000 397,000 364,000 259,000 146,000 106,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC 1,167,000 290,000 397,000 176,000 120,000 184,000
11 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,160,000 330,000 354,000 211,000 133,000 132,000
12 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,081,000 348,000 309,000 179,000 103,000 142,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm Moday September 11
Nine won Sunday with 32.8 per cent of the prime time audience, while Ten got 25.9, Seven got 22.0, ABC got 16.3 and SBS got 3.0.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,823,000 520,000 542,000 362,000 174,000 226,000
2 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,669,000 644,000 312,000 378,000 182,000 153,000
3 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,537,000 402,000 505,000 235,000 194,000 199,000
4 PREHISTORIC PARK Nine 1,447,000 456,000 422,000 265,000 163,000 141,000
5 TRUE STORIES Seven 1,333,000 369,000 405,000 235,000 146,000 178,000
6 SEVEN NEWS SUNDAY Seven 1,323,000 324,000 350,000 273,000 169,000 206,000
7 50 YEARS, 50 STARS Nine 1,311,000 385,000 433,000 187,000 160,000 145,000
8 THE WORST JOBS IN HISTORY ABC 1,195,000 369,000 324,000 203,000 144,000 155,000
9 AFL: 1ST ELIM. FINAL COLLINGWOOD V BULLDOGS Ten 1,109,000 115,000 541,000 84,000 182,000 187,000
10 ABC NEWS SUNDAY ABC 1,105,000 294,000 334,000 193,000 133,000 152,000
11 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,085,000 272,000 366,000 176,000 135,000 137,000
12 TRIBUTE TO PETER BROCK Seven 993,000 270,000 354,000 164,000 102,000 104,000
13 MEERKAT MANOR Ten 980,000 210,000 296,000 184,000 123,000 167,000
14 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF 4 Nine 907,000 513,000 99,000 272,000 18,000 5,000
15 ELIZABETH I ABC 850,000 263,000 249,000 121,000 98,000 119,000
16 ABC NEWS UPDATE ABC 833,000 265,000 230,000 129,000 96,000 114,000
17 THE EINSTEIN FACTOR ABC 747,000 227,000 135,000 180,000 104,000 100,000
18 THE PATH TO 9/11 PART 1 Seven 709,000 207,000 240,000 109,000 59,000 94,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The ratings race is updated every weekday as an unpaid service for readers of David Dale's Tribal Mind column, published each Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald. David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A Miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on last week's trends in television, click here.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 11:04 AM
• Comments (181)

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

How bad TV made us better

To test yourself on whether you're fit to be an Australian citizen, click here.

by David Dale.
Might as well get in early. Now that September 11 is out of the way, our next pause for reflection will be the 50th birthday of television (click here for how it's going). Soon everyone will be celebrating, satirising, criticising or patronising. To mark the dying of the Age of the Mass Broadcast and the dawning of the Age of the Direct Download, here are a few curmudgeonly notions off the top of this column's head about peaks and troughs ...

The worst that TV showed us
Arrogance. Billions in profits have encouraged the networks to take their audience for granted. They think they can be deceptive, unreliable, arbitrary and insulting, because the viewers have nowhere else to go.

Contempt. After Frontline skewered the ruthless sensationalism of commercial current affairs programming in the 90s, you wondered how Today Tonight and A Current Affair could show their faces in public again. In fact, they got worse, because they assume the viewers are stupid.

Repetitiveness. One network happens upon a hit, so the other networks copy it. TV has come to be about formulas, not imagination.

Shortsightedness. The networks can't see that they've created their own doom. The only factor delaying the flight of viewers from television is that two-thirds of this country's households do not yet have high-speed broadband connecting their computers to the internet. But they will.

Cynicism. By treating us with cynicism, the networks have made us cynical – quick to spot every manipulation, eager to find alternative stimulations, and angry enough not to care if those alternatives are legal or illegal.

The best that TV showed us
The Simpsons. It's the sharpest tool humanity has developed for teaching children empathy, ethics, generosity, loyalty, honesty and scepticism. It trained two generations in how to analyse media.

Graham Kennedy. He revived our larrikin spirit at a time when Australia was starting to take itself seriously, smashing the Tonight Show mould before it was even set. In pursuit of a laugh, nothing was sacred – not his sponsors, not his bosses, not even his viewers.

Four Corners. At its investigative best, it challenged the powerful and exposed the corrupt. It embodies the ABC's duty to be brave and independent, regardless of ratings.

Homicide. It wouldn't work today as crime drama or as token Australian content. But in 1966, when it won its timeslot for the first time against a US drama (The Fugitive), the critic Harry Robinson noted a cultural tipping point: "Australians may at last be willing to consider their own people with their own ways worth watching. Till now, as any showman will tell you, Australians have preferred to watch anybody but their own kind, no matter what the quality. Perhaps we have grown up enough to give ourselves a fair go."

Lost. This is the high point of commercial drama's evolution. Woven into its tales of mystery and adventure are fundamental questions about faith versus science, co-operation versus competition, and good or evil being just a matter of perspective. Finally, a mass entertainment compliments the intelligence of the audience.

So on balance, 50 years of television have prepared us perfectly to enjoy the media that will replace it.

What do you reckon? Give us your suggestions on the five best and worst things television has shown us.

Click here to discover the most watched TV shows of all time in Australia.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are – A miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). The Tribal Mind column is published every Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald. Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on this week's trends in television, click here

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 01:58 PM
• Comments (60)

Monday, September 11, 2006

The ratings race: Week 36

This blog is now a heritage item - worth studying but not current. Clickhere for the latest ratings data.

Updated 1pm, Monday September 11
Channel Nine and its rugby league won Saturday night (with 28.1 per cent of the prime time audience) and thus Nine won the week. Channel Ten and its AFL came second on Saturday with 27.4 per cent of the prime time audience. Seven's desperate ploy to counter the beef with sugar -- showing 'The Sound of Music' for three and a half hours -- attracted just 543,000 viewers and left Seven in third place with 21.9 per cent.

Dr Who slipped to 620,000 and the ABC got 16.1 per cent, while SBS managed 6.4 per cent.

What Australia watched, week ending September 9
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 2,362,000 671,000 664,000 410,000 274,000 344,000
2 STEVE IRWIN: A TRIBUTE Seven 2,114,000 591,000 574,000 385,000 223,000 340,000
3 WHO KILLED DR BOGLE AND MRS CHANDLER? ABC 1,782,000 627,000 510,000 280,000 193,000 171,000
4 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,775,000 491,000 564,000 305,000 176,000 239,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,768,000 412,000 592,000 369,000 200,000 194,000
6 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,756,000 412,000 622,000 276,000 213,000 233,000
7 60 MINUTES Nine 1,707,000 519,000 515,000 298,000 165,000 210,000
8 HOUSE Ten 1,695,000 417,000 607,000 265,000 198,000 209,000
9 THE CROCODILE HUNTER - A TRIBUTE TO STEVE IRWIN Nine 1,694,000 493,000 536,000 368,000 150,000 147,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL WILDCARD Ten 1,583,000 420,000 477,000 285,000 228,000 173,000
11 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,529,000 411,000 425,000 278,000 178,000 238,000
12 NINE NEWS Nine 1,520,000 416,000 490,000 318,000 171,000 125,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,502,000 427,000 489,000 293,000 166,000 128,000
14 CSI RPT Nine 1,482,000 425,000 478,000 270,000 164,000 145,000
15 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,461,000 407,000 487,000 203,000 157,000 207,000
16 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,436,000 411,000 376,000 255,000 164,000 230,000
17 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,409,000 445,000 475,000 289,000 154,000 45,000
18 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,387,000 371,000 405,000 266,000 171,000 174,000
19 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,367,000 391,000 409,000 251,000 133,000 184,000
20 NCIS Ten 1,360,000 377,000 445,000 212,000 171,000 154,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Saturday September 9
This is the time of year when the States of Australia might as well be different countries. Thanks to rugby league in Sydney and Brisbane, Channel Nine won Friday with 28.9 per cent of the prime-time audience. Thanks to AFL in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, Ten came second with 26.5 per cent.

Seven had the most watched program, but averaged only 23.0 per cent of the audience between 6pm and midnight. The ABC provided blessed relief from all forms of biffo and got a healthy (for it) share of 17.8, and SBS got 3.9.

What Australia watched, Friday
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,517,000 S382,000 M380,000 B321,000 A187,000 P247,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,429,000 422,000 457,000 259,000 159,000 131,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,389,000 400,000 359,000 242,000 180,000 208,000
4 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,314,000 367,000 404,000 241,000 147,000 155,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,246,000 311,000 397,000 250,000 172,000 116,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,195,000 348,000 348,000 223,000 135,000 141,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,187,000 307,000 403,000 236,000 135,000 107,000
8 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,179,000 369,000 325,000 204,000 145,000 137,000
9 AFL: 2ND ELIM. FINAL ST KILDA V MELBOURNE Ten 1,141,000 63,000 617,000 39,000 208,000 214,000
10 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,089,000 295,000 288,000 176,000 127,000 202,000
11 ABC NEWS EV ABC 942,000 255,000 285,000 179,000 93,000 131,000
12 ABC NEWS UPDATE ABC 873,000 290,000 230,000 151,000 111,000 92,000
13 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES QF 1 Nine 856,000 501,000 37,000 296,000 13,000 9,000
14 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 807,000 338,000 131,000 145,000 100,000 94,000
15 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 783,000 185,000 229,000 166,000 111,000 91,000
OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals

Updated 11 am, Friday September 8
Aussies love a mystery, even when the solution is disappointing (not whodunit but whatdunit -- hydrogen sulphide from the river).

If you'd pitched the idea of a dramatised doco on the Bogle-Chandler deaths to the commercial networks, they'd have said "Too long ago, too Sydney, too daggy". But the ABC went for it, spent big money, and was rewarded on Thursday night with the biggest audience for any Australian documentary ever shown by the ABC: 1.8 million in the mainland capitals. And Melbourne was almost as fascinated as Sydney.

Will the commercials now try to pinch the idea? Or will they learn the lesson from the You May Be Right/Spicks and Specks debacle and conclude that there are some things the ABC just does better.

Nine won Thursday with 31.3 per cent of the prime-time audience (thanks to footy after 9.30), while Seven got 27.4 per cent, ABC got 20.0, Ten got a miserable 15.9 (David Tench is now down to 586,000), and SBS got 5.4. Nine is ahead for the week.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 WHO KILLED DR BOGLE AND MRS CHANDLER? ABC 1,782,000 627,000 510,000 280,000 193,000 171,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,467,000 446,000 379,000 256,000 177,000 210,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,437,000 427,000 366,000 256,000 171,000 217,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,359,000 404,000 432,000 225,000 120,000 178,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,346,000 385,000 465,000 216,000 134,000 146,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,331,000 412,000 419,000 232,000 155,000 114,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,322,000 393,000 408,000 257,000 154,000 110,000
8 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,321,000 361,000 432,000 232,000 138,000 158,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,214,000 359,000 411,000 203,000 126,000 114,000
10 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,148,000 333,000 360,000 206,000 108,000 141,000
11 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,111,000 301,000 433,000 144,000 123,000 110,000
12 ABC NEWS-EV ABC 958,000 246,000 278,000 167,000 119,000 148,000
13 CELEBRITY SURVIVOR Seven 948,000 252,000 268,000 173,000 110,000 146,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11 am, Thursday September 7
What a difference a timeslot makes. Channel Seven's newest hit, The Force, about WA cops, was attracting 1.9 million viewers on Tuesday nights. Moved to Wednesday, it attracted just 1.26 million.

Why? Because it no longer has the lead-in of Australia's favourite show, Border Security, and it's now up against Ten's newest hit, Thank God You're Here.

Still, Seven will be celebrating its decision to jump in first with Steve Irwin. Nine's tribute attracted 450,000 fewer viewers than Seven's tribute on Tuesday. Nine won Wednesday with 30.4 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Ten got 28.0 per cent, Seven got 24.0, ABC got 13.9 and SBS got 3.8. Nine is ahead for the week.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. Thank God You're Here Ten 1.75m
2. House Ten 1.69
3. The Crocodile Hunter Tribute to Steve Irwin Nine 1.66
4. A Current Affair Nine 1.54
5. Nine News Nine 1.51
6. Home and Away Seven 1.42
7. Seven News Seven 1.41
8. NCIS Ten 1.36
9. Temptation Nine 1.33
10. Today Tonight Seven 1.29
11. The Force Seven 1.26
12. Without A Trace Nine 1.23
13. Police Files Seven 1.20
14. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.11
15. Forensic Investigators Seven 1.05
(OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals)

Click here to learn how obese people watch TV differently from skinny people.

Updated 11 am, Wednesday September 6
It's official: in the mind of Australia, Steve Irwin has moved from amiable buffoon to national icon. Channel Seven's tribute to him drew 2.1 million viewers in the mainland capitals on Tuesday night. That morning, both breakfast shows, with saturation Irwin coverage, jumped by nearly 200,000 viewers - Seven's Sunrise to 522,000 and Nine's Today to 344,000.

Having paid their respects, Australians may feel free to declare the mourning period over, ignore Nine's tribute show on Wednesday night, and let themselves laugh again with Ten's relaunch of Thank God You're Here and new episode of House.

Seven won Tuesday with 33.2 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Nine got 28.7 per cent, Ten got 19.5, ABC got 14.4 and SBS got 4.2. Seven is ahead for the week.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 Border Security Seven 2,362,000 671,000 664,000 410,000 274,000 344,000
2 Steve Irwin: A Tribute Seven 2,114,000 591,000 574,000 385,000 223,000 340,000
3 Seven News Seven 1,535,000 410,000 449,000 274,000 177,000 226,000
4 Nine News Nine 1,535,000 394,000 518,000 335,000 173,000 113,000
5 CSI RPT Nine 1,497,000 428,000 482,000 273,000 169,000 145,000
6 A Current Affair Nine 1,493,000 430,000 482,000 291,000 159,000 130,000
7 All Saints Seven 1,461,000 407,000 487,000 203,000 157,000 207,000
8 Today Tonight Seven 1,455,000 399,000 389,000 257,000 165,000 244,000
9 Home and Away Seven 1,455,000 408,000 441,000 257,000 142,000 207,000
10 Temptation Nine 1,415,000 406,000 422,000 289,000 157,000 142,000
11 20 to 1 Nine 1,285,000 363,000 405,000 251,000 131,000 135,000
12 The All New Simpsons Ten 1,101,000 280,000 368,000 191,000 126,000 136,000
13 ABC News ABC 1,089,000 315,000 299,000 173,000 127,000 175,000
14 Futurama Ten 922,000 230,000 293,000 162,000 107,000 130,000
15 Crossing Jordan Seven 919,000 258,000 309,000 129,000 95,000 127,000

Updated 11 am, Tuesday September 5
The strange death of Steve Irwin drew the attention of Australians to any TV program that could offer background, so news, current affairs and Enough Rope with Andrew Denton were up 200,000 on their usual viewing figures.

Seven won the night with 30.7 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Nine got 24.4 per cent, Ten got 20.6, ABC got 17.6 and SBS got 6.4 (thanks to Top Gear, which soared to 702,000).

What Australia watched, Monday
1. A Current Affair Nine 1.87m
2. Nine News Nine 1.78
3. Grey's Anatomy Seven 1.77
4. Seven News Seven 1.71
5. Today Tonight Seven 1.60
6. Temptation Nine 1.46
7. Home and Away Seven 1.41
8. Aus Idol Ten 1.39
9. Ten News Ten 1.29
10. The Great Outdoors Seven 1.24
11. ABC News ABC 1.13
12. Enough Rope with Andrew Denton ABC 1.13
13. Criminal Minds Seven 1.12
14. Cold Case rpt Nine 1.09
15. Australian Story ABC 1.03

Updated 10 am, Monday September 4
Without Jana Wendt, Sunday attracted 266,000 viewers in the mainland capitals. On the preceding Sundays of this year, with Jana Wendt, it averaged 295,000. But Sunday has never been about ratings - it's been about prestige, about giving Nine credibility when it is often accused of sensationalism. Does the new Sunday have credibility?

Ten has a reasonable chance of winning this week. With 'Australian Idol' performing amazingly (1.6 million on Sunday), a new episode of 'House' and the relaunch of 'Thank God You're Here' on Wednesday, and endless AFL semi finals on Friday and Saturday, Ten could well surpass the lacklustre offerings of Nine and Seven. Last night Ten drew 23.7 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 32.1 per cent, Seven got 25.3, ABC got 13.8 and SBS got 4.3.

What Australia watched, Sunday
1. Nine News Sunday Nine 1.77m
2. 60 Minutes Nine 1.70
3. Aus Idol Ten 1.59
4. Where Are They Now Seven 1.34
5. Prehistoric Park Nine 1.30
6. Seven News Seven 1.28
7. Movie: Terminator 3 Nine 1.20
8. Sunday Football AFL and NRL Nine 1.08
9. Movie: Under The Tuscan Sun Seven 1.08
10. Meerkat Manor Ten 1.04
11. ABC News ABC 1.00
12. It's Me or the Dog Ten 0.96
13. In Search of Myths and Heroes ABC 0.91
14. You May Be Right Seven 0.81
15. Movie: Intolerable Cruelty Ten 0.79
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Sunnday September 3
The age of celebrity is over. For Australians, the new superstars are cops and customs officers ... and a few youngsters who might be famous one day. It doesn't matter if the celebrities are dancing on ice or fighting on an island, they just can't pull a crowd any more.

Last week Channel Seven's Celebrity Survivor managed just 1.05 million viewers in the mainland capitals - adding another failure to the list topped by The Master (which Seven killed after one episode) and You May Be Right (struggling to survive on 867,000).

Seven can only live with this disappointment because it has the two most watched shows of the week - Border Security and The Force, both about keeping Australians safe and both grabbing 2 million viewers.

Dancing on Ice, Channel Nine's attempt to emulate the success of Seven's Dancing With The Stars, melted away with just 1.4 million viewers - 200,000 less than its starting audience. It seems Australians don't agree with Nine's use of the label "celebrity" to describe the boyfriend of Jennifer Hawkins and the co-host of a failed breakfast show.

But Nine remains calm because it's gaining from Seven's current confusion. Nine won the week with 29.5 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven got 26.7, Ten got 22.8, ABC got 15.8 and SBS got 5.2. It's evident that Nine will win the year.

Channel Ten is riding high with stars of the future. This year's series of Australian Idol is way up on last year's, with three episodes last week drawing more than 1.5 million viewers. On Wednesday Ten brings back Thank God You're Here, its monster hit from the first half of the year, but Seven will counter by moving The Force from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. On Thursday morning the programmers will know if Australians prefer cops or comedians.

The ABC is doing best with Spicks and Specks (1.24 million), its Sunday news (1.07m) and Extras (976,000) while SBS scored with Top Gear (626,000) and Trafficked (547,000).

The ratings race is updated every weekday as an unpaid service for readers of David Dale's Tribal Mind column, published each Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald. David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A Miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on last week's trends in television, click here.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 08:58 AM
• Comments (201)

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Why we watch what we weigh, and vice versa

To test yourself on whether you're fit to be an Australian citizen, click here.

by David Dale.
There is no kind way to say this, so we'll say it cruelly: fat people love House. When we say fat, we don't just mean mildly overweight. We're talking clinically obese. Obese people also love NCIS, Las Vegas, Cold Case, Medium and CSI.

Meanwhile, skinny people -- as in disturbingly underweight for their age and height -- love The Simpsons, Smallville, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and South Park. The question to ponder is why?

These connections between TV tastes and gut size were discovered by the Simmons Market Research Bureau in the course of interviewing 11,595 Americans during the first half of this year.

Simmons had clients in the advertising industry who wanted to know more about TV audiences than the usual demographic divisions by age, wealth, gender and geography. Information about viewer fatness and thinness could be useful in determining the best place to promote a new diet or exercise scheme, or to sell a nutritional supplement. So the researchers asked each survey participant for details of height and weight and correlated the resulting "body mass index" with favourite TV shows. Using standard guidelines drawn up the National Institutes of Health, Simmons was able to classify programs by what it calls "Waistband Segment" (to learn more about Simmons research, click here).

The links were many and mysterious. The audience for NCIS for example, contains 35 percent more people classified as obese than the average prime time show, while House has 27 per cent more fatties and Cold Case has 25 per cent more fatties. At the opposite end of the waistband spectrum, Smallville has twice as many underweight viewers as the average show, Family Guy has 50 per cent more skinnies and Charmed has 30 per cent more skinnies. The trends ...

Obese people watch: Numb3rs; Criminal Minds, NCIS, Las Vegas, Ghost Whisperer, House, Medium, Cold Case, CSI, Law and Order, Survivor, Crossing Jordan, My Name Is Earl, Grey's Anatomy, Prison Break.

Underweight people watch: Smallville, 7th Heaven, American Dad, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Malcolm in the Middle, Friends, Charmed, South Park, America's Next Top Model.

People whose weight is normal for their age and height watch: The O.C., Sex and the City, Dr Phil, Will and Grace, Supernanny, Desperate Housewives, Veronica Mars.

And Lost is watched equally by all waistband segments.

What's cause and what's effect? Do viewers feel so relaxed watching CSI they order a double delivery of pizza, while getting so disgusted with The Simpsons they can't keep their dinner down, and becoming so inspired by the beautiful bodies in Desperate Housewives they achieve the perfect balance of eating and exercise?

This column is offering a handsome prize in a red cover for the best explanation of these weight/program correlations -- send your theory via the comment space below.

Footnote: You can calculate your Body Mass Index by dividing your weight (in kilograms) by the square of your height (in metres). For example, somebody who weighs 80 kg and is 1.6 m tall has a BMI of 31 (80 divided by 1.6 x 1.6)). The normal BMI range is between 20 and 25. Underweight is any BMI less than 18.5. Obese is any BMI over 30. OK, now compare your waistband segment with your favourite shows.

Of course, Australians are nothing like Americans. It's pure coincidence that most of America's favourite shows are also hits here, and that our proportions of obese people -- 20 per cent of the population -- and underweight people -- 2 per cent -- are close to the figures for the US. But just in case it means something, we'd love to hear your speculations on how waistbands might relate to Aussie programs: would fatties watch Border Security, skinnies watch Australian Idol, and normals watch Spicks and Specks -- or vice versa?

David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). The Tribal Mind column is published every Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald. Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on this week's trends in television, click here.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 08:04 PM
• Comments (67)

Sunday, September 3, 2006

The ratings race: Week 35

This blog is now a heritage item -- worthy of study but not current. Click here to join this week's TV discussion.

The age of celebrity is over. For Australians, the new superstars are cops and customs officers ... and a few youngsters who might be famous one day. It doesn't matter if the celebrities are dancing on ice or fighting on an island, they just can't pull a crowd any more. Last week Channel Seven's Celebrity Survivor managed just 1.05 million viewers in the mainland capitals - adding another failure to the list topped by The Master (which Seven killed after one episode) and You May Be Right (struggling to survive on 867,000).

Seven can only live with this disappointment because it has the two most watched shows of the week - Border Security and The Force, both about keeping Australians safe and both grabbing 2 million viewers.

Dancing on Ice, Channel Nine's attempt to emulate the success of Seven's Dancing With The Stars, melted away with just 1.4 million viewers - 200,000 less than its starting audience. It seems Australians don't agree with Nine's use of the label "celebrity" to describe the boyfriend of Jennifer Hawkins and the co-host of a failed breakfast show.

But Nine remains calm because it's gaining from Seven's current confusion. Nine won the week with 29.5 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 26.7, Ten got 22.8, ABC got 15.8 and SBS got 5.2. It's evident that Nine will win the year.

Channel Ten is riding high with stars of the future. This year's series of Australian Idol is way up on last year's, with three episodes last week drawing more than 1.5 million viewers. On Wednesday Ten brings back Thank God You're Here, its monster hit from the first half of the year, but Seven will counter by moving The Force from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. On Thursday morning the programmers will know if Australians prefer cops or comedians.

The ABC is doing best with Spicks and Specks (1.24 million), its Sunday news (1.07m) and Extras (976,000) while SBS scored with Top Gear (626,000) and Trafficked (547,000).

What Australia watched, week ending September 2
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,981,000 521,000 553,000 399,000 220,000 288,000
2 THE FORCE Seven 1,956,000 481,000 535,000 429,000 223,000 288,000
3 CSI Nine 1,926,000 513,000 616,000 340,000 231,000 227,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,904,000 471,000 554,000 402,000 256,000 221,000
5 60 MINUTES Nine 1,806,000 489,000 600,000 318,000 177,000 221,000
6 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,803,000 513,000 597,000 306,000 196,000 190,000
7 AUSTRALIAN IDOL SEMI FINAL 1 Ten 1,622,000 443,000 518,000 282,000 203,000 176,000
8 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,617,000 459,000 452,000 314,000 193,000 199,000
9 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 1,570,000 305,000 381,000 293,000 187,000 404,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL SEMI FINAL 2 Ten 1,537,000 411,000 442,000 306,000 186,000 193,000
11 AUSTRALIAN IDOL SEMI FINAL 4 Ten 1,537,000 484,000 399,000 289,000 187,000 177,000
12 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,524,000 412,000 501,000 264,000 178,000 168,000
13 HOUSE RPT Ten 1,522,000 415,000 474,000 292,000 153,000 189,000
14 PREHISTORIC PARK Nine 1,489,000 461,000 477,000 243,000 144,000 164,000
15 DANCING ON ICE FINAL Nine 1,423,000 476,000 390,000 287,000 135,000 135,000
16 SEVEN NEWS SUNDAY Seven 1,423,000 359,000 462,000 263,000 137,000 202,000
17 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,420,000 404,000 457,000 230,000 173,000 156,000
18 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,382,000 356,000 385,000 265,000 151,000 225,000
19 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,368,000 388,000 375,000 248,000 149,000 207,000
20 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,349,000 369,000 437,000 286,000 137,000 120,000
21 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,344,000 403,000 370,000 265,000 127,000 179,000
22 NINE NEWS Nine 1,332,000 354,000 417,000 307,000 140,000 113,000

Updated 10am, Sunday September 3
Saturday is usually the ABC's big night, when its prime time share is at its peak for the week because the kind of people who watch commercial networks tend to go out.

But lately, the ABC has been slipping on Saturdays. Its stalwarts, Dr Who and The Bill, are down about 200,000. What's going on? Is the warmer weather enticing the ABC's traditional mix of the very young and the very old out of doors?

Ten won Saturday with 26.8 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 23.2, Nine got 26.5, ABC got 17.3 and SBS got 6.2.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS SAT Seven 1,173,000 342,000 321,000 216,000 91,000 202,000
2 NINE NEWS SAT Nine 1,076,000 270,000 406,000 213,000 99,000 88,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOs Nine 1,057,000 311,000 300,000 210,000 129,000 107,000
4 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 874,000 --- 314,000 91,000 200,000 269,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC 864,000 279,000 283,000 116,000 100,000 85,000
6 BILL ABC 847,000 273,000 244,000 159,000 78,000 93,000
7 DOCTOR WHO ABC 801,000 263,000 215,000 144,000 91,000 88,000
8 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 726,000 57,000 167,000 66,000 205,000 231,000
9 CREATURE COMFORTS ABC 678,000 215,000 183,000 125,000 83,000 72,000
10 PAY IT FORWARD - MOVIE RPT Nine 670,000 152,000 202,000 167,000 91,000 57,000
11 PARKINSON ABC 664,000 176,000 206,000 110,000 70,000 102,000
(OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Saturday September 2
You've got to love the charming innocence of the ABC. On Thursday night its publicity department put out this press release: "ABC Director of Television Kim Dalton today announced that the ABC is seeking an amicable agreement for ABC Television's Head of Drama Scott Meek to leave the Corporation. This decision was made as a result of irreconcilable differences. Mr Dalton acknowledged the contribution made by Mr Meek in the two years he served as Head of Drama for the national broadcaster."

Can you imagine a commercial network doing something like that: get into a fight with one of its senior executives and tell the world about it halfway through the negotiations? The ABC sets a noble example in openness. We look forward to Channel Nine publishing full details of discussions with Jana Wendt.

Nine won Friday with 31.7 per cent of the prime time audience (and will win the week), while Seven got 26.9, Ten got 20.0, ABC got 16.5 and SBS got 4.9. The Chaser got 612,000, the Steph show got 420,000, Veronica Mars got 425,000.

What Australia watched, Friday
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,315,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,310,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,290,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,262,000
5 FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 1,225,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,217,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,213,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,133,000
9 WIRE IN THE BLOOD ABC 955,000
10 THE SIMPSONS FRI Ten 941,000

Updated 10am, Friday September 1
The Thursday drift away from television continues. It seems that 300,000 people who were regular viewers a month ago have found something better to do on late shopping night. Nine won the diminished prime time with 30.1 per cent of the audience, while Seven got 26.2, Ten got 20.6, ABC got 16.3 and SBS got 6.7.

The ABC's attempt to get in first with Twin Towers nostalgia -- 9/11: The Falling Man -- did so poorly as to suggest programmers may be wrong in their theory that Australians have a morbid fascination with the events of November 9, 2001. Seven might be wondering about its plan to devote two nights to it next week.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AUSTRALIAN IDOL SEMI FINAL 4 VERDICT Ten 1,333,000 373,000 366,000 268,000 167,000 160,000
2 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,315,000 393,000 382,000 242,000 115,000 183,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,312,000 350,000 433,000 256,000 144,000 130,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,284,000 329,000 304,000 270,000 145,000 237,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,252,000 347,000 324,000 227,000 145,000 208,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,239,000 336,000 374,000 270,000 140,000 119,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,225,000 339,000 364,000 243,000 149,000 131,000
8 GETAWAY Nine 1,194,000 340,000 371,000 242,000 116,000 124,000
9 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,149,000 299,000 335,000 243,000 113,000 159,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,080,000 302,000 328,000 203,000 127,000 120,000
11 CELEBRITY SURVIVOR Seven 1,053,000 307,000 277,000 212,000 122,000 134,000
12 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,005,000 271,000 396,000 113,000 111,000 115,000
13 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 955,000 251,000 293,000 192,000 89,000 131,000
14 ABC NEWS ABC 930,000 220,000 314,000 163,000 86,000 147,000
15 9/11: THE FALLING MAN ABC 898,000 322,000 254,000 139,000 72,000 111,000
16 7.30 REPORT ABC 831,000 222,000 261,000 137,000 84,000 126,000
17 BONES Seven 827,000 207,000 237,000 158,000 107,000 118,000
18 DAVID TENCH TONIGHT Ten 819,000 191,000 253,000 146,000 116,000 112,000
(Preliminary Oztam estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11am, Thursday August 31
It's a reasonable question you ask: how well did Channel Nine do from all the publicity about Jessica Rowe's pregnancy and the ice skating prowess of her co-host on Today, Karl Stefanovic? The answer is that yesterday 326,000 people in the mainland capitals watched Today from 7am to 9am, and 403,000 watched its rival on Seven, Sunrise. So the publicity was worth about 100,000 bums on seats.

At the other end of the day, Channel Ten won prime time with 27.6 per cent of the audience, while Nine got 27.4, Seven got 24.5, ABC got 16.5 and SBS got 4.0. Nine will win the week because of its huge head start on Sunday.

Click here to test your grasp of Australia's popular culture.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. House repeat Ten 1.54m
2. Idol Ten 1.49
3. Temptation Nine 1.37
4. Nine News Nine 1.35
5. A Current Affair Nine 1.35
6. Seven News Seven 1.34
7. Home and Away Seven 1.33
8. Today Tonight Seven 1.32
9. Without A Trace Nine 1.26
10. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.23
11. NCIS repeat Ten 1.19
12. Beyond Tomorrow Seven 1.08
13. Extras ABC 0.99
14. ABC News ABC 0.96
15. Neighbours Ten 0.92
(Preliminary Oztam estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11am, Wednesday August 30
'Dancing on Ice' died as it had lived -- largely unobserved by the mass of Australians. In case you're curious, the winner was Jennifer Hawkins's boyfriend, who beat Jessica Rowe's co-host.

Usually any program's final episode will pull back most of the people who have ever dipped into it, but DOA could manage only 1.4 million on Tuesday night-- 200,000 less than its opening episode.

Nine will be hoping that at least it left a million viewers saturated with glitz for the year, and therefore uninterested in Seven's next season of 'Dancing With The Stars'. Is "cruel the pitch" the appropriate expression for what Nine has done, or perhaps "debase the currency"?

Seven won the night with 31.4 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 29.9, Ten got 21.3, ABC got 13.5 and SBS got 3.9.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,981,000
2 THE FORCE Seven 1,956,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,460,000
4 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,420,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,415,000
6 TEMPTATION Nine 1,412,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,391,000
8 DANCING ON ICE Nine 1,377,000
9 CSI RPT Nine 1,368,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,359,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,338,000
12 AUSTRALIAN IDOL SEMI FINAL 3 Ten 1,118,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC 1,033,000 290,000
14 THE WEDGE Ten 991,000 260,000
15 CROSSING JORDAN Seven 936,000 312,000
16 REAL STORIES Ten 925,000 230,000
(Preliminary Oztam estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11am, Tuesday August 29
The red carpet coverage before the Emmies on Monday night made our much-mocked Logies look like Masterpiece Theatre, which probably explains why viewers didn't hang around to watch the awards themselves. Channel Ten's three hour Emmy broadcast averaged just 690,000 viewers and did no damage to the perennial Monday favourite Grey's Anatomy. The Emmies didn't even make the top ten of Ten's target 16-39 demographic, who clearly have good taste.

Seven won the night with 31.1 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 25.1, Ten got 21.5, ABC got 16.0 and SBS got 6.3.

What Australia watched, Monday
1. Grey's Anatomy Seven 1.80m
2. Australian Idol Ten 1.53
3. Today Tonight Seven 1.52
4. Seven News Seven 1.50
5. A Current Affair Nine 1.49
6. Temptation Nine 1.46
7. Home and Away Seven 1.46
8. Nine News Nine 1.44
9. Cold Case repeat Nine 1.29
10. Criminal Minds Seven 1.24
11. The Great Outdoors Seven 1.16
12. What's Good For You Nine 1.12
13. ABC News ABC 1.00
14. Ten News Ten 0.93
15. Neighbours Ten 0.92

Updated 11am, Monday August 28
People will now have to wonder if Yasmin and The Master might have enjoyed recoveries if they'd been given a bit of time to prove themselves. Last night 200,000 more people watched You May Be Right than on the previous embarrassing Sunday, and the show popped back into the top 15.

Nevertheless, Nine won the night with a massive 35.3 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 22.9, Ten got 22.2, ABC got 14.7 and SBS got 4.9.

To test your understanding of Australia's popular culture, click here.

And because somebody is sure to ask, Bleak House attracted only 789,000 despite a happy ending (they should have let viewers evict the bleakest housemates); Fawlty Towers, showing only in Sydney and Perth, drew 266,000; the Wendt-less Sunday drew 254,000; and the Grand Prix drew 249,000.

What Australia watched, Sunday
1. CSI Nine 1.93m
2. Nine News Nine 1.90
3. 60 Minutes Nine 1.79
4. Idol Ten 1.62
5. Where Are They Now Seven 1.61
6. Sunday Football AFL and NRL Nine 1.56
7. CSI: Miami Nine 1.52
8. Prehistoric Park Nine 1.48
9. Seven News Seven 1.40
10. ABC News ABC 1.07
11. It's Me Or The Dog Ten 1.02
12. Blackjack Ten 0.96
13. You May Be Right Seven 0.94
14. In Search of Myths and Heroes ABC 0.89
15. Meerkat Manor Ten 0.86
(Preliminary Oztam estimates, mainland capitals)

The ratings race is updated every weekday as an unpaid service for readers of David Dale's Tribal Mind column, published each Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald. David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A Miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on last week's trends in television, click here.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 08:26 PM
• Comments (216)