The Sun-Herald

The ratings race: week 26

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. To join the latest discussion on media and popular culture, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.

Updated 10 am Sunday
Channel Nine capitalised on the current Potter madness and put a dent in the arrival of the Tardis last night (Thursday's Christmas special didn't count). Nine won Saturday, along with Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday, while Seven won Monday, Tuesday and Friday. For the week, the average prime time shares were Seven 29.0 per cent, Nine 27.1 per cent, Ten 21.7, ABC 17.0, and SBS 5.1.

Highlights of what Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,269,000 321,000 351,000 247,000 164,000 186,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,170,000 352,000 351,000 232,000 144,000 91,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,142,000 280,000 377,000 224,000 129,000 132,000
4 HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE -RPT Nine 1,124,000 287,000 333,000 232,000 148,000 124,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 995,000 304,000 295,000 218,000 76,000 103,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 965,000 319,000 305,000 151,000 82,000 109,000
7 DOCTOR WHO ABC 928,000 276,000 240,000 216,000 89,000 106,000
9 SEVEN'S R.U: BLEDISLOE CUP : AUS V N Z Seven 800,000 347,000 145,000 200,000 58,000 50,000
11 THE BILL ABC 756,000 224,000 235,000 130,000 68,000 100,000
13 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 664,000 314,000 62,000 166,000 121,000
15 PARKINSON-LE ABC 609,000 179,000 186,000 98,000 71,000 75,000
17 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 576,000 134,000 226,000 51,000 89,000 77,000
18 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 506,000 279,000 83,000 145,000
32 WIMBLEDON Day 6 Nine 259,000 74,000 95,000 40,000 33,000 16,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,453,000 375,000 454,000 229,000 173,000 221,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,292,000 359,000 384,000 271,000 162,000 115,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,261,000 380,000 407,000 201,000 137,000 136,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,250,000 327,000 380,000 212,000 147,000 184,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,176,000 312,000 393,000 221,000 157,000 93,000
6 TEMPTATION Nine 1,111,000 273,000 407,000 198,000 133,000 100,000
7 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,088,000 248,000 319,000 233,000 145,000 143,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,045,000 310,000 262,000 208,000 114,000 151,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC 1,031,000 327,000 353,000 145,000 91,000 115,000
10 TAGGART ABC 1,025,000 272,000 312,000 196,000 116,000 130,000
13 BIG BROTHER Ten 843,000 204,000 224,000 189,000 131,000 94,000
15 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 13: ESSENDON V MELBOURNE Seven 808,000 27,000 499,000 11,000 149,000 122,000
22 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 584,000 392,000 192,000
26 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 487,000 101,000 133,000 107,000 54,000 91,000
28 SUNRISE Seven 387,000 133,000 73,000 93,000 44,000 43,000
35 BIG BROTHER - UP LATE Ten 328,000 93,000 80,000 75,000 45,000 35,000
39 THE BASIL BRUSH SHOW-PM ABC 305,000 101,000 92,000 50,000 32,000 30,000
46 WIMBLEDON Day 5 Nine 269,000 114,000 74,000 40,000 25,000 16,000
53 TODAY Nine 250,000 61,000 91,000 45,000 16,000 37,000
143 GUTHY-RENKER AUSTRALIA (R) Seven 29,000 16,000 5,000 1,000 4,000 4,000

Updated 10 am Friday
The ABC may have shot itself in the foot by putting Dr Who up against Heroes in Sydney and Brisbane. They would appeal to similar audiences, and not every sci-fi geek has a functional recording system. The table below shows how the doctor and his OTT spiderwoman fared against Hiro and his mates.

Channel Nine won Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, while Seven won Monday and Tuesday, so at this point in the week, the average prime time shares are Nine 27.3 per cent, Seven 29.4 per cent, Ten 21.6, ABC 16.7, and SBS 5.1.

To discuss why TV is a dying medium, click here

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,510,000 385,000 466,000 266,000 186,000 208,000
2 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,391,000 414,000 423,000 205,000 182,000 166,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,326,000 365,000 391,000 216,000 179,000 174,000
4 GETAWAY Nine 1,320,000 403,000 399,000 217,000 152,000 150,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,267,000 391,000 394,000 238,000 136,000 107,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,247,000 346,000 397,000 253,000 115,000 136,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,189,000 353,000 371,000 238,000 121,000 106,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,185,000 342,000 404,000 168,000 119,000 152,000
9 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 1,182,000 334,000 336,000 244,000 120,000 148,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,181,000 382,000 307,000 206,000 136,000 149,000
11 TEMPTATION Nine 1,116,000 289,000 377,000 211,000 122,000 117,000
12 LOST Seven 1,107,000 318,000 390,000 163,000 111,000 125,000
13 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,087,000 387,000 282,000 174,000 130,000 114,000
15 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,072,000 251,000 455,000 127,000 126,000 113,000
16 BIG BROTHER Ten 982,000 235,000 285,000 200,000 144,000 119,000
18 THE AMAZING RACE: ALL STARS Seven 930,000 248,000 388,000 88,000 107,000 99,000
22 DOCTOR WHO: THE RUNAWAY BRIDE ABC 846,000 270,000 188,000 180,000 93,000 116,000
24 PIRATE MASTER Ten 778,000 220,000 238,000 107,000 124,000 89,000
28 HEROES Seven 546,000 325,000 221,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,508,000 442,000 440,000 237,000 183,000 205,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,404,000 401,000 397,000 220,000 185,000 201,000
3 HOUSE Ten 1,403,000 405,000 399,000 253,000 161,000 186,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,390,000 408,000 424,000 264,000 164,000 131,000
5 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,342,000 428,000 367,000 239,000 163,000 144,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,307,000 373,000 425,000 249,000 126,000 133,000
7 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,262,000 355,000 342,000 240,000 169,000 156,000
8 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,247,000 328,000 437,000 168,000 143,000 172,000
12 THE CHASER'S WAR ON REPEATS ABC 1,174,000 387,000 320,000 178,000 150,000 138,000
14 COLD CASE Nine 1,091,000 326,000 301,000 202,000 132,000 129,000
15 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,078,000 263,000 325,000 212,000 135,000 143,000
17 LAST CHANCE LEARNERS Seven 995,000 306,000 337,000 138,000 91,000 124,000
20 PRISON BREAK - ON THE RUN Seven 962,000 258,000 396,000 101,000 103,000 104,000
22 MEDIUM Ten 881,000 219,000 273,000 152,000 120,000 117,000
28 HEROES Seven 628,000 391,000 112,000 125,000
29 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 592,000 152,000 184,000 86,000 70,000 100,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11 am Tuesday
Channel Seven has finally caved in to the downloaders and announced that it will run the new seasons of Heroes and Prison Break later this year "as close to their US telecast dates as practically possible". The Tribal Mind has been campaigning on this issue for two years (click here for background).

Tim Worner, Seven's Director of Programing, said yesterday: "From the feedback we've been getting from fansites and blogs, the message has been very clear. Now from Seven we're sending a message back -- the waiting is over."

It's a precedent that will put pressure on the other networks. Ten already ran Jericho simultaneously with the US, and will undoubtedly do the same with the new series it receives in its deal with Fox from September. Channel NIne is yet to show last year's episodes of The Sopranos, so seemingly it assumes it can ignore the downloaders.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
RNK Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,717,000 526,000 527,000 272,000 191,000 201,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,603,000 420,000 440,000 298,000 207,000 238,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,450,000 410,000 403,000 238,000 177,000 222,000
4 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,435,000 429,000 484,000 209,000 140,000 173,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,264,000 356,000 389,000 275,000 129,000 115,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,262,000 375,000 364,000 246,000 167,000 110,000
7 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,237,000 300,000 408,000 219,000 153,000 158,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,232,000 374,000 315,000 221,000 128,000 194,000
20 CSI: NY Nine 850,000 265,000 261,000 137,000 103,000 84,000
21 CARBON COPS ABC 817,000 232,000 228,000 145,000 93,000 119,000
22 THE BILL-TU ABC 803,000 244,000 244,000 143,000 72,000 100,000
23 NEIGHBOURS Ten 803,000 219,000 201,000 182,000 98,000 103,000
24 CROSSING JORDAN Seven 769,000 236,000 261,000 100,000 77,000 95,000
27 TIME TEAM ABC 608,000 160,000 210,000 117,000 61,000 60,000
28 THE NATION Nine 575,000 200,000 172,000 82,000 61,000 60,000
29 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 556,000 167,000 122,000 121,000 71,000 75,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,650,000 452,000 437,000 280,000 208,000 272,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,580,000 432,000 463,000 266,000 192,000 227,000
3 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,422,000 462,000 440,000 183,000 161,000 176,000
4 1 VS 100 Nine 1,417,000 395,000 454,000 248,000 155,000 164,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,406,000 434,000 387,000 288,000 166,000 130,000
6 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,299,000 397,000 420,000 234,000 123,000 125,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,285,000 393,000 331,000 287,000 145,000 129,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,275,000 322,000 445,000 256,000 119,000 134,000
9 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,264,000 364,000 385,000 175,000 154,000 186,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,250,000 370,000 333,000 208,000 155,000 184,000
13 BIG BROTHER LIVE NOMINATION Ten 1,036,000 286,000 304,000 184,000 129,000 133,000
19 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 961,000 304,000 335,000 110,000 119,000 93,000
21 TORCHWOOD Ten 895,000 243,000 266,000 160,000 116,000 110,000

Spoiler alert. Those who are following plot developments in Channel Seven's Sunday night series Grey's Anatomy may wish to skip this item.

Isaiah Washington, 43, who plays handsome Dr Preston Burke, has been told his services will no longer be required for the next season of the show. Washington believes he was written out because he referred to T. R. Knight (who plays George, left) as "that faggot'' last year. But he told the Houston Chronicle at the weekend: "They fired the wrong guy."

He blames Knight for stirring the remark into a national controversy in order to make a gay martyr of himself and get a pay rise. Washington, who is considering a lawsuit, said he had sought therapy and filmed a public-service announcement in which he said "words have power" to hurt or heal. "I did everything I said I would do ... I wanted everyone to know I was remorseful." That wasn't enough for the producers, and we can assume Christina won't be getting married now.

Fans may reopen their eyes at this point. Grey's Anatomy is one of the reasons Channel Seven won last week, with 28.7 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 27.9 percent, Ten 21.3, ABC 16.8 and SBS 5.2. The closeness of that result leads to speculation as to whether Seven can continue to win after its tentpole programs -- Grey's, It Takes Two, and Desperate Housewives -- reach the end of their seasons next month. It all depends on any rabbits Nine may have in its hat.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,707,000 491,000 537,000 294,000 177,000 208,000
2 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,594,000 511,000 502,000 255,000 141,000 186,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,546,000 413,000 406,000 328,000 148,000 251,000
4 NINE NEWS SUN Nine 1,493,000 481,000 394,000 259,000 235,000 124,000
5 CSI Nine 1,461,000 433,000 401,000 276,000 180,000 171,000
6 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,396,000 398,000 376,000 273,000 180,000 169,000
7 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,332,000 378,000 394,000 258,000 128,000 173,000
8 BACKYARD BLITZ Nine 1,308,000 364,000 386,000 204,000 182,000 172,000
9 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,278,000 396,000 370,000 212,000 130,000 170,000
10 BIG BROTHER DOUBLE LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,126,000 289,000 306,000 229,000 156,000 145,000
13 ROBIN HOOD ABC 945,000 274,000 299,000 165,000 108,000 100,000
18 LIFE ON MARS ABC 803,000 255,000 253,000 133,000 86,000 76,000
23 SURVIVOR: FIJI Nine 556,000 167,000 185,000 73,000 68,000 63,000
24 COMPASS ABC 507,000 189,000 149,000 72,000 50,000 48,000
25 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 478,000 293,000 168,000 17,000
27 THE ROMAN EMPIRE SBS 463,000 139,000 144,000 74,000 53,000 54,000
28 ALIAS Seven 447,000 158,000 132,000 71,000 45,000 41,000
31 GILMORE GIRLS Nine 371,000 103,000 123,000 64,000 47,000 34,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)
What Australia watched, week ending June 23
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,831,000 455,000 609,000 338,000 208,000 222,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Sunday Seven 1,656,000 373,000 462,000 353,000 225,000 242,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Mon-Fri Seven 1,599,000 417,000 448,000 289,000 200,000 245,000
4 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,596,000 486,000 510,000 226,000 184,000 188,000
5 NINE NEWS Sunday Nine 1,571,000 500,000 457,000 280,000 199,000 136,000
6 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,565,000 477,000 457,000 243,000 219,000 170,000
7 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,522,000 458,000 468,000 243,000 152,000 201,000
8 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,503,000 451,000 503,000 197,000 172,000 180,000
9 CSI Nine 1,489,000 446,000 437,000 234,000 194,000 177,000
10 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,429,000 378,000 399,000 266,000 169,000 217,000
11 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,425,000 501,000 397,000 207,000 164,000 155,000
12 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,419,000 407,000 466,000 246,000 164,000 137,000
13 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,408,000 365,000 404,000 282,000 207,000 150,000
14 HOUSE Ten 1,394,000 393,000 385,000 260,000 172,000 185,000
15 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,393,000 451,000 391,000 232,000 163,000 156,000
16 1 VS 100 Nine 1,386,000 405,000 432,000 234,000 169,000 145,000
17 GETAWAY Nine 1,382,000 387,000 440,000 261,000 147,000 147,000
18 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,381,000 376,000 371,000 250,000 168,000 216,000
19 NINE NEWS Nine 1,360,000 385,000 424,000 264,000 157,000 129,000
20 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,325,000 408,000 368,000 226,000 158,000 165,000
21 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,321,000 406,000 397,000 185,000 161,000 172,000
22 NCIS Ten 1,303,000 380,000 383,000 231,000 155,000 153,000
23 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,301,000 355,000 424,000 256,000 138,000 128,000
24 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,289,000 368,000 422,000 184,000 150,000 165,000
25 BACKYARD BLITZ Nine 1,277,000 355,000 373,000 236,000 151,000 162,000
26 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,259,000 315,000 431,000 231,000 151,000 132,000
27 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,245,000 374,000 383,000 194,000 119,000 176,000
28 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,234,000 314,000 425,000 196,000 133,000 166,000
29 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,232,000 384,000 330,000 178,000 159,000 181,000
30 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,222,000 375,000 318,000 227,000 129,000 174,000
31 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,222,000 396,000 400,000 268,000 158,000
32 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,221,000 335,000 411,000 198,000 126,000 152,000
33 TEMPTATION Nine 1,203,000 318,000 402,000 213,000 132,000 139,000
34 HEROES Seven 1,181,000 343,000 380,000 252,000 96,000 110,000
35 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,172,000 358,000 343,000 229,000 119,000 123,000
36 TAGGART ABC 1,168,000 290,000 378,000 222,000 124,000 154,000
37 LOST Seven 1,162,000 333,000 394,000 180,000 133,000 122,000
38 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,149,000 335,000 347,000 213,000 116,000 138,000
39 COLD CASE Nine 1,144,000 338,000 367,000 200,000 134,000 106,000
40 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 1,141,000 320,000 347,000 225,000 111,000 138,000
(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 08:18 AM
• Comments (135)

The box office: Antihero era

It seems Australians are suffering from superhero-overload. After Spider-Man, Captain Jack Sparrow, Shrek and Danny Ocean, we didn't exactly rush to embrace Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. It sold $4.03 million worth of tickets in its first week, just behind the $4.05 million earned by Shrek the Third in its third week (total earnings: $25 million). Pirates 3 is fading out with 1.4 million in its fifth week, totalling $31.2m.

Will Ferrell's hero parody, Blades of Glory, opened with $2.87 million, and scored the week's highest average per screen, suggesting it may have a longer life than the not-so-Fantastics. But anything can happen, now the school holidays have begun. That's when kids go to see flicks for the fourth and fifth time. We could even see a Spider-Man 3 comeback, as if $23.8m in eight weeks wasn't enough.

The star power of Eric Bana, who has played his share of superheroes, took Romulus, My Father to a total of $1.7 million, which makes it the latest Australian hit.

We welcome your comments.

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• in The Tribal Mind at 12:59 AM
• Comments (1)

Xenophilia: Look, we're on TV

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest discussion of popular culture in Australia, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

Forget the tall poppy syndrome and the cultural cringe. Australians now love their country so much they'll rush to see an American soap opera just because it has a Sydney moment.

On Monday Channel Ten's daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful attracted a record 568,000 viewers in the mainland capitals. What could explain the leap from last week's average of 526,000? This week's episodes feature the regulars Ridge, Phoebe, Brook and Rick "Down Under". David Mott, Ten's chief programming officer, said yesterday: "The Bold and the Beautiful airs scenes from Sydney this week. We anticipated more viewers would tune in to watch their favourite show against a backdrop of familiar landmarks, and so far we are right."

Of course, the subtle plotting and dialogue will determine if the numbers are still up there by Friday.

We welcome your comments

• in The Tribal Mind at 12:00 AM

The Tribal Mind: Watching less, doing more

by David Dale
Yes, television as we know it is a dying medium. But the death throes are so gradual that we won't see its burial in our lifetime. This column has just come into possession of figures that let us offer a progress report on the slow shrinkage of Australia's most massive medium.

In 2003, an average of 3.795 million people in the mainland capitals were watching Seven, Nine, Ten, ABC or SBS between 6pm and midnight every night. This year, an average of 3.506 million are watching prime time television on any night.

That decline has been masked by the battle between Seven and Nine and the apparent resurgence of the ABC. In 2003, Seven was averaging 972,000 viewers in prime time. Now it's averaging 1.025 million, while Nine has dropped from 1.180 million to 958,000. The ABC looks to be going through boom times because of the success of Spicks and Specks and The Chaser's War on Everything, but in reality it has dropped from 593,000 in 2003 to 566,000 now. The table below shows the full story.

So here's the situation: Since 2003, while the population of Australia rose by one million, the number of regular viewers of free-to-air television in the mainland capitals dropped by 289,000. What, you are bound to ask, are those people doing instead?

Watching DVDs? Definitely. In 2003, Australians bought 30.8 million DVDs. In 2006, they bought 63.6 million.

Going to the cinema? Apparently not. In 2003, we bought 89.8 million tickets to the flicks. In 2006, we bought 83.6 million. The movies may be passing through a brief blockbuster-led recovery at the moment, but after these school hols, it'll be back to the doldrums for the movie distributors.

Surfing the net? Definitely. The Bureau of Statistics reports that in 2003, Australia had 5.08 million active subscribers to the web (of whom less than 10 per cent had a "non-dialup'' system), while in the first quarter of this year there were 6.43 million (of whom two thirds used broadband). Most Australians are now in a position to bypass the commercial stations and illegally download American TV shows before they are shown here.

Playing video games? Definitely. GfK Marketing reports that in 2003, Australians spent $751 million on games software, while in 2006 they spent $925 million (mostly PlayStation 2 stuff).

Watching more Pay TV? Yes, but not enough to counterbalance the losses of free TV. In 2003, an average of 410,000 people in the mainland capitals watched subscription TV in prime time, while now, Pay's average audience is 672,000.

Reading more books? Hard to tell. The latest available figure on total book sales in Australia, provided by the Bureau of Statistics, was 79.9 million volumes in the financial year 2003-2004. Having nothing more recent to compare, we must leave this question for a future column. It's nice to live in hope.

Are you watching less TV? Why? What are you doing instead?

Average audience in the mainland capitals, 6pm to midnight
Station ...... 2003 ..... 2004 ....... 2005 ....... 2006 ....... 2007*
ABC ........ 593,694 .. 636,971 .. 586,916 .. 563,251 ... 566,203
SBS ........ 172,095 .. 172,593 .. 226,957 .. 196,857 ... 196,309
Seven ..... 971,793 . 934,046 . 1,007,591 . 1,018,416 . 1,025,021
Nine ..... 1,179,758 . 1,126,743 . 1,088,735 . 1,068,199 . 957,999
Ten ......... 877,796 .. 893,997 .. 811,727 ... 815,807 ... 760,531
All FTA . 3,795,137 . 3,764,350 . 3,721,925 . 3,662,531 . 3,506,062
All Pay .... 409,524 .. 416,963 .. 509,929 .. 592,122 ... 671,922
* 2007 averages are over weeks 7 to 24. Others are over weeks 7-48.

To discuss the most watched television of all time, go to The shows Australia loved.

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.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 09:00 AM
• Comments (70)

The ratings race: Week 25

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. To join the latest discussion on media and popular culture, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.
Updated 10 am Sunday
Thanks to silly videos and a movie starring Tom Cruise's wife, Channel Nine had a thumping win on Saturday night (29.0 per cent of prime time viewers, with Seven on 24.4 per cent and AFL-enhanced Ten on 22.6), but this wasn't enough to offset Seven's wins on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. At the end of the week, the averages stand at: Seven 28.7 per cent of the prime time audience, Nine 27.9 percent, Ten 21.3, ABC 16.8 and SBS 5.2.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,381,000 376,000 371,000 250,000 168,000 216,000
2 NINE NEWS SAT Nine 1,259,000 315,000 431,000 231,000 151,000 132,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,234,000 314,000 425,000 196,000 133,000 166,000
4 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,011,000 336,000 263,000 197,000 93,000 122,000
5 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 966,000 255,000 279,000 184,000 112,000 136,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 944,000 247,000 269,000 180,000 98,000 150,000
7 FIRST DAUGHTER Nine 907,000 320,000 206,000 166,000 106,000 109,000
8 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 897,000 165,000 413,000 64,000 134,000 120,000
9 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC 882,000 267,000 260,000 150,000 103,000 103,000
10 THE BILL ABC 839,000 252,000 255,000 179,000 67,000 87,000
11 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 822,000 207,000 274,000 168,000 71,000 101,000
12 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC 750,000 214,000 217,000 153,000 83,000 83,000
13 THE SIDESHOW WITH PAUL MCDERMOTT ABC 614,000 167,000 179,000 156,000 61,000 51,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Saturday
Nine won Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Seven won Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, and at this point in the week Seven is averaging 29.3 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 27.8 per cent, Ten on 21.1, ABC on 16.6, and SBS on 5.2.

What Australia watched
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,482,000 370,000 410,000 260,000 201,000 242,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,325,000 408,000 368,000 226,000 158,000 165,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,311,000 367,000 353,000 231,000 162,000 198,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,213,000 354,000 336,000 240,000 150,000 133,000
5 TAGGART ABC 1,168,000 290,000 378,000 222,000 124,000 154,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,146,000 320,000 330,000 230,000 136,000 130,000
10 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,060,000 254,000 317,000 211,000 157,000 122,000
12 COLLECTORS ABC 909,000 219,000 303,000 138,000 123,000 126,000
18 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 12: RICHMOND V MELBOURNE Seven 719,000 36,000 409,000 22,000 135,000 117,000
22 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 558,000 381,000 178,000
29 PIRATE MASTER FRI RPT Ten 429,000 103,000 140,000 62,000 66,000 58,000
34 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 342,000 236,000 106,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Highlights of what Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,512,000 384,000 426,000 307,000 164,000 231,000
2 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,412,000 404,000 464,000 246,000 161,000 137,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,392,000 369,000 404,000 287,000 135,000 197,000
4 GETAWAY Nine 1,377,000 385,000 440,000 260,000 146,000 146,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,349,000 369,000 435,000 270,000 148,000 127,000
6 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,290,000 380,000 384,000 264,000 152,000 110,000
9 LOST Seven 1,162,000 333,000 394,000 180,000 133,000 122,000
10 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,149,000 335,000 347,000 213,000 116,000 138,000
11 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 1,141,000 320,000 347,000 225,000 111,000 138,000
12 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 1,111,000 308,000 327,000 177,000 132,000 167,000
14 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,065,000 314,000 304,000 200,000 127,000 120,000
18 PIRATE MASTER Ten 905,000 170,000 311,000 162,000 129,000 134,000
19 THE AMAZING RACE: ALL STARS Seven 900,000 225,000 341,000 116,000 119,000 98,000
28 HEROES Seven 595,000 343,000 252,000
33 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 456,000 129,000 137,000 74,000 54,000 61,000
34 SUNRISE Seven 455,000 139,000 100,000 109,000 50,000 56,000
37 FAMILY GUY (R) Seven 430,000 119,000 148,000 62,000 55,000 47,000
44 RALPH TV Nine 321,000 122,000 99,000 52,000 32,000 16,000
53 TODAY Nine 279,000 109,000 85,000 44,000 14,000 27,000
68 THE MORNING SHOW Seven 216,000 79,000 53,000 42,000 23,000 19,000
78 THE EAGLE: A CRIME ODYSSEY SBS 174,000 46,000 58,000 35,000 16,000 19,000
95 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE Nine 128,000 50,000 36,000 19,000 9,000 14,000
106 9AM WITH DAVID & KIM Ten 93,000 25,000 41,000 10,000 8,000 9,000
109 LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Ten 87,000 29,000 23,000 13,000 11,000 11,000
110 MOVIE SHOW SBS 86,000 27,000 26,000 17,000 5,000 10,000

What viewers 18-49 watched, Wednesday
1 The Chaser's War On Everything - ABC
2 House - 10
3 Spicks and Specks - ABC
4 Big Brother - 10
5 Police Files Unlocked - 7
6 Prison Break On The Run - 7
7 Seven News - 7
8 Medium - 10
9 Home & Away - 7
10 Today Tonight - 7

What Australians watched, Wednesday
1. Seven news (7) 1.66m
2. Today Tonight (7) 1.51m
3. The Chaser's War on Everything (ABC) 1.45m
4. McLeod's Daughters (9) 1.40m
5. House (10) 1.39m
6. Spicks and Specks (ABC) 1.38m
7. Nine news (9) 1.36
8. Home and Away (7) 1.26
9. A Current Affair (9) 1. 25
10. Police Files Unlocked (9) 1.22

Updated 10 am Wednesday
Not even the promise of gossip about the impending nuptials of Channel Nine's part owner, James Packer, could tempt viewers to The Nation last night. It drew just 626,000 viewers in the mainland capitals. There was more interest in Diana Spencer's kids -- An Interview with Princes William and Harry drew 1.09 million to Channel Seven, which won the night and at this point in the week is averaging 30.0 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 28.1 per cent, Ten on 20.9, ABC on 15.7, and SBS on 5.4.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,632,000 434,000 458,000 295,000 207,000 238,000
2 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,596,000 486,000 510,000 226,000 184,000 188,000
3 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,503,000 451,000 503,000 197,000 172,000 180,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,481,000 394,000 412,000 266,000 185,000 223,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,362,000 405,000 453,000 242,000 126,000 134,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,325,000 365,000 448,000 240,000 133,000 138,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,302,000 381,000 383,000 231,000 154,000 153,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,251,000 386,000 324,000 238,000 121,000 181,000
9 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,242,000 373,000 382,000 193,000 118,000 176,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 1,232,000 330,000 423,000 198,000 132,000 149,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

Highlights of what Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,703,000 454,000 502,000 269,000 212,000 266,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,563,000 418,000 545,000 276,000 177,000 148,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,441,000 386,000 388,000 259,000 172,000 237,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,436,000 401,000 490,000 272,000 140,000 134,000
5 1 VS 100 Nine 1,370,000 395,000 428,000 234,000 169,000 144,000
6 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,321,000 406,000 397,000 185,000 161,000 172,000
7 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,289,000 368,000 422,000 184,000 150,000 165,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,281,000 380,000 336,000 227,000 161,000 178,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,231,000 328,000 429,000 214,000 121,000 140,000
10 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,172,000 358,000 346,000 229,000 115,000 124,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC 1,154,000 316,000 386,000 186,000 112,000 154,000
15 BIG BROTHER LIVE NOMINATION Ten 1,018,000 237,000 273,000 244,000 126,000 138,000
17 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 994,000 291,000 363,000 133,000 114,000 93,000
18 TORCHWOOD Ten 987,000 280,000 290,000 168,000 113,000 135,000
22 MEDIA WATCH ABC 885,000 265,000 268,000 160,000 72,000 120,000
23 NEIGHBOURS Ten 870,000 206,000 261,000 170,000 95,000 138,000
24 SUPERNATURAL Ten 833,000 223,000 211,000 184,000 86,000 129,000
25 THE SIMPSONS Ten 774,000 203,000 236,000 131,000 83,000 120,000
28 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 644,000 195,000 235,000 77,000 85,000 52,000
30 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 558,000 175,000 158,000 83,000 65,000 77,000
59 THE MORNING SHOW Seven 272,000 63,000 85,000 68,000 29,000 26,000
94 9AM WITH DAVID & KIM Ten 147,000 44,000 64,000 21,000 11,000 6,000
104 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE Nine 126,000 34,000 47,000 25,000 13,000 9,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 11 am Monday
The power combo of 60 Minutes and fresh episodes of CSI and CSI:Miami pulled enough viewers over the age of 40 to give Channel Nine a massive victory last night - 33.1 per cent of the prime time audience to Seven's 27.6.
Here's a summary of yesterday's viewing designed to anticipate the questions most often asked by readers of this column:

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,831,000 455,000 611,000 338,000 206,000 221,000
2 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,570,000 500,000 457,000 280,000 199,000 136,000
3 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,566,000 476,000 457,000 243,000 220,000 171,000
4 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,522,000 459,000 468,000 243,000 151,000 201,000
5 CSI Nine 1,490,000 448,000 437,000 234,000 194,000 176,000
7 BACKYARD BLITZ Nine 1,281,000 356,000 375,000 236,000 152,000 162,000
11 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,022,000 244,000 283,000 210,000 140,000 146,000
14 ROBIN HOOD ABC 953,000 303,000 276,000 170,000 87,000 116,000
19 LIFE ON MARS ABC 767,000 250,000 236,000 112,000 64,000 104,000
23 SURVIVOR: FIJI Nine 605,000 172,000 199,000 83,000 81,000 70,000
25 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 572,000 352,000 198,000 22,000
26 COMPASS ABC 555,000 159,000 197,000 75,000 47,000 77,000
28 ALIAS Seven 466,000 154,000 153,000 77,000 32,000 51,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm Sunday
Just one more rugby league state -- that's all Channel Nine needs to win the week with its State of Origin coverage. Sydney and Brisbane viewers follow the biffo religiously, but their support last Wednesday was not quite enough to counterbalance the Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth support for AFL on Friday and Saturday.

In the end, Channel Seven won yet another week, averaging 28.3 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 27.9 per cent. SBS is holding its own on 5.5 per cent, thanks to repeats of Mythbusters, Inspector Rex and South Park. If it could manage to find just one new show, it could soar.

Channel Ten got a healthy 23.7 per cent, thanks mainly to NCIS and The Simpsons, and hardly at all to Big Brother.

The ABC is flourishing on 16.5 per cent, thanks to Spicks and Specks, the Chaser, the crime series Taggart, the surprise Tuesday night hit Choir of Hard Knocks (getting 1.1 million against Seven's blockbuster It Takes Two) and rising support for its news (now averaging 1.1 million viewers a night). Tonight Ten hopes a little of the national broadcaster's current magic will rub off, when it launches Torchwood, a bisexual spinoff (and anagram) of the ABC perennial Doctor Who.

What Australia watched, week ending June 16
1 STATE OF ORIGIN 2ND MATCH Nine 1,961,000 915,000 261,000 725,000 36,000 24,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,684,000 429,000 470,000 337,000 168,000 280,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,612,000 425,000 434,000 295,000 206,000 252,000
4 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,604,000 464,000 527,000 248,000 173,000 191,000
5 60 MINUTES Nine 1,540,000 388,000 495,000 266,000 172,000 219,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,530,000 436,000 472,000 298,000 150,000 173,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,516,000 400,000 429,000 281,000 188,000 219,000
8 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,468,000 476,000 479,000 182,000 163,000 168,000
9 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,447,000 417,000 498,000 215,000 153,000 164,000
10 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,427,000 430,000 456,000 225,000 161,000 155,000
11 1 VS 100 Nine 1,425,000 349,000 479,000 258,000 169,000 169,000
12 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,390,000 441,000 428,000 185,000 107,000 228,000
13 GETAWAY Nine 1,383,000 409,000 414,000 255,000 143,000 162,00014 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,373,000 426,000 433,000 198,000 201,000 115,000
15 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,350,000 367,000 395,000 280,000 163,000 145,000
16 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,349,000 378,000 467,000 242,000 118,000 145,000
17 NCIS Ten 1,314,000 377,000 374,000 233,000 159,000 172,000
18 NINE NEWS Nine 1,282,000 353,000 409,000 259,000 154,000 106,000
19 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,273,000 347,000 403,000 201,000 144,000 177,000
20 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,264,000 328,000 407,000 272,000 136,000 120,000
21 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,234,000 316,000 473,000 222,000 124,000 99,000
22 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,224,000 389,000 377,000 263,000 196,000
23 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,215,000 404,000 379,000 178,000 144,000 109,000
24 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,209,000 360,000 449,000 182,000 150,000 67,000
25 TEMPTATION Nine 1,202,000 314,000 428,000 216,000 115,000 129,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,198,000 338,000 323,000 234,000 136,000 168,000
27 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,197,000 310,000 349,000 255,000 146,000 138,000
28 HEROES Seven 1,191,000 355,000 335,000 258,000 131,000 112,000
29 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,162,000 276,000 347,000 204,000 142,000 193,000
30 BIG BROTHER LIVE NOMINATION Ten 1,161,000 291,000 291,000 258,000 161,000 160,000
31 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,153,000 286,000 362,000 186,000 131,000 189,000
32 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,152,000 356,000 312,000 158,000 119,000 207,000
33 LOST Seven 1,150,000 313,000 394,000 173,000 141,000 129,000
34 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,145,000 327,000 357,000 144,000 155,000 163,000
35 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,129,000 356,000 346,000 117,000 144,000 166,000
36 ABC NEWS ABC 1,117,000 329,000 351,000 177,000 126,000 134,000
37 TAGGART ABC 1,115,000 313,000 329,000 186,000 132,000 155,000
38 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,103,000 327,000 338,000 170,000 127,000 139,000
39 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,102,000 262,000 299,000 243,000 167,000 132,000
40 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -RPT Nine 1,082,000 295,000 329,000 194,000 130,000 134,000
(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 12:05 AM
• Comments (145)

Landmarks: Aural history

by David Dale
What's the most significant moment in the history of popular music in Australia? You probably said it was Missy Higgins trying to squeeze a triangle through a circle, but you were wrong. It was, in fact, when George Young bumped into Harry Vanda at the Villawood migrant hostel in 1964.

That was the consensus of the "Australian rock experts" consulted by Australian Musician magazine when it was researching "The 50 Most Significant Moments in Australian Pop and Rock History" for its 50th edition (out next week in musical instrument stores and online at www.australianmusician.com.au).

According to the magazine's editor, Greg Phillips, if Young had not met Vanda, "there would not have been an Easybeats as we know them, possibly no Stevie Wright solo career, certainly not the Albert productions that made AC/DC such a huge success, and none of the classic Countdown songs by artists such as John Paul Young, William Shakespeare and Cheetah ..."

Looking at the top 10, you can't help thinking the expert panel's members must all have been well over 40 (although we're assured it did not include Molly Meldrum).

The other most significant moments were: 2. Countdown begins in colour; 3. Men at Work simultaneously No. 1 in US and Britain with Down Under; 4. The Saints' I'm Stranded named record of the week in UK Sounds; 5. Midnight Oil's Olympic Games "Sorry" protest; 6. Six songs banned from Skyhooks' album Livin' in the '70s; 7. US entrepreneur Lee Gordon brings rock'n'roll to Australia; 8. Mushroom Records begins; 9. Silverchair's fifth album in a row goes to No.1; 10. The Big Day Out goes national.

If you have other ideas, maybe from after 1990, tell us here and we'll pass them on to Australian Musician.

We welcome your comments

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• in The Tribal Mind at 10:18 AM
• Comments (6)

The tribal mind: We're smarter than they think

by David Dale
LAST week this column promised to answer the fundamental mystery of the Australian television industry: "Why do the ratings seem to have no relationship to how good a program is?'' Despite intense pressures applied to us in the past six days, we intend to honour that promise.

Certain forces sought to cast doubt on our revelation that the networks know who is watching them via devices inside TV sets which record what viewers are doing while the set is on (click here before they suppress it). Those same forces will pour contumely upon what we are about to reveal.

The answer to the age-old question is that the ratings released each day are not the actual audience figures received by the networks.

Think about it a moment: is it conceivable that 2.8 million people in the mainland capitals of this sophisticated nation sit down every night and watch A Current Affair or Today Tonight? Or that 1.2 million on a Monday watch Temptation, followed by The Rich List followed by 1 vs 100? Or that the second-most-watched program on SBS would be the fifth repeat of an Austrian series about a crime-busting dog? Or that 443,000 stay awake till 11pm to watch Big Brother Up Late?

Of course they don't. Remember that the ratings agency is owned by Seven, Nine, Ten and the Taminondas family (who started audience measurement in this country back in 1957). The owners give the media "sanitised'' ratings figures that maximise the commercial networks' attractiveness to advertisers, with the ABC guaranteed by law a published audience share between 13 per cent and 18 per cent (a figure Con Taminondas varies randomly to ensure plausibility).

Until recently SBS did not accept advertising, so it was always described as receiving an audience share of less than 5 per cent. Now that the ethnic broadcaster is inside the commercial tent, Taminondas is gradually boosting the published figures so that, by 2009, SBS will be allowed to display a more accurate share of 18 per cent.

Today, for the first time and with severe legal warnings, we present ...
The actual undoctored top 20 most watched programs on Australian television last week:
1 Compass (ABC); 2 Big Love: Complete and Uncut (SBS); 3 Media Watch (ABC); 4 Boston Legal (7); 5 Gilmore Girls (9); 6 World News Australia (SBS); 7 The Simpsons (10); 8 At The Movies with David and Margaret (ABC); 9 Teen Fit Camp (10); 10 Mythbusters (SBS); 11 The Chaser's War on Everything (ABC); 12 Iron Chef (SBS); 13 Play School (ABC); 14 Destination New Zealand (7); 15 ABC news (ABC); 16 Comedy Inc: The Late Shift (9); 17 Family Guy (7) 18 Life On Mars (ABC); 19 Kick (SBS); 20 The Nation (9).

Do you find this more plausible than the "official" ratings?

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.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 12:01 AM
• Comments (23)

Culture: Green power

It's easier to be green than cool. The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia tells us that Shrek the Third sold more tickets in its second weekend in Australian cinemas than Ocean's 13 sold in its first weekend. The ogre earned $5.2 million, bringing his total to $20 million, while Danny and his con artists earned $4m.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End made $1.7 million in its fourth weekend, for a total of $29.3 million. And the latest fantasy, Bridge to Terabithia, made a mere $818,000, presumably because it was not a trequel.

The jolly green ogre also featured on the chart of best-selling DVDs for last week, compiled by GfK Marketing. On top was a boxed set of the TV series Scrubs Season 5, followed by a concert performance called Pink Live from Wembley Arena; Shrek 2; a boxed set of the pay-TV series Deadwood Season 3; the original Shrek; the violent cult movie Smokin' Aces; and a cut-price edition of Zoolander, starring Ben Stiller, who also starred in No. 8, A Night at the Museum.

We welcome your comments

• in The Tribal Mind at 12:03 AM

WHO WE ARE: Signs of civilisation

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 17/6/2007
Every society thinks it's civilised, but comes up short in the judgement of history. The Aztecs had a sophisticated lifestyle but tore the beating hearts out of 20,000 people a year as a sacrifice to the gods. The Romans were excellent builders and lawmakers, but they systematically crucified people they identified as troublemakers.

Renaissance Spain sent brave sailors to explore the world, and burned people at the stake because of their religious beliefs. The Germans in the 20th century used gas chambers with the same rationale.

How civilised is Australia as we near the end of the first decade of the 21 st century? The Bureau of Statistics set out to answer that question recently by interviewing people over 18 in 13,375 Australian households.

The General Social Survey stated its purpose thus: "Among the many, often interrelated aspects of life that are important to human wellbeing are good health, good family relationships and engagements with wider social networks, good educational opportunities and outcomes, suitable employment, a decent income and freedom from financial stress, a decent and affordable place to live, feeling safe and secure, and having access to public transport."

That sounds to me like a fair definition of civilisation. So are we there yet? Here's what the survey revealed:

Relationships: 96 per cent of the people interviewed reported having contact in the previous week with family or friends with whom they did not live, and 93 per cent said they would be able to ask people outside their household for small favours.

A sense of security: 86 per cent said they felt safe at home alone after dark, but only 48 per cent said they felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark (even though only 11 per cent had been a victim of some sort of crime in the past 12 months). Only 54 per cent thought "most people can be trusted", but 89 per cent trust their doctor and 76 per cent said their local police could be trusted.

Moving around: 84 per cent said they could easily get to the places they needed to go, but then again, 86 per cent said they had access to a car. And 43 per cent said they had shifted house in the past five years.

Community involvement: 77 per cent said they had donated money to a charitable cause in the past 12 months, while 32 per cent of men and 36 per cent of women said they did volunteer work to help others.

Stress: 59 per cent had experienced "at least one potentially stressful situation or event in the last 12 months" (62 per cent of women, 57 per cent of men) - mostly a serious illness of self or someone close, inability to get a job, or a separation. Only 18 per cent said they had experienced "one or more cash flow problems" in the past 12 months. Overall, we're cheerful - 84 per cent considered themselves to be in "good, very good or excellent health".

If you'd care to discuss whether these are the symptoms of a civilised society, go below.

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 Who We Are.

• by David Dale in Who We Are at 11:46 AM
• Comments (24)

The ratings race: Week 24

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. To join the latest discussion on media and popular culture, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.
What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,530,000 436,000 472,000 298,000 150,000 173,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,234,000 316,000 473,000 222,000 124,000 99,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,209,000 360,000 449,000 182,000 150,000 67,000
4 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 1,078,000 310,000 342,000 226,000 84,000 115,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,040,000 344,000 282,000 217,000 95,000 102,000
6 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,009,000 296,000 238,000 151,000 136,000 188,000
7 Movie: STUART LITTLE 2 -RPT Nine 1,003,000 270,000 386,000 162,000 97,000 88,000
10 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 831,000 337,000 57,000 213,000 223,000
11 THE BILL ABC 826,000 275,000 224,000 182,000 49,000 97,000
19 THE INSPECTOR LYNLEY MYSTERIES Seven 505,000 280,000 96,000 129,000
22 M-STARSKY & HUTCH Seven 463,000 S 248,000 B 215,000
23 SEVEN'S R.U: TRI-NATIONS: S A V AUS Seven 449,000 244,000 67,000 76,000 20,000 42,000
32 IRON CHEF SBS 302,000 95,000 77,000 54,000 36,000 40,000
39 NERDS FC SBS 278,000 88,000 76,000 49,000 34,000 30,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Channel Seven won Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, while Nine won Wednesday and Thursday, and at the end of the week, the average prime time audience shares were Nine 27.9 per cent, Seven 28.3 per cent, Ten 23.7, ABC 16.5, and SBS 5.5.

Updated 10 am Saturday
Nine is intriguingly close to winning its second week this year. Everything depends on the tastes of the kind of Australians who stay home on Saturday nights. Will they prefer a pair of dopey cops (Starsky and Hutch on Seven) to an animated mouse and a bitchy cat (Stuart Little 2 on Nine)? We'd welcome your predictions.

Channel Seven won Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Friday, while Nine won Wednesday and Thursday, and at this point in the week, the average prime time audience shares are Nine 28.4 per cent, Seven 28.3 per cent, Ten 21.4, ABC 16.3, and SBS 5.5.

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,454,000 398,000 389,000 247,000 197,000 223,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,335,000 372,000 384,000 242,000 159,000 179,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,215,000 404,000 379,000 178,000 144,000 109,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,196,000 342,000 348,000 245,000 162,000 99,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,135,000 319,000 354,000 221,000 144,000 98,000
6 TAGGART ABC 1,115,000 313,000 329,000 186,000 132,000 155,000
7 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,102,000 262,000 299,000 243,000 167,000 132,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,063,000 298,000 365,000 189,000 110,000 101,000
20 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 12: CARLTON V HAWTHORN Seven 718,000 38,000 443,000 16,000 126,000 96,000
21 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 666,000 S 383,000 B 284,000

Updated 10 am Friday
Unless Seven's AFL goes astronomically well tonight, Nine will win the week -- its second weekly victory this year. Nine must be wishing it could find enough players (and enough NRL states) to stage state of origin matches every week. Channel Seven won Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, Nine won Wednesday and Thursday, and the prime time audience shares for the week stand at: Nine 28.9 per cent, Seven 28.2 per cent, Ten 21.5, ABC 15.9, and SBS 5.5.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,522,000 394,000 411,000 299,000 178,000 240,000
2 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,407,000 427,000 446,000 224,000 158,000 153,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,381,000 407,000 417,000 255,000 141,000 162,000
4 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,350,000 367,000 395,000 280,000 163,000 145,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,346,000 352,000 389,000 255,000 152,000 197,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,272,000 317,000 437,000 269,000 122,000 126,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,202,000 330,000 333,000 254,000 116,000 169,000
8 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,197,000 310,000 349,000 255,000 146,000 138,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,187,000 326,000 377,000 237,000 138,000 109,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 1,154,000 295,000 419,000 204,000 100,000 136,000
11 LOST Seven 1,150,000 313,000 394,000 173,000 141,000 129,000
12 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 1,067,000 305,000 309,000 173,000 120,000 160,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

With viewers aged 18-49
1.My Name Is Earl - 7
2.Lost - 7
3.How I Met Your Mother - 7
4.Big Brother - 10
5.RPA Where Are They Now - 9
6.Amazing Race All Stars - 7
7.Law & Order SVU Rpt - 10
8.The Footy Show - 9
9.Home & Away - 7
10.Seven News - 7

Updated 10am, Thursday
"If you don't live in Sydney, you're basically just camping out", said one of this nation's pre-eminent ratbags (click here for definition), Paul Keating. Channel Nine might want to add "or Brisbane" to that epigram, but nowhere else, because those two cities completely transformed Nine's fortunes last night.

Channel Seven had won Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, but after Wednesday's State of Origin match, the prime time audience shares for the week stand at: Nine 28.6 per cent, Seven 28.0 per cent, Ten 21.5, ABC 16.2, and SBS 5.7. The biffo even managed to take 300,000 viewers away from the mighty Spicks and Specks and The Chaser's War on Everything.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE 2ND MATCH Nine 1,967,000 915,000 257,000 725,000 41,000 28,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,663,000 408,000 458,000 304,000 216,000 277,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,605,000 388,000 478,000 285,000 194,000 261,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,275,000 341,000 412,000 255,000 161,000 105,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,247,000 341,000 383,000 201,000 140,000 183,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,219,000 319,000 377,000 282,000 137,000 103,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,182,000 301,000 414,000 241,000 118,000 109,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,153,000 335,000 349,000 194,000 116,000 160,000
9 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,141,000 292,000 315,000 234,000 154,000 146,000
10 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,139,000 324,000 356,000 143,000 154,000 161,000
11 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,139,000 358,000 350,000 119,000 145,000 167,000
12 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 1,049,000 279,000 306,000 185,000 135,000 144,000

Updated 10 am Wednesday
The power of word of mouth: The Nation, Channel Nine's attempt to capture the audience of The Chaser, attracted 772,000 viewers in the mainland capitals when it premiered last week. Last night it attracted 610,000. Will Mick Molloy have to spend another week worrying about when the axe will fall, or will Nine put him quickly out of his misery?

Up to this point in the week, Seven is averaging 30.2 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 25.5, Ten on 22.0, ABC on 16.2, and SBS on 6.1.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,604,000 464,000 527,000 248,000 173,000 191,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,591,000 427,000 449,000 267,000 197,000 251,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,484,000 394,000 426,000 249,000 190,000 226,000
4 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,447,000 417,000 498,000 215,000 153,000 164,000
5 NCIS Ten 1,314,000 377,000 374,000 233,000 159,000 172,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,284,000 351,000 419,000 254,000 154,000 105,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,256,000 337,000 355,000 250,000 137,000 177,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,253,000 363,000 395,000 204,000 137,000 154,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,230,000 290,000 429,000 252,000 131,000 128,000
10 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,162,000 276,000 347,000 204,000 142,000 193,000
13 CHOIR OF HARD KNOCKS ABC 1,074,000 278,000 386,000 171,000 107,000 133,000
16 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,007,000 221,000 302,000 188,000 146,000 150,000
27 THE NATION Nine 610,000 160,000 255,000 79,000 62,000 53,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Highlights and lowlights of what Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,832,000 497,000 465,000 357,000 243,000 271,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,816,000 501,000 467,000 373,000 241,000 234,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,512,000 429,000 480,000 324,000 167,000 112,000
4 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,466,000 465,000 478,000 184,000 163,000 176,000
5 TEMPTATION Nine 1,447,000 366,000 521,000 262,000 139,000 158,000
6 1 VS 100 Nine 1,421,000 350,000 478,000 257,000 167,000 168,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,397,000 372,000 433,000 314,000 141,000 137,000
8 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,354,000 378,000 470,000 243,000 118,000 145,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,275,000 323,000 344,000 267,000 165,000 175,000
10 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,242,000 335,000 384,000 208,000 141,000 173,000
18 AUSTRALIAN STORY-EV ABC 1,000,000 332,000 274,000 174,000 101,000 118,000
24 FOUR CORNERS ABC 796,000 257,000 208,000 151,000 88,000 93,000
26 MONDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 794,000 104,000 444,000 77,000 127,000 43,000
28 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 726,000 217,000 282,000 100,000 75,000 53,000
30 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 650,000 204,000 196,000 99,000 80,000 71,000
36 SCRUBS Seven 420,000 132,000 158,000 56,000 44,000 30,000
38 SUNRISE Seven 370,000 120,000 64,000 102,000 29,000 54,000
41 FOOTY CLASSIFIED Nine 355,000 244,000 58,000 52,000
71 TODAY Nine 223,000 74,000 63,000 43,000 12,000 31,000
91 THE CATCH-UP Nine 169,000 37,000 54,000 36,000 21,000 21,000

Updated 11 am Monday
The faceless men who now run Channel Nine must be so grateful today that nearly three decades ago Kerry Packer saved the life of 60 Minutes. It had a slow start, and by the performance criteria applied to programs these days, it would have been axed before the end of its first season.

But attention spans were longer in 1979. Packer was convinced Australians would evolve into lovers of current affairs, and ordered the programmers to stick with it. And at this point in 2007, 60 Minutes is the only show on Nine to which the word "hit'' could reasonably be applied.

Last week Nine won Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, but average prime time audience shares for the week were: Seven 28.7 per cent; Nine 27.4, Ten 21.7, ABC 16.8, SBS 5.5. Seven won last night, with 28.4 per cent of the prime time audience, to Nine's 27.7 per cent.

This week the only thing likely to save Nine from an embarrassing loss is the State of Origin match -- another hangover from the era when there was a proprietor with vision.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,685,000 430,000 468,000 337,000 171,000 280,000
2 60 MINUTES Nine 1,535,000 386,000 493,000 265,000 172,000 218,000
3 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,393,000 442,000 428,000 186,000 107,000 230,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,373,000 426,000 434,000 198,000 200,000 115,000
5 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,227,000 385,000 380,000 265,000 197,000
6 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,165,000 361,000 316,000 166,000 119,000 204,000
7 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,103,000 327,000 338,000 170,000 127,000 139,000
8 CSI RPT Nine 1,098,000 296,000 306,000 200,000 152,000 144,000
9 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 1,044,000 324,000 274,000 180,000 143,000 123,000
10 THE LOST TRIBES Nine 1,014,000 250,000 307,000 163,000 142,000 152,000
11 BIG BROTHER DOUBLE LIVE EVICTION Ten 990,000 255,000 281,000 194,000 115,000 144,000
12 ROVE Ten 948,000 211,000 319,000 170,000 111,000 137,000
13 ROBIN HOOD ABC 877,000 268,000 271,000 133,000 98,000 107,000
19 LIFE ON MARS ABC 748,000 237,000 221,000 118,000 81,000 91,000
23 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 11: ST KILDA V KANGAROOS Seven 503,000 61,000 280,000 60,000 94,000 8,000
26 SURVIVOR: FIJI Nine 490,000 136,000 154,000 68,000 67,000 65,000
30 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 392,000 248,000 S136,000 B9,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

It may be instructive to compare the table below with this list of the programs most watched last week by viewers aged 16 to 39: 1 Grey's Anatomy (7); 2 My Name is Earl (7); 3 House (10); 4 The Chaser's War on Everything (ABC); 5 Desperate Housewives (7); 6 NCIS rpt (10); 7 The Simpsons (10); 8 Big Brother Live Eviction (10); 9 Shrek 2 (9); 10 Ugly Betty (7). So Nine's only claim on the under-40 audience was wrought by a jolly green ogre.

Young viewers also shifted to pay channel Fox 8 last week, with 283,000 watching the final of Australia's Next Top Model (the most successful series ever shown on subscription TV)

What Australia watched, week ending June 9
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,683,000 509,000 474,000 320,000 196,000 183,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Mon-Fri Seven 1,612,000 445,000 428,000 299,000 199,000 240,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,609,000 394,000 512,000 335,000 170,000 198,000
4 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,593,000 473,000 502,000 250,000 183,000 184,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,534,000 450,000 477,000 245,000 245,000 117,000
6 SHREK 2 Nine 1,532,000 426,000 434,000 270,000 195,000 207,000
7 1 VS 100 Nine 1,476,000 396,000 479,000 259,000 181,000 161,000
8 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,465,000 448,000 442,000 207,000 188,000 180,000
9 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,465,000 404,000 398,000 267,000 174,000 222,000
10 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,455,000 458,000 366,000 261,000 136,000 234,000
11 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,450,000 417,000 436,000 240,000 176,000 181,000
12 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,434,000 468,000 499,000 233,000 116,000 118,000
13 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,430,000 438,000 453,000 208,000 153,000 177,000
14 GETAWAY Nine 1,420,000 418,000 428,000 250,000 140,000 183,000
15 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,417,000 471,000 402,000 213,000 145,000 185,000
16 HOUSE Ten 1,409,000 408,000 404,000 261,000 171,000 165,000
17 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,392,000 437,000 454,000 193,000 148,000 161,000
18 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,384,000 418,000 393,000 227,000 177,000 169,000
19 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,362,000 424,000 450,000 214,000 156,000 118,000
20 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,334,000 342,000 377,000 268,000 161,000 186,000
21 NINE NEWS Mon-Fri Nine 1,318,000 369,000 385,000 271,000 160,000 135,000
(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 09:17 AM
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Disappointments: Act of war

Just as we learn the good news that The Chaser boys are on the verge of selling highlights of their show to TV networks in Europe, we learn some seriously bad news: they have admitted to faking some of their stunts.

Apparently in reprisal for The Chaser's regular attacks on tabloid television, Today Tonight last night claimed that the stunts in which they invaded a real estate agent's open house, romped naked in a bedding store, heckled at the opera ("Vivaldi is a wanker") and pretended a dog was a doctor were pre-arranged with the supposedly shocked victims.

Chas Licciardello confessed: "I'll tell you the truth about the set-ups. We actually do do set-ups every now and then ... We are not allowed to do anything illegal on the show. You and all your viewers can take this message: We are not as big a c---s as we might seem. If that dilutes the fun, I'm sorry. We only do things which are legal and when people deserve it."

Footnote: One of the editors of this column was interviewed by a Today Tonight reporter about The Chaser's admission, and observed, in the course of the interview, that "exposing" The Chaser guys in this way did not absolve Today Tonight of its own guilt in faking stories in the past. Oddly, this was left out of the report shown on Today Tonight yesterday.

Does the knowledge that some of the shock reactions are not genuine diminish your pleasure in The Chaser's War On Everything? Is there anything left on television that we can trust?

We welcome your comments.

• in The Tribal Mind at 01:19 AM
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The Tribal Mind: How they know what you're watching

by David Dale
IT'S conceivable that this column has left a few readers behind in its weekly discussions of the way Australians consume their mass entertainments. We've received questions demanding to know how we could sensibly make such observations as "Channel Nine appeals primarily to the over-50s'' or "Seven has captured the grocery buyers'' or "Viewers under 40 are watching less television and playing more computer games''.

So today we are going to answer your most frequently asked questions -- a special feature which you should cut out and keep (unless you are reading this online, where you probably should not attempt to cut it out).

Why is the ratings agency called OzTAM? The Oz part is obvious, but the TAM part comes from the surname of the inventor of ratings in Australia. According to Wikipedia, George Taminondas was a Greek immigrant who started asking his friends and neighbours in 1957 what they were watching on TV, and sold the results to channels Seven and Nine.

Over time, Taminondas trained a bunch of media analysts to visit sample households and discuss what they were watching. These analysts came to be known as "People-meeters''. Nowadays, OzTAM is one-quarter owned by George's grandsons, Con and Theo, and the other three-quarters are divided among channels Seven, Nine and Ten.

How are ratings measured? The People-meeter system worked well until the late 1990s, when it became apparent that the Taminondas analysts could not reach enough households to offer a fair sampling of the community. Technology came to OzTAM's aid. Since 2001, every TV set sold in Australia has been fitted with a miniature camera/microphone that records everything happening in front of the screen when the set is on. The device is called "Diary'' (acronym for Digital Investigation And Research Yield).

At 2am each day, all Diary recordings over the past 24 hours are sent to the central Taminondas computer, from which the ratings figures are calculated and sent to TV networks at 8am.

But how do they know all those demographic details about viewers? The Diary footage is analysed by experts (still called PMs, although they never meet anybody any more) who study viewer behaviour and estimate age, wealth and gender. In addition, networks that pay a premium (the so-called "platinum subscribers'') receive a daily disk of footage taken in homes across the nation, showing the most interesting things viewers have done in front of their TV sets. Some of it is disturbing, but most of it is useful in determining where and when to place commercials.

Next week: Why there seems to be no relationship between ratings and how good a program is.

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.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:11 AM
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Record breakers: Three's a crowd pleaser

We are suffering the season of the "trequel", with Spider-Man 3 followed by Pirates 3 followed by Shrek 3 (and Ocean's 3 arriving tomorrow). Can you guess which of these inflated indulgences had the most appeal to Australian cinephiles? You're right - Shrek the Third sold $13.4 million worth of tickets over the long weekend, 4 per cent more than the first five days of Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End (which has totalled $27.1 million so far) and 27 per cent more than the first five days of Spider-Man 3 ($23.4 million so far).

Shrek the Third had the second biggest opening for an animated movie in Australian history. The biggest was Shrek 2. (To study the 125 most successful movies of all time, go to The flicks Australia loved).

By the tortured definition that currently applies to Australian success stories, Romulus My Father, with Eric Bana, has become a hit. Its box office of $469,000 over the long weekend took it to a total of $1.03 million. It's on the way to joining Bra Boys in the record books.

We welcome your comments

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 01:05 AM
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WHO WE ARE: The boom is back

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 10/6/2007
Question: How could the Bureau of Statistics have got it so wrong? Answer: Don't be too hard on the bureau. Nobody could have anticipated that Australia would suddenly turn into a nation of sex maniacs.

A couple of months back, this column asked readers to prepare themselves for a party early in 2008, to celebrate a landmark in Australian history: the population reaching 21 million. I based this invitation on the bureau's population clock, which at the time was ticking over at the rate of one new person every two minutes and 11 seconds.

The speed of the clock was determined by the bureau's estimate that on average, a new baby joined us every one minute and 59 seconds, while we got a new immigrant every four minutes and 47 seconds and somebody died every three minutes and 54 seconds.

But last week the bureau sent me a message saying they had decided to speed the clock up. The statisticians had just put together all the data on births and arrivals for last year, and got a big shock. In 2006, there were 265,900 births in this country -- the second highest figure in our history. It was only surpassed by the 276,400 births registered in 1971.

Since the mid 70s, our birth rate has been on a toboggan. But two years ago, possibly encouraged by Peter Costello's $2,500 "baby bonus", or because economic good times made them feel they could feed a third or fourth mouth, Australians started going at it like bunnies. And so a new baby boom begins.

There was also a mini-boom in immigration last year - a net gain of 147,700 people, up from 110,000 in 2005.

So if you go to the population clock today (click here) you'll see our population sitting at 20,984,000. It now assumes an overall population growth of one person every 1 minute and 45 seconds.

At that rate, we will click over to 21 million on Friday June 29, 2007. A millionstone to celebrate.

Australia reached its first million in 1858, when the fertility rate was about six babies per woman. In 1918, when we crossed 5 million, the fertility rate was three babies per woman. It dropped to 2.5 during the Depression in the 1930s, but in 1959, when the population hit 10 million, it was back up to 3.5.

The arrival of The Pill in the 1960s and legalised abortion in the 1970s gave women more choice in the matter, so the fertility rate had dropped below two babies per woman by 1981, when we reached 15 million. When we hit 20 million in 2003, it was 1.7. Now it's back up to 1.8.

And that's why I can give you only two weeks and five days notice to lay in stocks of champagne.

Click here to learn what the Census figures will reveal about Australians. To discuss why TV is a dying medium, click here. And if you'd care to explain why we've started breeding again, go below ...

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in Who We Are at 09:46 AM
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The ratings race: Week 23

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. To join the latest discussion on media and popular culture, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.
Updated 10 am Sunday June 10
Channel Nine won Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, but at the end of the week the average prime time audience shares stood thus: Seven 28.7 per cent; Nine 27.4, Ten 21.7, ABC 16.8, SBS 5.5. The State of Origin this week could make all the difference for Nine. But then again, CSI and CSI: Miami tonight are both repeats. Click here for a preview of Nine's plans.

RNK Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,455,000 458,000 366,000 261,000 136,000 234,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,246,000 403,000 328,000 225,000 168,000 122,000
3 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,234,000 371,000 347,000 221,000 155,000 140,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,131,000 302,000 324,000 230,000 147,000 128,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,074,000 351,000 262,000 217,000 100,000 144,000
6 SCOOBY-DOO -RPT Nine 913,000 263,000 245,000 182,000 120,000 103,000
7 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 860,000 430,000 123,000 163,000 143,000
10 THE BILL ABC 797,000 236,000 233,000 160,000 62,000 107,000
19 SEVEN'S R.U: AUS V FIJ Seven 506,000 256,000 49,000 153,000 15,000 33,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday June 8
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,545,000 452,000 398,000 295,000 194,000 206,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,378,000 399,000 348,000 278,000 159,000 194,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,334,000 434,000 360,000 258,000 152,000 130,000
4 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,215,000 418,000 393,000 227,000 177,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC 1,166,000 362,000 337,000 203,000 119,000 145,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,155,000 356,000 262,000 247,000 142,000 148,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,149,000 353,000 318,000 231,000 139,000 109,000
8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,107,000 276,000 385,000 197,000 121,000 128,000
9 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,072,000 263,000 296,000 223,000 168,000 122,000
12 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 11: ESSENDON V WEST COAST Seven 929,000 32,000 459,000 10,000 172,000 256,000
22 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 612,000 418,000 194,000

Updated 10 am Friday June 8
Phase Two of Channel Nine's plan for a Yobbo-led Recovery went into action last night, in the form of a show called Ralph TV, derived from a magazine which focusses on the Three Bs -- breasts, buttocks and beer. The theory was that it would hold onto the young male audience who enjoy The Footy Show.

This was the result: One third of the people who watched The Footy Show hung around for Ralph TV. The other two thirds switched over to The Amazing Race on Seven or Big Brother Up Late on Ten or went to bed. (Below, you can read how Phase One -- The Nation -- worked on Tuesday night.)

In spite of that performance, Channel Nine won the night.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,522,000 419,000 402,000 291,000 185,000 225,000
2 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,452,000 445,000 437,000 206,000 186,000 178,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,417,000 418,000 428,000 251,000 137,000 182,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,393,000 384,000 365,000 256,000 168,000 220,000
5 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,334,000 342,000 377,000 268,000 161,000 186,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,240,000 317,000 332,000 255,000 163,000 173,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,232,000 336,000 371,000 252,000 142,000 131,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,230,000 371,000 280,000 250,000 142,000 186,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,229,000 336,000 437,000 190,000 112,000 154,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,210,000 321,000 379,000 241,000 146,000 122,000
11 LOST Seven 1,092,000 263,000 387,000 155,000 140,000 147,000
15 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 979,000 259,000 372,000 120,000 123,000 104,000
21 THE AMAZING RACE: ALL STARS Seven 800,000 189,000 296,000 105,000 105,000 105,000
25 TEEN FIT CAMP Ten 692,000 146,000 210,000 116,000 98,000 122,000
27 HEROES Seven 579,000 334,000 245,000
33 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 443,000 136,000 137,000 72,000 42,000 55,000
34 SUNRISE Seven 442,000 138,000 74,000 123,000 58,000 50,000
39 RALPH TV Nine 329,000 104,000 98,000 56,000 53,000 17,000
51 TODAY Nine 282,000 76,000 103,000 44,000 20,000 39,000
100 FOOD 4 LIFE Seven 128,000 41,000 37,000 31,000 11,000 7,000
? THE CATCHUP Nine Somewhere below 128,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,641,000 435,000 440,000 314,000 185,000 267,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,468,000 399,000 420,000 259,000 156,000 234,000
3 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,443,000 479,000 410,000 217,000 149,000 187,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,442,000 411,000 435,000 241,000 176,000 179,000
5 HOUSE Ten 1,409,000 407,000 404,000 261,000 172,000 165,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,339,000 358,000 384,000 292,000 170,000 136,000
7 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,304,000 334,000 422,000 214,000 133,000 201,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,290,000 350,000 394,000 292,000 126,000 128,000
9 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,289,000 376,000 345,000 254,000 166,000 148,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,278,000 388,000 307,000 245,000 147,000 190,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)
At this point in the week, the prime time audience shares stand at: Seven 29.2 per cent, Nine 27.6, Ten 21.3, ABC 16.3, SBS 5.6.

Updated 10 am Wednesday
Channel Nine launched its attempt at a yobbo-led recovery on Tuesday night (click here for background), but The Nation, with Mick Molloy, did not hold the attention of its intended young male audience, or indeed anybody else. It started badly (869,000 viewers in the first quarter hour) and got much worse (690,000 in the last quarter hour). Its average of 772,000 viewers in the mainland capitals meant it was beaten in the timeslot by Ten's perennial flop Numb3rs (910,000) and by Seven's late starter Crossing Jordan (974,000).

The show's Melbourne origins were emphasised in regular references to "GTV 9" and to personalities Sydney barely knows, and in Melbourne it beat Numb3rs, while still falling behind Crossing Jordan. The Nation's lack of appeal to its intended under-50 audience is apparent in this chart ...

What viewers aged 18-49 watched, Tuesday
1. NCIS Rpt - 10
2. The All New Simpsons - 10
3. Simpsons Tue - 10
4. It Takes Two - 7
5. All Saints - 7
6. Big Brother - TEN
7. Seven News - 7
8. Home & Away - 7
9. Numb3rs - TEN
10. Today Tonight - 7

Anybody care to predict how long The Nation will last?

What Australia watched, Tuesday
1. Seven News Seven 1.701m
2. It Takes Two Seven 1.593
3. Today Tonight Seven 1.539
4. All Saints Seven 1.430
5. Nine News Nine 1.361
6. A Current Affair Nine 1.315
7. Temptation Nine 1.307
8. Home and Away Seven 1.290
9. NCIS Ten 1.270
10. The Simpsons - 7:30pm Ten 1.227
11. The Simpsons - 8:00pm Ten 1.194
12. ABC News ABC 1.165
13. Crime and Justice Nine 1.162
14. Neighbours at War Nine 1.092
15. Deal or No Deal Seven 1.087

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,648,000 443,000 436,000 297,000 209,000 263,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,540,000 424,000 431,000 263,000 184,000 237,000
3 1 VS 100 Nine 1,473,000 396,000 478,000 259,000 180,000 161,000
4 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,392,000 437,000 454,000 193,000 148,000 161,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,326,000 347,000 375,000 296,000 164,000 144,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,311,000 406,000 339,000 266,000 125,000 174,000
7 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,282,000 337,000 449,000 239,000 119,000 137,000
8 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,277,000 359,000 390,000 210,000 142,000 176,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,240,000 292,000 415,000 254,000 144,000 136,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 1,230,000 274,000 461,000 243,000 125,000 128,000
13 BIG BROTHER LIVE NOMINATION Ten 1,037,000 252,000 306,000 165,000 155,000 159,000
14 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 1,036,000 288,000 278,000 191,000 139,000 141,000
16 BIG BROTHER Ten 975,000 223,000 258,000 164,000 174,000 156,000
17 SUPERNATURAL Ten 904,000 245,000 264,000 152,000 106,000 137,000
20 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 883,000 264,000 218,000 169,000 97,000 135,000
23 MORE THAN ENOUGH ROPE ABC 772,000 234,000 224,000 142,000 76,000 96,000
28 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 634,000 185,000 247,000 87,000 73,000 42,000
30 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 560,000 178,000 121,000 116,000 67,000 78,000
34 FOOTY CLASSIFIED Nine 403,000 282,000 75,000 47,000
40 SUNRISE Seven 351,000 100,000 75,000 95,000 39,000 43,000
55 TODAY Nine 262,000 77,000 98,000 49,000 14,000 24,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Monday June 4
Just when you thought every child in Australia had seen Shrek 2 five times, either at the cinema or on DVD, 1.5 million people in the mainland capitals switched on Channel Nine at 8.30 last night to see it, or see it again.

The ogre and the 60 Minuters gave the night to Nine, which attracted 31.5 per cent of the audience between 6pm and midnight, while Seven got 27.8 per cent, Ten got 19.8 per cent, ABC got 15.7, and SBS got 5.2. If this was a State of Origin week, such a start would be enough to give Nine the week, but it isn't, so it won't.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,680,000 508,000 473,000 320,000 197,000 183,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,592,000 388,000 508,000 332,000 166,000 198,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,533,000 450,000 477,000 245,000 245,000 117,000
4 SHREK 2 Nine 1,528,000 425,000 432,000 268,000 195,000 207,000
5 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,452,000 468,000 507,000 233,000 122,000 120,000
6 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,370,000 428,000 455,000 213,000 155,000 119,000
7 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,296,000 434,000 445,000 259,000 158,000
8 THE LOST TRIBES Nine 1,153,000 327,000 339,000 201,000 172,000 115,000
9 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,131,000 284,000 358,000 221,000 145,000 122,000
12 HAMISH & ANDY'S REAL STORIES RPT Ten 955,000 235,000 365,000 162,000 98,000 95,000
14 ROVE Ten 933,000 215,000 341,000 173,000 100,000 104,000
16 ROBIN HOOD ABC 903,000 253,000 296,000 157,000 93,000 104,000
18 LIFE ON MARS ABC 802,000 266,000 239,000 128,000 82,000 88,000
20 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 10: CARLTON V WESTERN BULLDOGS Seven 765,000 83,000 385,000 66,000 124,000 108,000
23 SURVIVOR: FIJI Nine 579,000 152,000 204,000 71,000 77,000 75,000
24 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 489,000 293,000 181,000 14,000
37 BIG LOVE SBS 309,000 84,000 121,000 36,000 41,000 28,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Channel Ten's supposedly inspirational but possibly exploitational new series Teen Fit Camp (formerly known as Teen Fat Camp), in which six overweight Australians attend a Californian "boot camp", attracted a mere 735,000 viewers in the mainland capitals last week - which will come as good news to many child welfare experts. The NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People, Gillian Calvert, told our sociological correspondent, Adele Horin, the program was "intrusive and voyeuristic" in its use of "vulnerable young people as entertainment".

The first episode showed one of the Australian boys sobbing on the ground after his expressed "love" for one of the girls was rebuffed. "The true 'reality' of the making of this type of program is that it's about making money, rather than helping kids who are struggling with a really difficult issue," Calvert said.

A director of the NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity, Professor Louise Baur, said she was concerned the teenagers did not understand the implications of exposing their intimate lives on national television. "There is also the possibility that, when these young people return to their old lives and environments, the weight may go back on," Baur said. "We risk labelling these kids as failures."

A spokeswoman for Channel Ten said the program was "not reality TV but an observational documentary. It's not at all like The Biggest Loser." She said the participants and their parents had searched for years for an answer to the obesity problem and had wanted to participate in the program to help others in a similar situation. The focus was not on rapid weight loss but on young people developing self-esteem and control.

Channel Ten had a poor week all round, averaging just 21 per cent of the prime time audience. Thanks to Tuesday singing and Friday AFL, Seven won the week with 29.2 per cent, while Nine got 28.1, ABC 16.2, and SBS 5.5.

What Australia watched, week ending June 2
Program Network Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adealide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,703,000 532,000 463,000 312,000 190,000 207,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,670,000 381,000 446,000 369,000 219,000 255,000
3 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,629,000 458,000 486,000 292,000 187,000 206,000
4 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,554,000 452,000 515,000 256,000 165,000 167,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,529,000 417,000 397,000 260,000 200,000 254,000
6 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,526,000 446,000 515,000 231,000 154,000 180,0007 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,517,000 493,000 431,000 252,000 164,000 177,000
8 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,484,000 452,000 435,000 251,000 175,000 171,000
9 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,472,000 524,000 410,000 206,000 148,000 184,000
10 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,466,000 458,000 463,000 203,000 172,000 170,000
11 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,463,000 496,000 404,000 241,000 169,000 153,000
12 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,456,000 411,000 394,000 248,000 177,000 226,000
13 NCIS Ten 1,434,000 361,000 414,000 274,000 202,000 182,000
14 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,401,000 461,000 415,000 288,000 237,000
15 HOUSE Ten 1,349,000 400,000 428,000 209,000 131,000 180,000
16 SHREK -RPT Nine 1,334,000 376,000 371,000 264,000 187,000 136,000
17 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,333,000 392,000 477,000 150,000 145,000 169,000
18 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,331,000 324,000 426,000 207,000 183,000 193,000
19 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,309,000 311,000 424,000 281,000 133,000 160,000
20 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,308,000 444,000 373,000 198,000 148,000 145,000
21 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,302,000 365,000 393,000 201,000 166,000 176,000
22 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,292,000 349,000 401,000 221,000 149,000 173,000
23 NINE NEWS Nine 1,288,000 368,000 403,000 257,000 155,000 105,000
24 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,283,000 340,000 367,000 238,000 180,000 159,000
25 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,281,000 353,000 353,000 245,000 173,000 157,000
26 1 VS 100 Nine 1,263,000 386,000 383,000 210,000 152,000 132,000
27 GETAWAY Nine 1,260,000 401,000 369,000 221,000 135,000 134,000
28 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,259,000 364,000 412,000 250,000 117,000 115,000
29 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,252,000 300,000 392,000 210,000 179,000 170,000
30 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,248,000 341,000 415,000 244,000 134,000 115,000
31 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,241,000 367,000 397,000 217,000 137,000 123,000
32 THE NEW INVENTORS: SAVING WATER SPECIAL-EV ABC 1,231,000 376,000 375,000 221,000 112,000 146,000
33 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,221,000 270,000 404,000 207,000 147,000 192,000
34 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,210,000 363,000 335,000 219,000 128,000 166,000
35 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,201,000 295,000 383,000 253,000 121,000 149,000
36 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,191,000 368,000 381,000 171,000 124,000 145,000
37 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,150,000 301,000 380,000 214,000 154,000 102,000
38 CRIME & JUSTICE Nine 1,147,000 310,000 392,000 197,000 116,000 131,000
39 TEMPTATION Nine 1,143,000 301,000 393,000 201,000 121,000 127,000
40 LAST CHANCE LEARNERS Seven 1,139,000 260,000 397,000 208,000 118,000 155,000
41 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,138,000 315,000 332,000 225,000 124,000 141,000
42 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,133,000 319,000 327,000 202,000 128,000 158,000
43 THE LOST TRIBES Nine 1,107,000 342,000 304,000 203,000 141,000 117,000
44 NEIGHBOURS AT WAR Nine 1,095,000 327,000 325,000 196,000 110,000 137,000
45 HEROES Seven 1,091,000 297,000 327,000 233,000 103,000 132,000
46 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,089,000 284,000 389,000 168,000 119,000 129,000
47 LOST Seven 1,086,000 304,000 362,000 179,000 118,000 123,000
48 COLD CASE Nine 1,073,000 321,000 318,000 188,000 139,000 107,000
49 ABC NEWS ABC 1,066,000 280,000 361,000 174,000 113,000 139,000
50 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,060,000 312,000 303,000 234,000 120,000 90,000
(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.

• in The Tribal Mind at 09:00 AM
• Comments (177)

The Tribal Mind: A yobbo-led recovery?

by David Dale
YEAH, but what else you got? That's the only question in commercial television. It applies whether you're riding high, like Channel Seven, or low, like Channel Nine. The principle is that you're only as good your next hit show, which can be a cheering thought or a depressing thought. So that's why we're predicting the future today of the tyrannosaurus and the brontosaurus of the TV industry:

What's next for Nine: The ex-Eddie network seems to be looking for a yobbo-led recovery, at least this month. On Thursday, after The Footy Show, it launches Ralph TV, based on the young man's mag. Later it'll show The Girls of the Playboy Mansion, based on the old man's mag. Tonight it launches The Nation, with Mick Molloy, to pull some of The Chaser's audience.

Nine is clearly unhappy at being portrayed by its rivals as the network with a lock on the over-50s. Last week Nine's director of programming, Michael Healy, crowed about the new American shows he's buying for next year:

"The US shows that are generating significant industry buzz include Cashmere Mafia, which stars Australians Frances O'Connor and Miranda Otto, as well as Lucy Liu; Viva Laughlin which is produced [by] and stars Hugh Jackman; Damages starring Glenn Close and Australian Rose Byrne; and ... Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Big Shots and ... Gossip Girl. All these shows are particularly friendly to the 25-54 advertising market. Generation X and Y will get a big run with Nine next year.''

What's next for Seven: Over the first 14 weeks of the ratings year, Channel Seven has averaged 29.3 per cent of the prime-time audience, Nine has averaged 27.3, Ten 21.7, ABC 16.1 and SBS 5.6. Over the same period last year (excluding the Commonwealth Games), the shares were: Seven 28.7, Nine 28.3, Ten 23.0, ABC 14.8, SBS 5.1. That looks good for Seven, except that Nine came from behind to narrowly win last year because Seven dropped the ball in the second half. Could that happen again?

Asked what's coming when Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and It Takes Two run out, Seven nominated Shark (a dramedy about a cutthroat lawyer, starring James Woods), Kath and Kim (pinched from the ABC), City Homicide (Melbourne cop drama) and new seasons of Border Security, Medical Emergency and Criminal Minds.

For next year, Seven is excited about Private Practice (spin-off from Grey's Anatomy), Dirty Sexy Money ("a Dynasty style super-soap'') and Eli Stone (dramedy about a lawyer who has visions of the future).

There's one sobering fact these optimistic networks don't want to think about. Of all the new shows that start in America each year, 85 per cent fail to make it to the end of their first season. So for 2008, "what else you got?'' is still a very open question.

Who do you think will win?

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.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 07:50 AM
• Comments (31)

Departures: Jones out of the picture

Was he boned or did he jump? Did his monarchist views clash with the republican sentiments of the new co-host Lisa Wilkinson? All we can say for sure is that Alan Jones will soon stop thundering out his opinions over breakfast. Channel Nine released this statement last night: "After almost 20 years with Today, Alan Jones and the network have agreed to wind up his daily television editorial, with the last one airing on Friday, June 15. The Nine Network's director of news and current affairs, Garry Linnell, said the decision reflected a new direction for the Today program. 'We thank Alan for his contribution to the program over the past two decades,' Mr Linnell said. 'He is a voice of authority and an integral player in the setting of Australia's news agenda ..."

This would never have happened if the old man was still alive, if Eddie was still in charge, if Alan had not been subject to vile literary vituperation, etc, etc.

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• in The Tribal Mind at 12:00 AM
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Culture: Worst of the bad ads

We reported last week (see below) that B&T magazine had given the title "worst ad of the year so far" to a Coco Pops commercial in which two turds with French accents flirt with a young mother. We asked if you had other candidates, and got swamped with votes for these masterpieces, in this order of unpopularity:

1. The one with the pole-dancing mum, which may be about chewing gum or chicken.

2. The one where the tongue leaves the body in search of a drink.

3. The one in which a man "grows unfeasibly long nipples after having one of their mints".

4. The camera ad in which "a couple is kissing, girl grows old, boy stays young".

5. "The ad for erection problems where the guys play the piano with their organs."

Lets have your votes and any further nominations here ...

Last week's report: It's quite an achievement to be named "definitely the worst ad of the year so far", especially when the accolade comes from your own industry bible, B&T magazine. The scorer is a TV commercial for Coco Pops, made by the agency JWT.
The latest B&T describes it thus: "Sometimes an ad hits the screen that's so dreadful it's impossible to work out what the internal processes were that allowed it to happen ... It starts badly, and every few seconds takes a further plunge downhill. A yummy mummy opens her front door to discover a cereal packet.

"Two brown lumps of cartoon cereal with an appearance not entirely dissimilar to animated excrement pop up. They say Bonjour in a comedy 'Allo 'Allo!-style French accent. They are, respectively, Fibre and Wholegrain. 'We know you want us,' they tell her ..."

The editor of B&T, Tim Burrowes, observes: "I'm a little embarrassed on behalf of the whole industry for the JWT Coco Pops ad we've panned this week. Members of the team gathered around the screen to watch the French cartoon turds in awe."

It doesn't sound so unusual to us. Is B&T being unfair? Nominate the real worst ads on TV.

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 12:00 AM
• Comments (109)

WHO WE ARE: How the bloody hell do we do it?

A column about Australia by David Dale, Published in The Sun-Herald, 3/6/2007
It seems to me that cynicism is not a core ingredient of the Australian character, so I was surprised at the bitterness manifested in some of the responses to my call last week for ideas on how to promote Australia overseas. I had complained that the slogan "So where the bloody hell are you?" had a tone of arrogance and entitlement that was alien to the traditional modesty of Australians.

'Will' suspected this column's motives: "Yeah, 'help' you and yer media cronies make a motza out of some affable Aussie's brilliantly simple idea offered in genuine innocence and willingness to help. Bugger that, mate. How about ... A land of plenty milked by talentless 'suits' who would fail in LA or New York, or even Singapore!"

Paul Wallis asked: "How about a more honest approach? 'Come and see 20 million people who don't recognise their own identities and/or are too damn spineless to admit to them!' We'd be buried under market psychologists and anthropologists for years. Of course, failing that we could come up with some really inspired, expensive cliches. That might happen."

MAT couldn't see the point of promoting a "beautiful rich country full of 'friendly' fake people that don't even talk of Aboriginal people or if so, they will say 'They are different'. So multiculturally full of delicious food and so cruel."

A. McNeill suggested: "Australia: Too Bloody Expensive and Too Bloody Far."

Jet wrote from Over There: "The slogan means NOTHING to the local Chinese (here in Hong Kong). Apart from the odd cuddle of a koala, the Chinese are NOT interested in thw natural environment, they want shopping, shopping, shopping, eating, eating, eating and massage, sauna, spa. Can't speak for the ad's impact in other cultures but here in Asia it's gotta be a giant dud."

From Adam Baudelaire: "Everyone knows that Australia is beautiful. What is missing is a campaign that says we are NOT the racist pigs we are thought to be by the world, but actually a friendly, welcoming and affable lot. The campaign needed to be very personal, about us. They missed it by a mile, and like every aspect of our current personna, foreign policy included, I'm deeply embarrassed."

Rob offered some individually tailored slogans: "For the Asian market: Come to Australia and help pay off our foreign debt. For the US market: George Bush doesn't live here. For the UK: Try the real Oz - It's like Earl's Court, but warmer. For the world in general: Warning! If you don't come visit us, we will all come over and visit you!"

AWM felt strongly that "It is incumbent upon those who hold the values of Australia dear, those of modesty, hard work, undustry and mateship, to influence the media representations of our country, especially those of the national government who are funding this sales pitch." Perhaps the funding government would endorse the suggestion of OJ, whose recommended slogan had a familiar ring: "We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come." M. Johnson had a similar thought: "Welcome to Australia -- America's Deputy Sherriff in Asia."

Andrew was one of the few who was willing to defend the existing slogan, describing it as "playful, youthful, confident". But Andrew admited to being a New Zealander.

Now that readers have had an opportunity to vent their scepticism, I'd still like to hear more positive promotional ideas, below

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.

• by David Dale in Who We Are at 10:40 AM
• Comments (46)

The ratings race: week 22

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. To join the latest discussion on media and popular culture, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind.
Updated 11 am Saturday June 2
Thanks to the power of Shrek, Channel Nine had by far the biggest audience share on Saturday night. Thanks to the power of AFL, Seven had the biggest audience share on Friday night -- except in Sydney and Brisbane, where Nine was on top thanks to the power of rugby league. So Nine won the week in Sydney and Brisbane, and Seven won the week in the other capitals. The overall result went like this: Seven 29.2 per cent of the prime time audience, Nine 28.1, Ten 21.0, ABC 16.2, SBS 5.5.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SHREK -RPT Nine 1,334,000 376,000 371,000 264,000 187,000 136,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,281,000 353,000 353,000 245,000 173,000 157,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,241,000 367,000 397,000 217,000 137,000 123,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,150,000 301,000 380,000 214,000 154,000 102,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,060,000 312,000 303,000 234,000 120,000 90,000
6 PRIMEVAL Nine 1,037,000 351,000 232,000 227,000 123,000 103,000
7 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 841,000 117,000 387,000 97,000 114,000 126,000
10 THE BILL ABC 691,000 217,000 182,000 139,000 54,000 99,000
13 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 615,000 58,000 246,000 48,000 178,000 85,000
19 GREAT COMEDY CLASSICS Seven 497,000 385,000 112,000
22 SEVEN'S R.U: AUS V WALES Seven 462,000 208,000 47,000 150,000 23,000 33,000
24 TOP GEAR RPT SBS 453,000 131,000 144,000 70,000 52,000 55,000
29 IRON CHEF SBS 296,000 96,000 82,000 39,000 35,000 43,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,402,000 376,000 379,000 226,000 189,000 232,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,273,000 359,000 327,000 227,000 155,000 205,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,238,000 376,000 354,000 266,000 144,000 99,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,181,000 334,000 367,000 239,000 132,000 109,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,096,000 330,000 307,000 175,000 120,000 165,000
6 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,048,000 230,000 347,000 205,000 148,000 117,000
7 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,045,000 368,000 381,000 171,000 124,000
12 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 10: COLLINGWOOD V FREMANTLE Seven 863,000 20,000 433,000 35,000 146,000 228,000
19 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 654,000 380,000 274,000
27 M-ONE FINE DAY Seven 441,000 293,000 147,000
28 JERICHO Ten 424,000 92,000 115,000 101,000 71,000 45,000
29 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 406,000 280,000 126,000
32 WAKING THE DEAD Nine 349,000 M185,000 A83,000 P80,000

Updated 10 am Friday June 1
Channel Ten changed the name from Teen Fat Camp to Teen Fit Camp, and did heavy publicity, but that didn't help its latest reality/inspirational/exploitational series, which was watched by 735,000 people in the mainland capitals.

To see if Seven is succeeding with its strategy of moving Heroes to Thursday night in Sydney and Brisbane, readers with a mathematical bent may care to add last night's figure to Wednesday's figure and compare the 1.09m total with the figure the series was achieving when it was on at the same time everywhere (1.05m). Lost's move to 9.30pm in two cities means its total audience is down from the 1.13m it was achieving when it was on at 8.30 everywhere.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,458,000 420,000 437,000 224,000 153,000 224,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,399,000 381,000 391,000 231,000 171,000 226,000
3 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,309,000 311,000 424,000 281,000 133,000 160,000
4 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,309,000 445,000 374,000 198,000 147,000 145,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,257,000 400,000 369,000 219,000 136,000 134,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,240,000 368,000 376,000 239,000 155,000 103,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,215,000 326,000 391,000 246,000 142,000 109,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,209,000 351,000 336,000 244,000 119,000 160,000
9 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,201,000 295,000 383,000 253,000 121,000 149,000
10 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,133,000 319,000 327,000 202,000 128,000 158,000
13 LOST Seven 1,086,000 304,000 362,000 179,000 118,000 123,000
16 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 932,000 242,000 374,000 105,000 111,000 100,000
18 THE AMAZING RACE: ALL STARS Seven 858,000 221,000 302,000 112,000 116,000 107,000
25 TEEN FIT CAMP Ten 735,000 206,000 221,000 111,000 92,000 105,000
28 HEROES Seven 529,000 S297,000 B233,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,577,000 449,000 412,000 271,000 200,000 245,000
2 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,511,000 490,000 431,000 252,000 163,000 176,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,508,000 436,000 405,000 259,000 184,000 225,000
4 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,469,000 522,000 410,000 206,000 148,000 183,000
5 HOUSE Ten 1,349,000 400,000 428,000 209,000 131,000 180,000
6 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,282,000 340,000 367,000 238,000 179,000 159,000
15 COLD CASE Nine 1,074,000 321,000 318,000 188,000 140,000 107,000
17 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,033,000 284,000 332,000 156,000 151,000 111,000
18 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 982,000 303,000 290,000 143,000 110,000 136,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 950,000 242,000 278,000 160,000 131,000 139,000
21 PRISON BREAK - ON THE RUN Seven 845,000 233,000 299,000 133,000 82,000 97,000
23 MEDIUM Ten 820,000 228,000 247,000 142,000 96,000 106,000
27 BERT'S FAMILY FEUD Nine 600,000 167,000 208,000 81,000 93,000 50,000
28 HEROES Seven 562,000 327,000 103,000 132,000
38 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 384,000 217,000 167,000
47 THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW Ten 287,000 79,000 87,000 45,000 38,000 38,000
50 DR PHIL Ten 278,000 89,000 71,000 42,000 36,000 40,000
99 THE CATCH-UP Nine 120,000 45,000 24,000 23,000 13,000 16,000
97 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS - DAY -RPT Nine 127,000 37,000 30,000 31,000 9,000 19,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,575,000 417,000 404,000 269,000 219,000 266,000
2 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,526,000 446,000 515,000 231,000 154,000 180,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,458,000 381,000 403,000 252,000 193,000 229,000
4 NCIS Ten 1,433,000 361,000 413,000 274,000 202,000 182,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,362,000 404,000 432,000 256,000 158,000 113,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,340,000 368,000 451,000 251,000 151,000 119,000
7 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,333,000 392,000 477,000 150,000 145,000 169,000
8 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,331,000 324,000 426,000 207,000 183,000 193,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,279,000 376,000 347,000 249,000 146,000 162,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 1,260,000 340,000 431,000 212,000 136,000 140,000
11 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,252,000 300,000 392,000 210,000 179,000 170,000
12 CRIME & JUSTICE Nine 1,154,000 312,000 393,000 197,000 119,000 132,000
13 NEIGHBOURS AT WAR Nine 1,097,000 327,000 327,000 196,000 109,000 138,000

Updated 10 am Tuesday May 29
Nine won Sunday, Seven won Monday, and for the week so far, the prime time audience shares stand at Seven 29.5 per cent, Nine 29.2, Ten 19.6, ABC 16.0, SBS 5.7. Here are some highlights of last night's viewing ...

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,689,000 460,000 401,000 304,000 221,000 302,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,567,000 456,000 393,000 277,000 197,000 244,000
3 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,466,000 458,000 463,000 203,000 172,000 170,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,337,000 350,000 452,000 259,000 144,000 133,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,312,000 343,000 436,000 271,000 148,000 114,000
6 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,302,000 365,000 393,000 201,000 166,000 176,000
7 1 VS 100 Nine 1,261,000 386,000 383,000 210,000 152,000 130,000
8 WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,254,000 363,000 412,000 249,000 115,000 115,000
11 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 1,056,000 325,000 275,000 169,000 132,000 155,000
13 BIG BROTHER LIVE NOMINATION Ten 1,012,000 236,000 307,000 205,000 128,000 136,000
14 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 1,006,000 323,000 340,000 116,000 138,000 90,000
16 MORE THAN ENOUGH ROPE-LE ABC 942,000 268,000 255,000 201,000 92,000 126,000
19 SUPERNATURAL Ten 853,000 184,000 275,000 175,000 98,000 120,000
22 FOUR CORNERS ABC 822,000 242,000 212,000 170,000 72,000 127,000
24 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 767,000 244,000 216,000 145,000 63,000 100,000
27 BERT'S FAMILY FEUD Nine 640,000 181,000 235,000 92,000 75,000 57,000
28 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 629,000 158,000 179,000 120,000 91,000 81,000
29 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 615,000 190,000 206,000 85,000 75,000 58,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Pay TV subscribers watched last week
1 NRL SEA EAGLES V STORM Fox Sports 3 317,000
2 NRL TITANS V RABBITOHS Fox Sports 3 301,000
3 NRL SEA EAGLES V BRONCOS Fox Sports3 258,000
4 THE KING TV1 220,000
5 AFL BRISBANE V COLLINGWOOD Fox Sports 1 170,000
6 AFL SYDNEY V PORT ADELAIDE Fox Sports 1 161,000
7 AFL WEST COAST V MELBOURNE Fox Sports 1 160,000
8 AUSTRALIA'S NEXT TOP MODEL FOX8 159,000
9 NRL WARRIORS V WESTS TIGERS Fox Sports 3 149,000
10 NRL SHARKS V ROOSTERS Fox Sports 3 144,000
(OzTAM whole nation)

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,700,000 532,000 463,000 312,000 189,000 205,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,642,000 373,000 439,000 369,000 208,000 254,000
3 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,630,000 458,000 486,000 292,000 188,000 206,000
4 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,559,000 450,000 516,000 257,000 166,000 169,000
5 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,490,000 454,000 435,000 251,000 177,000 173,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,462,000 496,000 405,000 241,000 168,000 153,000
7 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,400,000 458,000 416,000 289,000 237,000
8 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,305,000 356,000 400,000 225,000 148,000 177,000
9 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,131,000 313,000 329,000 225,000 124,000 140,000
10 THE LOST TRIBES Nine 1,107,000 342,000 305,000 203,000 141,000 116,000
11 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,089,000 284,000 389,000 168,000 119,000 129,000
12 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 999,000 267,000 281,000 204,000 107,000 141,000
13 ROBIN HOOD ABC 995,000 256,000 342,000 154,000 112,000 132,000
(OzTAm preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm Sunday May 27
Channel Nine has won its first ratings week of the year, thanks to rugby league. To put it another way, Channel Seven has lost its first ratings week of the year, thanks to rugby union.

As of last Wednesday morming, Seven was ahead of Nine in prime time audience share, but the huge numbers watching the State of Origin match in Sydney and Brisbane pushed Nine to the front by Thursday morning. Seven was able to claw back viewers on Thursday and Friday nights, so that on Saturday morning the stations were neck and neck, each averaging 28.6 per cent for the week.

Everything depended on how viewers in Sydney and Brisbane responded to Seven's coverage of the rugby union match between Australia and Wales on Saturday night. Well, 252,000 watched it in Sydney and 144,000 watched it in Brisbane (compared with 856,000 and 734,000 who watched the league on Wednesday). Union may be the game they play in heaven, but it's not the game they watch in Australia.

The prime time audience shares for the week ended up thus: Nine 28.3 per cent, Seven 28.2, Ten 21.2, ABC 16.4, and SBS 5.9. Seven will be scrambling to shore up its end of week programming before the next State of Origin -- and it may decide to leave future rugby union to Pay TV.
What Australian watched, week ending May 26
1 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE 1ST - MATCH Nine 2,020,000 856,000 366,000 734,000 35,000 29,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,673,000 357,000 502,000 343,000 199,000 273,000
3 60 MINUTES Nine 1,668,000 433,000 550,000 299,000 176,000 209,000
4 WHERE ARE THEY NOW Seven 1,531,000 419,000 486,000 265,000 173,000 187,000 5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,503,000 404,000 390,000 281,000 187,000 241,000
6 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,444,000 453,000 453,000 210,000 155,000 172,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,438,000 399,000 373,000 264,000 177,000 225,000
8 STATE OF ORIGIN PRE MATCH Nine 1,434,000 561,000 334,000 487,000 52,000
9 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,417,000 419,000 468,000 209,000 136,000 184,000
10 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,414,000 423,000 444,000 210,000 144,000 192,000
11 NCIS Ten 1,403,000 343,000 421,000 268,000 194,000 178,000
12 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,401,000 425,000 454,000 232,000 159,000 132,000
13 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 1,374,000 406,000 426,000 207,000 178,000 157,000
14 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,306,000 331,000 411,000 268,000 127,000 169,000
15 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -RPT Nine 1,302,000 392,000 394,000 218,000 145,000 152,000
16 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,295,000 346,000 350,000 239,000 134,000 227,000
17 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,291,000 355,000 411,000 189,000 165,000 171,000
18 NINE NEWS Nine 1,274,000 338,000 406,000 265,000 151,000 113,000
19 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,267,000 337,000 472,000 158,000 145,000 154,000
20 20 TO 1 -RPT Nine 1,263,000 334,000 395,000 220,000 158,000 157,000
21 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,260,000 358,000 436,000 149,000 149,000 169,000
22 1 VS 100 Nine 1,244,000 366,000 405,000 192,000 138,000 143,000
23 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,243,000 315,000 421,000 254,000 133,000 121,000
24 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,227,000 309,000 436,000 166,000 171,000 145,000
25 BIG BROTHER - INTRUDER ALERT! Ten 1,219,000 305,000 332,000 262,000 159,000 160,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,218,000 368,000 315,000 232,000 129,000 175,000
27 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,211,000 318,000 385,000 247,000 106,000 154,000
28 HEROES Seven 1,198,000 312,000 372,000 263,000 106,000 146,000
29 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,182,000 306,000 345,000 245,000 160,000 124,000
30 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,167,000 326,000 353,000 187,000 144,000 157,000
31 GETAWAY Nine 1,166,000 349,000 371,000 220,000 102,000 125,000
32 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,164,000 364,000 343,000 172,000 144,000 142,000
33 CSI: MIAMI -RPT Nine 1,149,000 367,000 355,000 171,000 136,000 121,000
34 TEMPTATION Nine 1,143,000 293,000 392,000 208,000 125,000 126,000
35 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,139,000 319,000 316,000 237,000 137,000 130,000
36 BIG BROTHER LIVE NOMINATION Ten 1,126,000 290,000 309,000 255,000 145,000 127,000
37 LAST CHANCE LEARNERS Seven 1,112,000 258,000 421,000 172,000 106,000 155,000
38 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,081,000 303,000 325,000 198,000 132,000 122,000
39 THE LOST TRIBES Nine 1,075,000 269,000 329,000 207,000 122,000 149,000
40 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,073,000 246,000 356,000 228,000 132,000 112,000
(OzTAM)

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 12:05 AM
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