The Sun-Herald

Sunday, October 29, 2006

The tribal mind: Week 43

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest discussion on TV trends, click here

Updated 10am, Sunday October 28
It's not unprecedented, but it's rare: Channel Seven and Channel Nine averaged exactly the same audience share last week. Both attracted 27.8 per cent of the prime time viewers, while Ten averaged 22.4 per cent, ABC averaged 16.9, and SBS averaged 5.1. Perhaps the brontosaurus and the T. Rex should start sharing the slogan "Still The Two". Details ...

What Australia watched, Saturday
1 ABC NEWS SAT ABC 1,145,000
2 NINE NEWS SAT Nine 1,122,000
3 SEVEN NEWS SAT Seven 1,108,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,103,000
5 BEST AND WORST OF RED FACES Seven 1,085,000
6 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 1,033,000
7 BILL ABC 899,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Saturday October 27
It must be a pretty dull TV night when the most watched show is the news and that gets only 1.3 million viewers in the mainland capitals. But this has become the tradition on Thursdays, when most Australians have found better things to do than ogle the box. Friday night used to be the viewing dead zone, but now that's dominated by murder and gardening.

Seven won Thursday and Nine won Friday, with the result that over the week so far, Nine has 28.1 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven has 27.7 per cent, Ten has 23.3 per cent, ABC has 15.9 and SBS has 5.0. Nine will probably win the week. It's moments like these that make programmers wish they'd paid more attention to their Friday and Saturday schedules.

What Australia watched, Friday
1 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,435,000 443,000 430,000 214,000 161,000 186,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,370,000 385,000 429,000 222,000 135,000 200,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,317,000 362,000 342,000 255,000 131,000 227,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,257,000 343,000 338,000 217,000 143,000 216,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,205,000 352,000 391,000 217,000 149,000 96,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
1. Seven News Seven 1.27m
2. Jamie's Kitchen Ten 1.26
3. Today Tonight Seven 1.25
4. Home and Away Seven 1.21
5. My Name Is Earl Seven 1.14
6. Nine News Nine 1.14
7. Temptation Nine 1.13
8. A Current Affair Nine 1.12
9. Getaway Nine 1.10
10. RPA Nine 1.06
11. How I Met Your Mother Seven 1.03
12. Jericho Ten 1.03
13. Celebrity Survivor Seven 1.01
14. ABC News ABC 0.91
15. Bones Seven 0.89
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Thursday October 26
Good but not great is how Ten's programmers are probably rating the performance of their new youth drama, Tripping Over, this morning. It lost half a million of the viewers who were delivered to it by Thank God You're Here (though many of them would have been kids sent to bed so they wouldn't see sex and drug-taking). But if it can hold its 1.3 million over the next five weeks, Tripping Over will challenge All Saints for the title of most watched Australian drama of the year.

Ten won Wednesday with a prime time audience share of 28.8 per cent, while Nine got 26.6, Seven got 25.6, ABC got 15.3 and SBS got 3.7. Ten has taken enough viewers away from Seven to make Nine the network most likely to win the week.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. Thank God You're Here Ten 1.81m
2. Seven News Seven 1.33
3. Home and Away Seven 1.32
4. Tripping Over Ten 1.29
5. Police Files Seven 1.23
6. CSI: Miami Nine 1.23
7. Temptation Nine 1.23
8. Nine News Nine 1.22
9. A Current Affair Nine 1.22
10. Today Tonight Seven 1.21
11. NCIS Ten 1.17
12. The Force Seven 1.16
13. McLeod's Daughters Nine 1.15
14. Forensic Investigators Seven 1.12
15. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.12

Updated 10am, Wednesday October 25
After a sad performance last night, Channel Ten will be sweating on tonight's launch of its latest attempt at cool youth drama, Tripping Over, which has the best possible lead-in, Thank God You're Here. Will it be the next Secret Life of Us or the next Headland? And if it starts slowly, how many weeks will Ten give it to get established?

Seven won Tuesday with a prime time audience share of 33.7 per cent, while Nine got 31.1, Ten got 17.3, ABC got 13.1 and SBS got 4.8. The Wedge averaged 708,000 in the mainland capitals, Rove Live got 680,000, and Celebrity Joker Poker got 559,000.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1. Dancing with the Stars Seven 1.67m
2. CSI repeat Nine 1.41
3. Seven News Seven 1.37
4. Home and Away Seven 1.36
5. 20 to 1 Nine 1.36
6. A Current Affair Nine 1.32
7. Today Tonight Seven 1.31
8. All Saints Seven 1.29
9. Nine News Nine 1.27
10. Temptation Nine 1.21
11. The Closer Nine 1.01
12. The Simpsons 7:30pm Ten 0.99
13. ABC News ABC 0.94
14. Ten News Ten 0.85
15. Futurama 7:00pm Ten 0.84
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11am, Tuesday October 24
After last night's huge audience response, logic would suggest that Channel Seven should continue Grey's Anatomy beyond its season finale next Monday night. It would be a service much appreciated by viewers to play the first few episodes from the new season that has already started in America. That's what Seven did last year. The only reason not to do this would be if Seven had some other amazing program to replace Grey's for the last few weeks of the ratings year.

We await developments, and meanwhile apologise for giving readers false hope in this matter. Logic and viewer goodwill may not be the only factors in play here. Thanks to Grey's, Seven won Monday with a prime time audience share of 31.2 per cent, while Nine got 25.7, Ten got 20.7, ABC got 15.9 and SBS got 6.5.

What Australia watched, Monday
1. Grey's Anatomy Seven 1.84m
2. Home and Away Seven 1.46
3. Australian Idol Ten 1.45
4. Seven News Seven 1.45
5. A Current Affair Nine 1.33
6. Nine News Nine 1.32
7. Today Tonight Seven 1.31
8. What's Good For You Nine 1.31
9. Temptation Nine 1.26
10. Criminal Minds Seven 1.14
11. What A Year Nine 1.02
12. The Great Outdoors (not broadcast in Perth) Seven 1.02
13. ABC News ABC 1.00
14. Law and Order: SVU Ten 0.96
15. Futurama Ten 0.92
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Monday October 23
Not only is television's celebrity fad over, but also television's diet fad. Channel Nine had some success last year with a show called Celebrity Overhaul, which combined Australia's interest at the time in seeing famous people humiliate themsleves with Austraia's desire at the time to learn how to get healthier. Having used up the last dregs of celebrity in Dancing On Ice, Nine filled this year's version of Overhaul with ordinary people, hoping it would pull some of the same audience as Ten's local version of The Biggest Loser. Its launch last night drew just 869,000 in the mainland capitals.

Ten won Sunday with a prime time audience share of 30.9 per cent, while Nine got 28.7, Seven got 20.8, ABC got 14.9 and SBS got 4.7.

What Australia watched, Sunday
1. Australian Idol Ten 1.73m
2. 60 Minutes Nine 1.66
3. The Bourne Supremacy Ten 1.56
4. CSI Nine 1.56
5. Nine News Nine 1.33
6. Seven News Seven 1.32
7. The Real Seachange Seven 1.22*
8. ABC News ABC 1.13
9. CSI: NY Nine 1.12
10. Medical Emergency Seven 1.11
11. It's Me or the Dog Ten 1.11
12. Ten News Ten 1.03
13. Overhaul Nine 0.86
14. Meerkat Manor Ten 0.86
15. Operatunity Oz ABC 0.86

What Australia watched, week ending October 22
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1. HOUSE Ten 2,135,000 535,000 706,000 391,000 239,000 264,000
2 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,921,000 511,000 647,000 305,000 235,000 222,000
3. GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,875,000 532,000 622,000 327,000 190,000 205,000
4 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE Ten 1,828,000 504,000 562,000 346,000 213,000 203,000
5 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,537,000 436,000 473,000 248,000 180,000 201,000
6 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,534,000 548,000 421,000 246,000 155,000 164,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,452,000 415,000 474,000 213,000 199,000 152,000
8 60 MINUTES Nine 1,450,000 332,000 499,000 288,000 159,000 171,000
9 SEVEN NEWS SUNDAY Seven 1,426,000 427,000 365,000 253,000 172,000 210,000
10 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,425,000 432,000 458,000 215,000 159,000 162,000
11 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,413,000 435,000 427,000 254,000 130,000 167,000
12 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,413,000 378,000 391,000 263,000 160,000 220,000
13 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,376,000 433,000 401,000 234,000 133,000 174,000
14 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION RPT Nine 1,354,000 333,000 422,000 272,000 161,000 167,000
15 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,333,000 387,000 360,000 231,000 152,000 204,000
16 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,329,000 339,000 426,000 259,000 173,000 132,000
17 20 TO 1 Nine 1,308,000 353,000 424,000 236,000 143,000 152,000
18 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,307,000 450,000 418,000 156,000 132,000 150,000
19 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,296,000 358,000 384,000 265,000 169,000 120,000
20 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,251,000 399,000 320,000 263,000 126,000 142,000

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. For further observations of Australian attitudes and behaviour, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.

• in The Tribal Mind at 10:21 AM
• Comments (157)

Monday, October 23, 2006

The Tribal Mind: Week 42

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest discussion on TV trends, click here

Updated 11 am Saturday October 21
They're in the home stretch now. The TV networks have only six more weeks before they do the massive mathematical exercise that proves which of them "won the year". Millions of dollars in advertising depend on this, along with the takeover price that might be paid for a network by prowling predators.

Nine has already claimed victory, based on having more viewers than Channel Seven in more weeks (including the Commonwealth Games fortnight). But the usual currency of the industry is prime time audience share averaged over all 48 "official" ratings weeks. By this measure, Seven has an outside chance of tieing with Nine -- which is why it should not conclude Grey's Anatomy at its season finale next week but instead continue with episodes from the new US season.

Certainly Nine will end the year with a smaller average audience figure than last year, while Seven and Ten will be up. Nine has an average share for the year so far of 29.2 per cent if you include the Commonwealth Games period, or 28.5 per cent if you don't include the Games. Last year it averaged 29.3 per cent. These are the equivalent figures for the other networks ... Seven: 27.8 with Games, 28.0 without Games, 27.1 last year. Ten: 22.4, 22.7, 21.8. ABC: 15.1, 15.2, 15.7. SBS: 5.4, 5.5, 6.1.

Click here to learn the most watched shows of the year and of all time. For Saturday's results, read on ...

Nine won Saturday, thanks to rugby league, but Seven won the week. The prime time audience shares for the week were: Seven 28.0 per cent, Nine 26.8, Ten 23.7, ABC 16.4 and SBS 5.1.

What Australia watched, Saturday
1 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,296,000 358,000 384,000 265,000 169,000 120,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,192,000 319,000 342,000 198,000 125,000 208,000
3 2006 RUGBY LEAGUE TRI-NATIONS SERIES Nine 1,192,000 532,000 222,000 404,000 20,000 15,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,156,000 291,000 394,000 223,000 136,000 112,000
5 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,067,000 258,000 352,000 224,000 102,000 131,000
6 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,026,000 263,000 342,000 172,000 112,000 136,000
7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 931,000 238,000 199,000 225,000 118,000 151,000
8 THE BILL ABC 862,000 214,000 326,000 128,000 73,000 122,000
9 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 821,000 238,000 333,000 127,000 123,000 Not in perth
10 THE LAST DETECTIVE ABC 759,000 222,000 264,000 118,000 65,000 90,000

What Australia watched, Friday
1 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,425,000 432,000 458,000 215,000 159,000 162,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,417,000 385,000 427,000 229,000 139,000 236,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,413,000 435,000 427,000 254,000 130,000 167,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,329,000 386,000 362,000 212,000 154,000 215,000
5 TEMPTATION Nine 1,256,000 341,000 446,000 217,000 113,000 140,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,222,000 376,000 348,000 203,000 125,000 170,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,116,000 314,000 393,000 213,000 113,000 84,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,076,000 275,000 403,000 204,000 106,000 89,000

Seven won Thursday with a prime time audience share of 29.2 per cent, while Nine got 28.0, Ten got 22.3, ABC got 14.9 and SBS got 5.6.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,349,000 407,000 393,000 262,000 118,000 169,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,326,000 343,000 360,000 280,000 154,000 189,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,312,000 383,000 348,000 249,000 139,000 194,000
4 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,251,000 399,000 320,000 263,000 126,000 142,000
5 JAMIE'S KITCHEN AUSTRALIA Ten 1,227,000 321,000 374,000 226,000 157,000 149,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,165,000 360,000 301,000 251,000 117,000 136,000
7 RPA Nine 1,159,000 374,000 347,000 163,000 146,000 129,000
8 GETAWAY Nine 1,145,000 316,000 378,000 217,000 97,000 137,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,128,000 308,000 412,000 225,000 101,000 82,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,119,000 325,000 360,000 242,000 114,000 78,000
11 TEMPTATION Nine 1,079,000 291,000 366,000 210,000 107,000 106,000
12 BIG QUESTIONS Nine 1,018,000 312,000 309,000 196,000 99,000 101,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC 994,000 260,000 290,000 201,000 107,000 136,000
14 LIFE AT 1 ABC 971,000 309,000 265,000 154,000 107,000 137,000
15 JERICHO Ten 968,000 228,000 311,000 183,000 116,000 130,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11 am Thursday October 19
SPOILER WARNING: STOP READING if you were not one of the 2.1 million who watched House last night but intend to watch it at some later date.

Plot resolutions based on "it was all only a dream" have been the last resort of lazy screenwriters for decades. A whole season of Dallas in the 1980s was explained away by the discovery that everything we'd seen was a dream experienced by Pam Ewing. Viewers have come to expect that every second-rate American or Australian drama will use the dream sequence option sooner or later. And we yawn when it happens.

In last night's season finale of House (the most watched episode in the show's history), we learned that for the last 50 minutes we'd been sharing the dreams of Dr House when he lapsed into unconsciousness after a bullet wound. The insights into his thought processes were interesting (clearly he has sexual fantasies about Cameron and feelings of guilt about the way he treats patients) but can we forgive the writers for such a tedious "twist"?

Ten won Wednesday with a prime time audience share of 33.9 per cent, while Seven got 25.0, Nine got 22.7, ABC got 15.1 and SBS got 3.4.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. House Ten 2.13m
2. Thank God You're Here Ten 1.82
3. NCIS Ten 1.45
4. Seven News Seven 1.42
5. Home and Away Seven 1.39
6. Today Tonight Seven 1.29
7. A Current Affair Nine 1.24
8. National Nine News Nine 1.18
9. The Force Seven 1.17
10. Police Files Seven 1.15
11. Temptation Nine 1.15
12. McLeod's Daughters Nine 1.14
13. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.07
14. Forensic Investigators Seven 1.06
15. Futurama Ten 1.00

Updated 1pm Wednesday October 17
Uh-oh. The solid rock upon which Channel Seven has built its ratings resurgence over the past two years is crumbling away. Dancing With The Stars last night was down nearly 300,000 viewers on last week. Another sign that the cult of celebrity is over?

Nevertheless, Seven won Tuesday with a prime time audience share of 32.5 per cent, while Nine got 27.8, Ten got 21.0, ABC got 13.6 and SBS got 5.1.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1. Dancing with the Stars Seven 1.53m
2. Seven News Seven 1.44
3. Home and Away Seven 1.39
4. CSI Nine 1.36
5. Today Tonight Seven 1.33
6. A Current Affair Nine 1.30
7. All Saints Seven 1.30
8. 20 to 1 Nine 1.28
9. Nine News Nine 1.23
10. Idol Unplugged Ten 1.22
11. Temptation Nine 1.17
12. ABC News ABC 1.04
13. The Closer Nine 0.98
14. Futurama 7:00pm Ten 0.96
15. Neighbours Ten 0.88
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Tuesday October 17
Just when Australian Idol was reaching an audience peak, the viewers go and vote off the most interesting performer -- Bobby Flynn (pictured here for the last time). This column predicts ratings will now plummet, convincing Ten that it should rort the voting process next year to ensure continued excitement (see the DVD of American Dreamz, starring Hugh Grant as Kyle Sandilands, for how it should be done).

Seven won Monday with a prime time audience share of 31.1 per cent, while Nine got 23.6, Ten got 21.8, ABC got 17.3 (thanks to amazingly unflagging interest in Bindi Irwin on Australian Story), and SBS got 6.3.

What Australia watched, Monday
1. Grey's Anatomy Seven 1.87m
2. Home and Away Seven 1.51
3. Idol Ten 1.50
4. Seven News Seven 1.45
5. Today Tonight Seven 1.39
6. Nine News Nine 1.25
7. Temptation Nine 1.23
8. A Current Affair Nine 1.22
9. Criminal Minds Seven 1.20
10. Enough Rope with Andrew Denton ABC 1.13
11. Australian Story ABC 1.13
12. What's Good For You Nine 1.07
13. The Great Outdoors Seven 1.06
14. Law and Order: SVU Ten 1.05
15. ABC News ABC 1.02
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Monday October 16
Just when it was supposed to have jumped the shark, Australian Idol is going gangbusters for Channel Ten, and this could very well end up as its most watched season. The mystery now is why. More interesting performers? Slicker packaging? More incisive judgeing? A complete lack of competition from the other networks? Perhaps you can tell us, below.

Ten won Sunday with a prime time audience share of 29.4 per cent, while Nine got 27.1, Seven got 25.4, ABC got 13.4, and SBS got 4.7.

What Australia watched, Sunday
1. Australian Idol Ten 1.92m
2. 60 Minutes Nine 1.44
3. Seven News Seven 1.42
4. Nine News Nine 1.33
5. The Real Seachange Seven 1.25
6. Backyard Blitz Nine 1.24
7. CSI: NY Nine 1.14
8. Medical Emergency Seven 1.12
9. It's Me or the Dog Ten 1.00
10. ABC News ABC 1.00
11. Movie: The Bourne Identity Ten 0.96
12. The Most Inspiring Movie Of All Time Seven 0.96
13. Good As Gold Seven 0.94
14. Meerkat Manor Ten 0.81
15. Operatunity Oz ABC 0.79
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm Sunday October 15, 2006
It is sometimes argued that Australians have turned into mini-Americans. We share their politics, their language (try asking anyone under thirty to pronounce the last letter of the alphabet) and, after decades of cultural coca-colonisation, their tastes in entertainment.

The only question has been: what fraction of the USA are we? Now we can hazard an answer. Australians are, on average, Americans to the scale of one tenth.

The table below shows how many of them watched the top shows in the TV season that started this month in the US. It also shows how many of us watched the same programs the last time they were on here. Note, for example, that the US version of Dancing With The Stars attracts 18 million viewers and the Australian version attracts 1.8 million.

Our major deviation from US tastes comes with the latest Survivor which is watched by 15.8 million of them and only 630,000 of us. But that may be the exception that proves the rule -- or our taste.

Channel Seven (which, by sheer dumb luck, has rights to most of the US hits, including the top new shows of the season -- Ugly Betty, Shark and Heroes) was the winning network last week, with a prime time audience share of 28.5 per cent, while Nine got 26.4, Ten got 23.1, ABC got 16.3, and SBS got 5.7.

What America and America watches
1 Grey's Anatomy (7) US22.8m A1.8m
2 CSI (9) 21.6m 1.5m
3 Desperate Housewives (7) 20.9m 1.7m
4 Dancing With The Stars (7) 18.4m 1.8m
5 CSI: Miami 17.9m 1.3m
6 Lost (7) 16.7m 1.5m
7 House (10) 16.3m 1.7m
8 Criminal Minds (7) 16.2m 1.1m
9 NCIS (10) 15.9m 1.3m
10 Two and a Half Men 15.8m 1.1m
(US Nielsen)

What Australia watched last week
Show Network City-total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,891,000 502,000 597,000 301,000 236,000 255,000
2 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,807,000 480,000 594,000 334,000 181,000 218,000
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS 5 Seven 1,770,000 522,000 541,000 296,000 195,000 217,000
4 HOUSE Ten 1,743,000 440,000 589,000 295,000 181,000 238,000
5 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,673,000 384,000 595,000 289,000 199,000 205,000
6 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,523,000 409,000 475,000 276,000 157,000 206,000
7 60 MINUTES Nine 1,494,000 416,000 482,000 277,000 132,000 187,000
8 CSI Nine 1,492,000 408,000 476,000 277,000 164,000 167,000
9 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1,468,000 426,000 441,000 261,000 155,000 184,000
10 V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP BATHURST 1000 - DAY 3 Ten 1,436,000 447,000 426,000 276,000 169,000 119,000
11 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,397,000 370,000 393,000 248,000 162,000 224,000
12 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,391,000 418,000 417,000 245,000 127,000 184,000
13 NCIS Ten 1,343,000 326,000 468,000 211,000 178,000 161,000
14 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,342,000 424,000 422,000 239,000 135,000 122,000
15 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,320,000 355,000 356,000 243,000 157,000 210,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

What Pay TV subscribers watched last week
1 LIVE: FOOTBALL: EPL WIGAN V MAN UTD FOX Sports 1 93,239
2 THE SIMPSONS INTERACTIVE FOX8 70,404
3 LIVE: FOOTBALL: EPL L'POOL V B'BURN FOX Sports 1 66,095
4 LIVE: FOOTBALL: A-LEAGUE NEWC V MELB FOX Sports 3 58,994
5 ARMAGEDDON Movie Extra 53,610
6 FAMILY GUY FOX8 53,532
7 SMACKDOWN! FOX8 53,415
8 AUSTRALIAN KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS 2006 Nickelodeon 52,581
9 WWE RAW FOX8 52,238
10 AMERICAN DAD! FOX8 51,199
11 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL Disney Channel 50,588
12 JAG TV1 49,859
13 LIVE: CRICKET: DOMESTIC ONE-DAY CUP FOX Sports 2 48,432
14 MIDWAY FOX Classics 47,643
15 MOM'S GOT A DATE WITH A VAMPIRE Disney Channel 46,149
16 SAHARA Showtime 45,781
17 FOOTBALL: A DECADE OF GREAT MATCHES FOX Sports 1 43,975
18 BARGAIN HUNT LIVE Lifestyle 42,052
19 ECW FOX8 40,508
20 RUGBY LEAGUE: TRI NATIONS FOX Sports 2 39,081

The Tribal Mind is updated every day as a service to readers of the Stay in Touch column. David Dale is the author of Who We Are - A miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin).

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 12:03 AM
• Comments (223)

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Report card: first half of the TV year

Australians are losing interest in crime -- unless it's smuggling, which we much prefer to murder. We've developed a fascination for medicine, especially when it's mixed with sex and humour. And we like our comedy Australian and spontaneous rather than American and canned. Those are some of the patterns that emerged last week when the TV networks did their report cards on the first half of the ratings year.

By excluding the Commonwealth Games from the analysis, Channel Seven declared itself the winner, averaging 28.5 per cent of the prime time audience (to Nine's 28.4 per cent, Ten's 22.7, ABC's 14.8, and SBS's 5.6). That is the worst first half result Nine has ever seen -- down 4.5 per cent on 2005, while Seven is up 3.7 per cent, Ten is up 2.9 per cent, SBS is up 14.9 per cent, and the ABC is down 6.5 per cent.

Nine suffered from declining interest in its cop shows CSI, Without A Trace, CSI: New York, and CSI: Miami. Its best asset has been the health series What's Good For You, which averaged 1.5 million viewers in the mainland capitals and restored Sigrid Thornton to celebrity status.

Nine's American sitcoms Two And A Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine have flopped, and its expensive talent quest Dancing On Ice is suffering contestant injuries and audience turnoff.

Ten has been riding high on the local comedy series Thank God You're Here, the fitness game show The Biggest Loser and the US hospital series House. The beleaguered Big Brother is averaging the same audience as last year.

Although Seven shed 400,000 viewers from both its hit dramas Desperate Housewives and Lost, it made huge gains with Dancing With The Stars, Medical Emergency and Border Security, the documentary series about smuggler-stopping. And at a time when Australian drama is in the doldrums, Seven's All Saints picked up 200,000 new viewers, apparently by adopting the black humour and sexy melodrama of Ten's House.

Seven boasts of a national victory for its 6pm news, but this is largely the result of the collapse of Nine's news in Perth. In Melbourne, Seven news averaged 418,000 viewers in the first half, while Nine's averaged 417,000.

The ABC's only reasons to celebrate have been the British documentary series Planet Earth and the comedy game show Spicks and Specks, which attracted the kind of under 40 viewers who usually prefer Channel Ten.

Channel Ten's Chief Programming Officer, David Mott, released figures which excluded the Games, and defined "prime time" as between 6pm and 10.30 pm (while Nine and Seven normally define it as 6pm to midnight). By Ten's definition, the audience shares are: Seven 28.6 per cent; Nine 28.1; Ten 22.8; ABC 15.4; SBS 5.1.

Mott said: "However you want to cut the ratings cards -- share, audience thousands, year on year growth -- Ten holds the winning hand of 2006. Not only are we first in our core 16-39 demographic, with our biggest ever lead at the mid-way point, but Ten is first in the US benchmark 18-49 demographic."

As if the competing statistical claims by the stations weren't confusing enough already, Ten now wants to add a new age-band into the argument. This column is going to confine itself to all people in the mainland capitals.

OUR CHANGING TASTES
Average audiences in first half of the ratings year

Sinking ships 2005 2006
1. Desperate Housewives (7) 2.13m 1.69m
2. CSI (9) 1.66 1.59
3. Lost (7) 1.93 1.50
4. 20 to 1 (9) 1.63 1.41
5. CSI: Miami (9) 1.34 1.23
6. CSI: NY (9) 1.28 1.16
7. Without A Trace (9) 1.25 1.10
8. Backyard Blitz (9) 1.52 1.08
9. Beyond Tomorrow (7) 1.32 1.06
10. Super Nanny (US) (9) 1.34 0.96

Soaring successes 2005 2006
1. Dancing with the Stars (7) 1.98m 2.19m
2. Border Security (7) 1.82 2.04
3. Medical Emergency (7) 1.53 1.73
4. House (7) 1.51 1.60
5. Today Tonight (7) 1.40 1.48
6. Seven News (7) 1.37 1.48
7. All Saints (7) 1.28 1.42
8. Cold Case (9) 1.16 1.39
9. NCIS (10) 1.14 1.28
10. Hot Property (7) 1.05 1.26

Top-rating Regular Programs of 2006
(Average audience up to July 22, according to OzTAM estimates)
1. Dancing with the Stars 4 (7) 2.19m
2. Border Security (7) 2.04
3. Medical Emergency (7) 1.76
4. Thank God You're Here (10) 1.73
5. Desperate Housewives (7) 1.70
6. Nine News Sunday (9) 1.69
7. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (9) 1.59
8. Dancing On Ice (9) 1.50
9. House (10) 1.60
10. 60 Minutes (9) 1.56
11. What's Good For You (9) 1.54
12. It Takes Two (7) 1.53
13. Today Tonight (7) 1.48
14. Seven News weekdays (7) 1.48
15. Lost (7) 1.47
16. Planet Earth (ABC) 1.47
17. My Name Is Earl (7) 1.47
18. Where Are They Now (7) 1.47
19. Seven News Sunday (7) 1.43
20. All Saints (7) 1.42
21. 20 to 1 (9) 1.41
22. Big Brother Evictions (10) 1.39
23. Cold Case (9) 1.39
24. McLeod's Daughters (9) 1.36
25. Prison Break (7) 1.35
26. The Biggest Loser Eliminations (10) 1.35
27. Nine News weekdays (9) 1.35
28. Grey's Anatomy (7) 1.34
29. Missing Persons Unit (9) 1.32
30. Getaway (7) 1.31
31. Big Brother Nominations (10) 1.29
32. Seven News Saturday (7) 1.28
33. NCIS (10) 1.28
34. Nine News Saturday (9) 1.28
35. Hot Property (7) 1.26
36. Home and Away (7) 1.26
37. Friday Night Football -- AFL and NRL (9) 1.24
38. Better Homes and Gardens (7) 1.23
39. Who Wants to be a Millionaire (9) 1.23
40. CSI:Miami (9) 1.23
41. A Current Affair (9) 1.23
42. How I Met Your Mother (7) 1.20
43. Sunday Football -- AFL and NRL (9) 1.20
44. The Biggest Loser Tues-Fri (10) 1.19
45. Hello Goodbye (9) 1.18
46. You Are What You Eat (9) 1.18
47. Big Brother Sunday (10) 1.18
48. Silent Witness (ABC) 1.17
49. Jamie's Great Italian Escape (10) 1.16
50. The Wedge (10) 1.15

Top-rating One-off Events (Weeks 1-28, 2006)
1. Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony (9) 3.561m
2. The Great Escape - Beaconsfield miners (9) 2.790
3. Tennis: Aus Open Men's Final (7) 2.748
4. Comm Games Closing Ceremony (9) 2.736
5. Dancing with the Stars 4 Final (7) 2.665
6. The Biggest Loser Final Episode (10) 2.310
7. World Cup: Italy v Australia (SBS) 2.297
8. Logie Arrivals (9) 2.260
9. Desperate Housewives Episode 1 (7) 2.246
10. Comm Games Opening Countdown (9) 2.229
11. Cricket: Australia v South Africa 20/20 (9) 2.179
12. World Cup: Australia v Japan (SBS) 2.166
13. Lost Episode 1 (7) 2.125
14. Logie Awards (9) 2.032
15. World Cup: Croatia v Australia (SBS) 2.023
16. NRL State of Origin III (9) 2.020
17. Comm Games Day 1 Primetime (9) 1.958
18. Prison Break Episode 1 (7) 1.944
19. Comm Games Day 5 Primetime (9) 1.920
20. Comm Games Day 3 Primetime (9) 1.913
21. Comm Games Day 10 Primetime (9) 1.884
22. NRL State of Origin I (9) 1.876
23. Comm Games Day 2 Primetime (9) 1.839
24. Comm Games Day 8 Primetime (9) 1.833
25. Comm Games Day 4 Primetime (9) 1.817
26. Big Brother Launch Episode (10) 1.800
27. Comm Games Day 6 Primetime (9) 1.783
28. Cricket: One Day Final 3 Primetime (9) 1.776
29. Comm Games Day 9 Primetime (9) 1.742
30. Comm Games Day 7 Primetime (9) 1.730

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 snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. For further observations of Australian attitudes and behaviour, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 05:15 AM
• Comments (0)

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The tribal mind: Week 41

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest discussion on TV trends, click here

Updated 10am, Sunday October 15
Channel Nine's attempt to squeeze the last drops of ratings from rugby league did not work on Saturday. The Australia-New Zealand match drew strong audiences in Sydney and Brisbane, but Melbourne showed no evidence of having been turned on to new delights by its freak participation in this year's NRL grand final.

Seven won the week, with a prime time audience share of 28.5 per cent, while Nine got 26.4, Ten got 23.1, ABC got 16.3, and SBS got 5.7. These were Saturday's top programs ...

What Australia watched, Saturday
RNK Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,162,000 317,000 390,000 211,000 155,000 89,000
2 SEVEN NEWS SAT Seven 1,126,000 291,000 285,000 213,000 145,000 192,000
3 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 1,084,000 226,000 356,000 200,000 151,000 150,000
4 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,048,000 302,000 323,000 132,000 130,000 161,000
5 ABC NEWS SAT ABC 961,000 283,000 286,000 126,000 120,000 146,000
6 BILL ABC 937,000 282,000 312,000 132,000 86,000 125,000
7 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 923,000 132,000 382,000 100,000 168,000 141,000
8 THE LAST DETECTIVE ABC 860,000 256,000 273,000 141,000 95,000 95,000
9 2006 RUGBY LEAGUE TRI-NATIONS SERIES Nine 845,000 371,000 28,000 424,000 11,000 11,000
OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,302,000 343,000 371,000 208,000 180,000 200,000
2 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,291,000 417,000 403,000 193,000 131,000 147,000
3 MIDSOMER MURDERS-EV ABC 1,285,000 360,000 392,000 208,000 138,000 186,000
4 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,276,000 363,000 436,000 175,000 135,000 168,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,227,000 359,000 319,000 185,000 164,000 201,000
6 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,094,000 283,000 340,000 242,000 126,000 104,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,082,000 278,000 367,000 239,000 111,000 86,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,071,000 290,000 352,000 200,000 118,000 110,000
9 MOTORWAY PATROL Nine 1,051,000 307,000 302,000 208,000 114,000 121,000
10 CRACKERJACK RPT Ten 911,000 247,000 284,000 144,000 132,000 103,000

Updated 10 am Friday October 13, 2006
What if they put a bunch of celebrities in danger and nobody cared? Seven is enduring this nightmare with Celebrity Survivor, which has now sunk to a million viewers. The series will be allowed to finish, but there will never be a CS2. Still, it's doing better than Nine's US Survivor on Wednesday night (631,000) and on Thursdays, Ten's Jericho (902,000) and David Tench Tonight (606,000).

What Australia watched, Thursday
1. Home and Away Seven 1.33m
2. Seven News Seven 1.31
3. Today Tonight Seven 1.27
4. Nine News Nine 1.26
5. A Current Affair Nine 1.22
6. RPA Nine 1.21
7. My Name Is Earl Seven 1.20
8. Jamie's Kitchen Ten 1.17
9. Two and a Half Men Nine 1.14
10. Temptation Nine 1.14
11. How I Met Your Mother Seven 1.09
12. Getaway Nine 1.05
13. Celebrity Survivor Seven 1.05
14. ABC News ABC 1.00
15. Bones Seven 0.97
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Thursday October 12
A new episode of House (at last!) and a strong episode of Thank God You're Here gave Channel Ten the rare experience of winning the night on Wednesday – with 29.4 per cent of the prime time audience – and Channel Nine the rarer experience of coming third, with 22.4 per cent to Seven's 25.2, ABC's 14.7 and SBS's healthy 8.3 (thanks to 640,000 for the Asian Cup qualifier between Australia and Bahrain).

Seven will be distraught that its new action thriller series, The Unit, launched with just 730,000 (suggesting it appeals only to the same small audience who enjoy 24).

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. House Ten 1.74m
2. Thank God You're Here Ten 1.67
3. Seven News Seven 1.45
4. Home and Away Seven 1.39
5. NCIS Ten 1.34
6. Today Tonight Seven 1.30
7. The Force Seven 1.20
8. A Current Affair Nine 1.20
9. Temptation Nine 1.20
10. Nine News Nine 1.19
11. Police Files Seven 1.18
12. McLeod's Daughters Nine 1.15
13. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.09
14. Forensic Investigators Seven 1.07
15. ABC News ABC 1.03
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Wednesday October 11
Is there anything those Working Dogs cannot do? The most popular new Australian program of the year, Thank God You're Here has now became the TV show most often (legally) downloaded for viewing on computers. It was created by Working Dog Productions (made up of Melbourne comedy veterans Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, and Michael Hirsh) who previously generated the TV series Frontline, All Aussie Adventures and The Panel, the movies The Castle and The Dish, and the travel guides Molvania and Phaic Tan.

And just as TGYH reaches its peak, Working Dog launches a third travel text – San Sombrero – which includes a bonus "jetlag guide" with quite the finest collection of pleasure opportunities this column has seen, including:

"At the Zimbawezi Big Game Lodge, arguably the hottest luxury travel destination in Africa, everything is designed to impress – from its three-star Michelin chef to the specially trained animals that emerge after dark and perform scenes from The Lion King."

"Cafe Condescendo, Venice: The bar staff are renowned as the rudest in Europe and will make absolutely no attempt to understand English, despite the fact that most of them speak it fluently. Getting in is not hard but getting served can sometimes take a day."

"Politically Correct Itineraries offers an exciting range of culturally sensitive tours. Why not head to Alaska for dog sledding with the Inuit – where you get to pull the sled, giving these wonderfully indigenous people and their hardworking canines a well-earned rest? Or for a more 'urban' experience, try one of PCI's popular 'Homeless People Homestays' ... Who needs tacky souvenirs when you can come home with a smug sense of superiority?"

Add a few celebrities and this will be the next hit TV series.

Seven won Tuesday night with 35.5 per cent of the prime time audience (and looks to be unbeatable for the week), while Nine got 25.9 per cent, Ten got 21.0 per cent, ABC got 13.4 and SBS got 4.2.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1. Dancing with the Stars Seven 1.77m
2. Home and Away Seven 1.43
3. Seven News Seven 1.41
4. Today Tonight Seven 1.35
5. All Saints Seven 1.24
6. Nine News Nine 1.21
7. 20 to 1 Nine 1.20
8. The Simpsons 7:30pm Ten 1.17
9. CSI Nine 1.17
10. A Current Affair Nine 1.16
11. Futurama 8:00pm Ten 1.12
12. Temptation Nine 1.11
13. Futurama 7:00pm Ten 0.97
14. ABC News ABC 0.95
15. Neighbours Ten 0.92
(OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals)

Updated 11am, Tuesday October 10
It was Ten Ten Ten all the way on Sunday. Australians locked on early for the car races (which peaked at 2.2 million), and stayed for the singing races. Australian Idol got its best result ever for a non-final, and while 1.9 million were watching the pop singers, 724,000 were watching the opera singers on the ABC's Operatunity. The trend is away from the faded celebrities and towards the ambitious nobodies.

Ten won the night, with 29.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 28.8, Seven got 23.5, ABC got 13.5 and SBS got 4.5. But Seven reclaimed the lead on Monday with 30 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 24.8, Ten got 22.4, ABC got 16.0 and SBS got 6.8 (thanks to 667,000 for Mythbusters).

What Australia watched, Monday
1. Grey's Anatomy Seven 1.80m
2. Australian Idol Live Verdict Ten 1.50
3. Home and Away Seven 1.50
4. Seven News Seven 1.49
5. Today Tonight Seven 1.43
6. A Current Affair Nine 1.39
7. Nine News Nine 1.27
8. Temptation Nine 1.27
9. What's Good For You Nine 1.20
10. Criminal Minds Seven 1.09
11. What A Year Nine 1.09
12. Law and Order: SVU Ten 1.08
13. The Great Outdoors Seven 1.02
14. ABC News ABC 1.02
15. Enough Rope with Andrew Denton ABC 0.98
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Sunday
1. Australian Idol Ten 1.89m
2. 60 Minutes Nine 1.49
3. CSI Nine 1.49
4. The Real Seachange Seven 1.43
5. Bathurst 1000 Ten 1.40
6. Nine News Nine 1.34
7. Medical Emergency Seven 1.32
8. Ten News Ten 1.30
9. Seven News Seven 1.29
10. CSI: NY Nine 1.17
11. Backyard Blitz Nine 1.14
12. ABC News ABC 1.10
13. Movie: Supersize Me Ten 1.05
14. It's Me or the Dog Ten 0.96
15. Movie: Starsky and Hutch Seven 0.95
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week to October 8
Whatever Australians were doing to recover from footy frenzy last week, it did not include much televiewing. Audience numbers were way down for the commercial stations, making the ABC look healthy with its 1.4 million for Midsomer Murders and 1.3 million for Spicks and Specks, and making SBS look good with its 719,000 for Mythbusters and 401,000 for a repeat of Inspector Rex (imagine how well SBS would do if it repeated Skippy, Australia's answer to the clever Austrian canine.

Seven will be wondering at the apparent decline of Dancing with the Stars, Ten will be delighted with the persistence of Australian Idol, and Nine (which won the week) will be wondering why it replaced Rome with the latest Survivor, which managed a mere 801,000.

Description Network National Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL Nine 2,552,000 817,000 871,000 806,000 39,000 18,000
2 DANCING WITH THE STARS 5 Seven 1,858,000 594,000 551,000 294,000 191,000 228,000
3 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,751,000 421,000 652,000 308,000 186,000 183,000
4 NATIONAL NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,641,000 480,000 515,000 348,000 161,000 138,000
5 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,620,000 413,000 559,000 314,000 144,000 190,000
6 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,489,000 427,000 470,000 260,000 144,000 188,000
7 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,450,000 440,000 476,000 197,000 152,000 186,000
8 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,449,000 444,000 430,000 252,000 151,000 171,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,336,000 388,000 397,000 222,000 137,000 193,000
10 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,324,000 336,000 373,000 221,000 157,000 235,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 11:21 AM
• Comments (144)

Saturday, October 7, 2006

The Tribal Mind: Week 40

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but not current. Click here for the latest discussion about TV trends.

Updated 10 am, Sunday October 8
Despite a battle of wits and death rays between Daleks and Cybermen, the final episode of Dr Who for the year couldn't crack the million achieved by its opening episode, but it came close -- 957,000, which will be enough to ensure the ABC does right by the next season, sadly without Billie Piper.

Nine won both Friday and Saturday nights, and the prime time audience shares for the week ended up thus: Nine 29.6 per cent, Seven 27.0, Ten 21.8, ABC 16.0 and SBS 5.5.

What Australia watched, Friday
RNK Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,449,000 444,000 430,000 252,000 151,000 171,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,280,000 341,000 347,000 213,000 176,000 204,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,268,000 414,000 352,000 224,000 126,000 152,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,208,000 374,000 336,000 204,000 121,000 173,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,149,000 353,000 287,000 187,000 143,000 179,000
(OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Friday October 6
Channel Ten's bold experiment of a talk show hosted by a cartoon -- David Tench Tonight -- is now attracting just 612,000 viewers. Ten's bold experiment of showing a new drama series within a day of its broadcast in America -- Jericho -- is attracting 1.1 million viewers, which is more encouraging. And since Jamie Oliver is the most watched character of Thursday nights, with far more viewers under 40 than any cooking show has a right to expect, Ten's mood can remain upbeat. Good luck to them for being adventurous.

Nine won Thursday (and will win the week), with 29.0 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 28.8, Ten got 22.5, the ABC got 13.7 and SBS got 5.9 (thanks to 401,000 for a repeat of Inspector Rex - imagine how well they'd do if they repeated Skippy).

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 JAMIE'S KITCHEN AUSTRALIA Ten 1,288,000 306,000 473,000 193,000 153,000 163,000
2 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,251,000 345,000 382,000 234,000 119,000 172,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,248,000 289,000 370,000 233,000 131,000 225,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,226,000 288,000 386,000 225,000 124,000 203,000
5 RPA Nine 1,191,000 365,000 383,000 180,000 132,000 132,000
6 TEMPTATION Nine 1,179,000 307,000 423,000 210,000 116,000 123,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,167,000 302,000 410,000 209,000 120,000 126,000
8 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,127,000 285,000 360,000 231,000 118,000 133,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,127,000 291,000 397,000 206,000 136,000 98,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,123,000 286,000 361,000 226,000 135,000 114,000
11 JERICHO Ten 1,091,000 238,000 383,000 178,000 144,000 150,000
12 GETAWAY Nine 1,070,000 267,000 384,000 195,000 98,000 125,000
13 CELEBRITY SURVIVOR Seven 1,040,000 287,000 335,000 190,000 109,000 119,000
14 BONES Seven 1,004,000 258,000 337,000 166,000 129,000 114,000
15 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 976,000 252,000 285,000 217,000 101,000 122,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Wednesday October 5
Channel Nine ripped the miniseries Rome off air after only two episodes, because it was getting small audiences, and replaced it with the latest version of American Survivor. That attracted 801,000 viewers -- the worst result for any Survivor series.

Result: Nine came third on the night. Seven won Wednesday, with 28.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Ten got 27.6 (even a repeat of House gets 1.3 million viewers), Nine got 25.7, the ABC got 14.7 and SBS got 3.5.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
1. Thank God You're Here Ten 1.75m
2. Home and Away Seven 1.36
3. Temptation Nine 1.34
4. House Ten 1.31
5. Forensic Investigators Seven 1.30
6. A Current Affair Nine 1.28
7. Spicks and Specks ABC 1.27
8. Nine News Nine 1.27
9. Seven News Seven 1.27
10. Today Tonight Seven 1.23
11. McLeod's Daughters Nine 1.21
12. The Force Seven 1.21
13. NCIS Ten 1.19
14. Police Files Seven 1.18
15. CSI: Miami Nine 1.17
(OzTam preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Wednesday October 5
The story of Tuesday is not how well Channel Seven is doing (because actually, Dancing With The Stars is a bit down on Seven's expectations) but how badly Channel Ten is doing. Consider these figures: Rove Live, which once drew a million viewers, got 686,000 last night. The Wedge, which once drew a million viewers, got 789,000. Real Stories (pictured), which is a far cleverer comedy than The Wedge or anything Rove has done lately, got 785,000.

Ten can put a brave face on it, because The Simpsons and Futurama pull the 16-39 audience, but no channel likes a night in which it can't get even one show into the top ten.

Seven won Tuesday, with 36.1 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.8, Ten got 19.1, the ABC got 13.4 and SBS got 4.6.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 5 Seven 1,858,000 594,000 551,000 294,000 191,000 228,000
2 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,450,000 440,000 476,000 197,000 152,000 186,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,417,000 402,000 440,000 218,000 135,000 222,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,367,000 357,000 464,000 285,000 139,000 122,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,351,000 359,000 364,000 235,000 142,000 252,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,347,000 338,000 383,000 236,000 141,000 250,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,322,000 336,000 432,000 300,000 119,000 135,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,321,000 352,000 461,000 278,000 114,000 115,000
9 20 TO 1 Nine 1,310,000 316,000 427,000 270,000 129,000 167,000
10 CSI RPT Nine 1,191,000 233,000 411,000 261,000 143,000 143,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Tuesday October 4
Seemingly Australians were still recovering from the weekend's excesses, and went to bed early on Monday night, because televiewing was seriously down. Grey's Anatomy was nowhere near its peak performance of 1.8 million. Seven is waiting anxiously to see if Dancing With The Stars can improve on its quiet start last week.

Seven won the night, with 30.5 per cent of the prime time audience, while Australian Idol brought Ten, with 23.3 per cent, close to Nine's 24.5. The ABC got 15.4 and SBS got a healthy 6.4, thanks to the return of Mythbusters with 719,000 and Bro'Town with 221,000.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,580,000 403,000 543,000 304,000 146,000 184,000
2 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,481,000 423,000 468,000 260,000 144,000 186,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,471,000 392,000 426,000 227,000 166,000 260,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,451,000 406,000 406,000 226,000 168,000 245,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,392,000 390,000 407,000 238,000 158,000 199,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,355,000 376,000 447,000 261,000 133,000 138,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,325,000 380,000 389,000 293,000 136,000 126,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,303,000 359,000 438,000 230,000 148,000 127,000
9 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,242,000 333,000 422,000 222,000 101,000 164,000
10 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,163,000 339,000 390,000 196,000 133,000 105,000.
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am, Monday October 3
That IS a first – more people watching rugby league in Melbourne than in Sydney. Although the NRL grand final audience of 2.56 million last night fell just short of last year's 2.57 million, it was a pretty amazing result for a game between two provincial teams. Click here to see how previous grand finals have rated.

Naturally, Nine won the night, with 43.0 per cent of the prime time audience, but Australian Idol fought back bravely against the biffo and gave Ten a 24.2 per cent share, while Seven got 15.8, ABC got 13.5 and SBS got 3.4.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network National Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL Nine 2,561,000 804,000 903,000 788,000 46,000 21,000
2 NATIONAL NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,642,000 480,000 515,000 348,000 161,000 138,000
3 GRAND FINAL ENTERTAINMENT Nine 1,618,000 549,000 594,000 476,000
4 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,217,000 242,000 447,000 160,000 172,000 196,000
5 GRAND FINAL PRESENTATION Nine 1,169,000 507,000 636,000 18,000 8,000
6 SEVEN NEWS SUNDAY Seven 1,121,000 269,000 304,000 239,000 122,000 188,000
7 LOVE ACTUALLY RPT Ten 1,038,000 242,000 393,000 155,000 103,000 144,000
8 THE WORST JOBS IN HISTORY-EV ABC 1,020,000 251,000 324,000 171,000 119,000 156,000
9 ABC NEWS SUNDAY ABC 855,000 200,000 301,000 128,000 92,000 135,000
10 CIRQUE DU SOLEIL - SALTIMBANCO Seven 825,000 202,000 233,000 154,000 108,000 128,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm, Sunday October 2
It was a week of near-records in Australia's favourite form of entertainment. Channel Nine's interview with Terri Irwin was almost the most-watched non-sporting program of the year, except that its audience of 2.5 million fell behind the 2.8 million who watched the Beaconsfield miners' interview.

And the Swans/Eagles match was almost the most watched AFL grand final of all time, except that its 3.1 million fell behind the 3.3 million who watched the Swannies win last year. (Click here to see how previous grand finals have rated).

The 1.8 million who watched the relaunch of Dancing With The Stars was almost the worst opening that show has had (two million being the average over the previous four seasons), suggesting that Nine's knock-off, Dancing On Ice, must have made some of us sick of sequins, languid about lycra, gagging at glitz, and and, dare we speculate, sated with celebrity. Perhaps that was Nine's master plan all along.

Nine won the week with 28.5 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven grabbed 27.1 per cent, Ten got 23.7 per cent (because its huge Saturday audiences were outside prime time), ABC got 15.8 and SBS got 5.0 per cent.

What Australia watched, week to September 30
Description Network National Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AFL 2006 GRAND FINAL SYDNEY V WEST COAST Ten 3,155,000 765,000 1,184,000 330,000 326,000 550,000
2 TERRI IRWIN INTERVIEW Nine 2,516,000 771,000 782,000 481,000 233,000 248,000
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,835,000 642,000 519,000 274,000 180,000 220,000
4 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE Ten 1,703,000 434,000 589,000 304,000 190,000 186,000
5 CSI Nine 1,565,000 418,000 491,000 270,000 195,000 191,000
6 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,526,000 428,000 463,000 252,000 209,000 173,000
7 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,516,000 461,000 443,000 301,000 144,000 166,000
8 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,499,000 332,000 645,000 176,000 159,000 187,000
9 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,471,000 427,000 445,000 273,000 199,000 127,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,453,000 399,000 436,000 289,000 165,000 165,000
11 60 MINUTES Nine 1,451,000 374,000 467,000 284,000 138,000 188,000
12 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,381,000 452,000 452,000 167,000 147,000 163,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. For further observations of Australian attitudes and behaviour, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:11 AM
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Thursday, October 5, 2006

The tribal mind: Pret a porta-loo

It's hard to imagine two more contrasting characters than the current darlings of Australian cinemagoers. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is the elegant and vicious editor of the world's glossiest fashion magazine. Kenny Smyth (Shane Jacobson) is the overalled and amiable master of the world's most difficult toilets. Their movies, The Devil Wears Prada and Kenny are this month's biggest hits in Australia.

Well, when we say "hit'', we must provide qualifying detail. Prada made $5.6 million in its first week. Kenny has taken seven weeks to earn $4.1 million.

Kenny is an Australian film, so different standards apply. No longer do we expect local flicks to make more than $10 million (like Priscilla and Muriel's Wedding in the '90s) or even $5 million (like Crackerjack and Rabbit Proof Fence in the early 'noughties). These days we claim a palpable hit if an Aussie film can make more than $2 million.

On that basis, Kenny is huge, only falling behind Jindabyne's $4.8 million in Aussie takings for the year. Ultimately, The Devil Wears Prada will be seen by 1.5 million of us, while Kenny will be lucky to crack half a million. But it's encouraging to think there's still room for innocent dunny humour in this sophisticated international community.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. To join a daily discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• in The Tribal Mind at 12:43 AM
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Sunday, October 1, 2006

The Tribal Mind: Week 39

This blog is no longer current. Click here for the latest discussion of TV ratings.

Updated 10am, Sunday September 30
With the footy out of the way, Dr Who made a comeback on Saturday night, attracting 927,000 mainland capital viewers who had not yet drunk and shouted themselves into unconsciousness. The Doctor's own grand final next Saturday should crack a million.

Although the match was not in prime time, enough viewers left their sets tuned to Ten to allow it to win the night, with 25.0 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 24.7, Seven got 23.1, ABC got a hefty (for it) 20.5 and SBS got 6.7.

Before 6pm, we'd love to hear your predictions on the average audience the NRL grand final will total over the mainland capitals. (Click here to see how previous grand finals have rated).

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AFL GRAND FINAL 2006 SYDNEY V WEST COAST Ten 3,155,000 765,000 1,184,000 330,000 326,000 550,000
2 GRAND FINAL WRAP UP Ten 2,546,000 446,000 1,058,000 299,000 270,000 473,000
3 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH Ten 2,306,000 486,000 906,000 253,000 262,000 399,000
4 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH ENTERTAINMENT Ten 1,477,000 311,000 613,000 161,000 165,000 227,000
5 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,390,000 180,000 623,000 192,000 165,000 230,000
6 SEVEN NEWS SAT Seven 1,216,000 339,000 287,000 286,000 109,000 194,000
7 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,186,000 348,000 360,000 225,000 142,000 112,000
8 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,015,000 315,000 259,000 180,000 125,000 136,000
9 MONK Ten 976,000 269,000 297,000 230,000 73,000 107,000
10 ABC NEWS SAT ABC 969,000 296,000 259,000 188,000 93,000 134,000
11 DOCTOR WHO ABC 927,000 263,000 244,000 197,000 105,000 117,000
12 THE BILL ABC 914,000 286,000 262,000 159,000 69,000 138,000

Updated 10am, Saturday September 30
The vintage detective series Midsomer Murders pulls 1.3 million viewers to the ABC on a Friday, but only 505,000 viewers to Channel Nine on a Monday. It's a mystery why Nine keeps it on, when the axe falls on shows that are doing a lot better, but programmers don't think like normal human beings.

Although Seven won Friday night, the full week's averages show Nine on 29.0 per cent of the prime time audience, Seven 27.6 per cent, Ten 23.5, ABC 15.1 and SBS 4.8. That's unlikely to change as a result of Saturday's viewing, because Ten's broadcast of the AFL grand final was not in prime time.

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,345,000 400,000 357,000 235,000 177,000 176,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,303,000 391,000 407,000 208,000 113,000 184,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,283,000 374,000 388,000 211,000 135,000 175,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,181,000 297,000 355,000 184,000 136,000 209,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,171,000 315,000 328,000 163,000 153,000 212,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Friday September 29
Channel Ten's bold experiment of launching a big new US drama within a day of its launch in America is proving instructive. Traditionally Australian networks have been six months behind their US counterparts in launching new shows, which gives them time to see how the program is proceeding in the US and to ensure they are not risking prime time with duds.

But because TV fans now read about world programming on the net, and proceed to download shows illegally if they don't get them right away, Ten decided to gamble that Jericho was going to be this season's Lost or Desperate Housewives and rush it to air immediately.

As it turns out, Jericho's trajectory in Australia is downwards while it's holding its own in the US. Last night it managed only 947,000 viewers, down from 1.2 million last week. But then again, it was up against footy coverage at a frenzied time of year. Next week will be the real test.

Nine won the night with 37.3 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 26.3, Ten got 19.2, ABC got 11.7 and SBS got 5.5.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,556,000 351,000 660,000 187,000 164,000 195,000
2 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,395,000 392,000 490,000 286,000 124,000 104,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,325,000 370,000 428,000 289,000 136,000 102,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,318,000 407,000 384,000 223,000 110,000 194,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,290,000 339,000 460,000 233,000 124,000 134,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,226,000 325,000 310,000 212,000 137,000 242,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,217,000 312,000 433,000 240,000 127,000 106,000
8 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,197,000 285,000 339,000 219,000 128,000 226,000
9 JAMIE'S KITCHEN AUSTRALIA Ten 1,164,000 279,000 400,000 185,000 159,000 141,000
10 CELEBRITY SURVIVOR Seven 1,047,000 292,000 322,000 182,000 88,000 162,000
11 JERICHO Ten 947,000 246,000 287,000 177,000 122,000 115,000
12 BONES Seven 935,000 251,000 303,000 172,000 91,000 118,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, maionland capitals)

Updated 10am, Thursday September 28
The beatification of Steve Irwin by the people of Australia continues. An interview with the holy mother on Nine last night averaged 2.5 million viewers (Click here to see where it falls among the most watched programs of the 21st century)

Nine won the night with 31.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Ten got 26.2, Seven got 23.6, ABC got 14.8 and SBS got 3.3. Ten wisely decided not to waste a new episode of House against that competition, and ended with 1.1 million viewers for the repeat. The fans of Spicks and Specks are clearly different from the kind of people who would watch an interview with the Irwin family, so the ABC suffered minimal losses -- 1.05 million for its grooviest program.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TERRI IRWIN - THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Nine 2,514,000 770,000 781,000 481,000 234,000 248,000
2 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,703,000 434,000 589,000 304,000 190,000 186,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,405,000 463,000 377,000 240,000 105,000 220,000
4 NCIS Ten 1,348,000 346,000 458,000 221,000 166,000 157,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,305,000 325,000 373,000 241,000 143,000 223,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,297,000 367,000 366,000 313,000 133,000 118,000
7 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,247,000 355,000 295,000 245,000 108,000 245,000
8 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,233,000 353,000 365,000 240,000 142,000 132,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,230,000 369,000 382,000 245,000 106,000 128,000
10 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,221,000 335,000 328,000 213,000 132,000 213,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Wednesday September 27
The big question was: did Nine's Dancing on Ice queer the pitch for Seven's Dancing With The Stars? Although DOA only averaged 1.4 million viewers in July, it might have made the viewing audience a bit jaded with the genre.

Last night Seven launched the fifth season of DWTS, and got the answer: Yes, a bit. The audience of 1.8 million in the mainland capitals was less than the 2.0 million averaged last season, and less than the 2.1 million averaged by the most recent incumbent of the timeslot, Border Security.

Still, Seven won the night with 36.4 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.4, Ten got 19.2, ABC got 13.8 and SBS got 4.2.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 5 Seven 1,835,000 642,000 519,000 274,000 180,000 220,000
2 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,381,000 452,000 452,000 167,000 147,000 163,000
3 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,335,000 380,000 423,000 277,000 133,000 123,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,329,000 376,000 389,000 189,000 160,000 215,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,325,000 368,000 435,000 269,000 121,000 133,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,296,000 458,000 336,000 209,000 108,000 185,000
7 20 TO 1 Nine 1,261,000 320,000 406,000 240,000 145,000 148,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,213,000 379,000 330,000 180,000 132,000 192,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,195,000 349,000 354,000 251,000 127,000 113,000
10 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -RPT Nine 1,083,000 259,000 331,000 212,000 148,000 133,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 6pm, Tuesday September 27
That Eddie McGuire is such a naughty boy. With nine and a half "official" audience measurement weeks still to go, he's put out a press release in which Channel Nine declares itself the winner of the 2006 ratings year. Nine has calculated that no matter what channels Seven and Ten do between now and December, Nine's average audience share in prime time will be Still the One. So the image you see with this text might be Eddie McGuire looking at Ten's Grant Blackley and Seven's David Leckie.

Nine's press release says it has won 20 ratings weeks to Seven's nine and Ten's one. "For the year ... Nine is leading nationally on a 29.4 per cent All People share, ahead of Seven on 27.8 and Ten on 22.4. Nine is up 0.5 per cent on last year's result. "Nine Network chief executive, Mr Eddie McGuire, said: 'The depth and strength of Nine's programming has been a major key to our success in 2006.'

No doubt the ability to generate such optimistic observations is the reason Our Eddie is paid more than $4 million a year. But there is the nagging detail that Nine has included the Commonwealth Games weeks in its score, when the tradition is to exclude such special events as Olympic Games weeks in ratings assessments. If you leave out the Games (and Easter), the picture is rather different -- Nine's average audience up to now is down 3.2 per cent, the ABC's is down 4 per cent, Ten is up 1 per cent and Seven is up 3 per cent.

These are the details:

Average number of viewers between 6pm and midnight, weeks seven to 38, excluding Easter and Commonwealth Games period, 2005 vs 2006
Nine 1,094,515 1,059,849 -3.2% Seven 1,022,214 1,051,851 +2.9% Ten 837,707 846,365 +1.0% ABC 595,894 566,457 -4.9% SBS 235,501 206,585 -12.3%.

Average audience share between 6pm and midnight, weeks seven to 38, excluding Easter and Commonwealth Games period, 2005 vs 2006
Nine 28.90% 28.40% -0.5% Seven 27.00% 28.20% +1.2% Ten 22.10% 22.70% +0.6% ABC 15.70% 15.20% -0.5% SBS 6.20% 5.50% -0.7%

Nine's gain, such as it is, has been with viewers over 55, but it is down badly with viewers aged 16-39 -- and that's the group the advertisers love. But of course, it might pick up in the next nine weeks.

Ten won last night with 29.1 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven got 26.7, Nine got 23.1, ABC got 14.4 and SBS got 6.6. Mystery of the night was the spectucular figure of 1.1 million for Four Corners. What subject matter could explain this rise?

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 Grey's Anatomy (7) 1,516,000 461,000 443,000 301,000 144,000 166,000
2 Australian Idol Live Verdict (10) 1,453,000 399,000 436,000 289,000 165,000 165,000
3 A Current Affair (9) 1,437,000 393,000 482,000 285,000 144,000 132,000
4 Seven News (7) 1,434,000 356,000 443,000 222,000 167,000 247,000
5 Home and Away (7) 1,385,000 460,000 365,000 229,000 143,000 187,000
6 Nine News (9) 1,383,000 357,000 456,000 300,000 140,000 130,000
7 Today Tonight (7) 1,354,000 359,000 415,000 211,000 155,000 214,000
8 Temptation (9) 1,307,000 373,000 375,000 286,000 139,000 134,000
9 The Kings of Comedy (9) 1,240,000 330,000 382,000 259,000 158,000 111,000
10 Cold Case (9) 1,106,000 364,000 302,000 193,000 143,000 105,000
11 2006 Brownlow Medal (10) 1,099,000 53,000 634,000 18,000 180,000 213,000
12 The Great Outdoors (7) 1,091,000 358,000 322,000 164,000 115,000 133,000
13 Four Corners (ABC) 1,062,000 329,000 311,000 202,000 84,000 136,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Monday September 25
Now we know how many people in the mainland capitals have a TV set but no DVD player – or a DVD player and kids who just love commercials. The movie Finding Nemo is the biggest-selling DVD of all time in Australia. Nevertheless, when Channel Seven showed it at 6.30 on Sunday night, 1.3 million people tuned in.

That was not, however, enough to let Seven win the night, because adult tastes reasserted themselves with Nine's CSI at 8.30. Nine averaged 30.3 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven got 25.8, Ten got 24.6, ABC got 16.1 and SBS got 3.1.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (9) 1,565,083 418,370 490,789 269,978 194,496 191,450
2 Australian Idol (10) 1,503,206 418,431 459,104 244,717 209,298 171,657
3 Nine News Sunday (9) 1,469,448 426,649 443,194 272,690 199,483 127,431
4 60 Minutes (9) 1,450,008 374,358 467,134 283,568 137,151 187,798
5 Finding Nemo (7) 1,345,404 401,368 376,352 227,374 149,163 191,148
6 Prehistoric Park (9) 1,317,272 337,928 462,801 224,927 130,241 161,375
7 Seven News Sunday (7) 1,273,857 319,305 393,428 223,405 148,188 189,531
8 CSI: NY (9) 1,245,196 330,760 402,029 212,073 155,853 144,482
9 The Worst Jobs in History (ABC) 1,148,479 338,813 340,914 202,142 136,648 129,962
10 ABC News Sunday (ABC) 1,130,486 294,877 320,215 211,305 153,822 150,267
11 Blackjack VII at the Gates (10) 912,022 267,102 291,945 124,738 123,896 104,341
12 It's Me or the Dog (10) 883,863 238,779 235,227 152,659 143,891 113,306
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm, Sunday September 24
It was Channel Nine's birthday week, but Seven and Ten got the presents. "Bloody hell," the Nine programmers are saying this morning, "Why does nostalgia work for them and not for us? And why doesn't sex work at all any more?"

Seven's TV Turns 50 – the Events that Stopped a Nation averaged 1.5 million viewers in the mainland capitals, while only 1.1 million watched Nine's 50 Years of Television News, hosted by Brian Henderson (looking the same age – 42 – that he has looked since he was 21).

The return of McLeod's Daughters drew only 1.2 million, despite a promo campaign that looked like an after-midnight commercial for a dominatrix service. And the new Caesarian miniseries Rome averaged only 770,000, beaten by a repeat of NCIS on Ten, despite the revelation that the society ladies of 55 C trimmed their pubic hair into neat rectangles. Who knew the Roman Empire stretched as far as Brazil?

With typically short attention span, Nine has decided to terminate Rome after only one episode, replacing it on Wednesday with the latest US series of Survivor, so scholars of pubic grooming will just have to buy the DVD.

An explanation for Nine's failure with nostalgia may be that viewers feel they've already seen every clip in Nine's vault at least twice. Or that viewers are so pissed off with Nine's erratic programming policies they don't see any reason to join its birthday festivities.

In a difficult week, Nine can always rely on rugby league to push it back to the top. As of Friday, Nine was behind Seven. But after 375,000 people in Melbourne watched their own team make history on Saturday (joining 616,000 in Sydney), Nine just scraped in to win the week with 27.8 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven averaged 27.4, Ten got 24.4, ABC got 15.6 and SBS got 4.8.

What Australia watched, week to September 24
1 Steve Irwin Memorial Service live (ABC, 7, 9, 10) 2.39m (Sydney 0.56m)
2 Border Security (7) 2.24m (0.68m)
3 House (10) 1.89m (0.50m)
4 Thank God You're Here (10) 1.85m (0.46m)
5 AFL prelim. Sydney v Fremantle (10) 1.80m (0.37m)
6 Medical Emergency (7) 1.78 (0.53)
7 Grey's Anatomy (7) 1.72m (0.46)
8 Australian Idol (10) 1.54 (0.41)
8 TV Turns 50 – Events that Stopped a Nation (7) 1.54 (0.46)
9 Australian Idol Live Verdict (10) 1.52m (0.43)
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, including the resurgence of Dr Who, click here.

• in The Tribal Mind at 12:59 AM
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