Who We Are

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Monday, April 28, 2008

The Who We Are Update: Week 21

This week of David Dale's media blog is now history. For the latest discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss the most significant moments in the history of Australian television, go to Who We Are
To discuss which DVDs have the best extras, go to The Tribal Mind

At this point in the ratings week, the prime time average audience shares stand at ABC 16.6% Seven 28.3% Nine 27.7% Ten 21.8% SBS 5.6%.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,381,000 427,000 382,000 277,000 144,000 151,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,263,000 374,000 385,000 229,000 154,000 121,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,191,000 331,000 392,000 220,000 158,000 91,000
4 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 1,051,000 307,000 276,000 225,000 100,000 143,000
5 BED OF ROSES ABC 955,000 259,000 318,000 163,000 112,000 103,000
6 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 924,000 282,000 246,000 202,000 105,000 89,000
7 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 896,000 250,000 329,000 151,000 88,000 77,000
8 THE BILL ABC 814,000 236,000 269,000 114,000 82,000 113,000
10 M-AIR FORCE ONE Seven 808,000 224,000 216,000 167,000 84,000 117,000
12 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 721,000 Not shown 351,000 Not shown 90,000 108,000 172,000
13 SHREK -RPT Nine 688,000 287,000 267,000 135,000
14 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC 668,000 169,000 244,000 120,000 77,000 57,000
15 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 613,000 53,000 321,000 42,000 135,000 62,000
21 TOP GEAR RPT SBS 442,000 144,000 117,000 88,000 48,000 46,000
Continued here

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,373,000 385,000 334,000 267,000 161,000 226,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,361,000 383,000 418,000 226,000 143,000 191,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,247,000 343,000 390,000 251,000 159,000 106,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,191,000 330,000 286,000 222,000 153,000 200,000
5 SILENT WITNESS ABC 1,103,000 290,000 368,000 170,000 136,000 138,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,074,000 303,000 311,000 223,000 140,000 96,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC 1,036,000 254,000 374,000 174,000 96,000 138,000
8 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 998,000 282,000 298,000 183,000 147,000 88,000
12 BIG BROTHER Ten 845,000 242,000 241,000 176,000 110,000 76,000
17 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 8: ST KILDA VS COLLINGWOOD Seven 747,000 21,000 457,000 12,000 120,000 136,000
21 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 610,000 364,000 246,000
26 I'M A CELEBRITY...GET ME OUT OF HERE Ten 425,000 128,000 119,000 79,000 61,000 40,000
31 M-THE STEPFORD WIVES Seven 373,000 230,000 143,000
35 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 358,000 267,000 90,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
Here's your task: Predict which network will win the week. It keeps changing every day. Nine, which was behind on Thursday morning, has taken the lead after Gordon Ramsay crushed Bones. The average audience shares in prime time for the week so far stand at: ABC 15.8% Seven 28.2% Nine 28.5% Ten 22.3% SBS 5.2%.

On Wednesday night, the Underbelly addicts went off in all directions in search of new thrills. Ten scored by resuming new episodes of House and by providing the Big Brother housemates with a brief taste of Carson Kressley, who proved far more stimulating (to them and the ratings) than Corey Worthington. The ABC scored when Spicks and Spicks collected 200,000 more viewers.

Seven lost ground with Ugly Betty but scored when its third instalment of Indiana Jones picked up 200,000 more than the previous instalments. And Nine scored with its two new fly on the wall documentaries, but not enough to compensate for the disaster that was Hitch.

Tonight it's pretty much biffo against aerial ping pong, but Better Homes will spruce up Seven. Nine thinks it will slamdunk Seven on Saturday by showing Shrek, but maybe every child in Australia has already seen it 20 times. Seven is gambling on a buildup of Harrison Ford frenzy by showing Air Force One, in which Indy is POTUS.

So it's a complex equation which only readers of this column are equipped to solve. Register your predictions via Comments, below.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,335,000 368,000 315,000 265,000 135,000 252,000
2 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,311,000 342,000 446,000 202,000 133,000 188,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,257,000 365,000 395,000 231,000 107,000 158,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,219,000 295,000 333,000 229,000 139,000 223,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC 1,181,000 337,000 369,000 221,000 103,000 152,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,173,000 309,000 373,000 255,000 135,000 101,000
7 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,147,000 323,000 285,000 211,000 147,000 182,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,109,000 314,000 291,000 187,000 113,000 203,000
9 BONES Seven 1,072,000 300,000 276,000 185,000 139,000 173,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,045,000 287,000 312,000 228,000 114,000 104,000
11 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 1,040,000 302,000 254,000 182,000 117,000 186,000
12 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,039,000 321,000 313,000 175,000 105,000 125,000
14 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 998,000 235,000 404,000 133,000 127,000 99,000
15 MEDIUM Ten 952,000 295,000 241,000 164,000 109,000 143,000
16 BIG BROTHER Ten 852,000 232,000 221,000 178,000 99,000 121,000
19 TRINNY & SUSANNAH UNDRESS THE NATION Seven 793,000 226,000 244,000 130,000 80,000 113,000
22 THE BUDGET 2008: RIGHT OF REPLY ABC 717,000 282,000 213,000 142,000 71,000 9,000
33 LOST Seven 392,000 105,000 126,000 54,000 57,000 50,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,596,000 471,000 369,000 314,000 193,000 249,000
2 HOUSE Ten 1,432,000 446,000 442,000 215,000 135,000 194,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,398,000 404,000 347,000 249,000 169,000 229,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,276,000 333,000 399,000 271,000 146,000 127,000
5 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,273,000 378,000 440,000 189,000 118,000 148,000
6 BIG BROTHER - CARSON CRASHES BIG BROTHER'S CLOSET Ten 1,245,000 389,000 350,000 217,000 127,000 162,000
7 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 1,216,000 373,000 339,000 191,000 129,000 184,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,215,000 338,000 367,000 263,000 139,000 109,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,196,000 378,000 284,000 206,000 121,000 207,000
12 FIRE 000 Nine 1,100,000 335,000 304,000 183,000 119,000 159,000
13 M-INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE Seven 1,052,000 332,000 309,000 170,000 127,000 113,000
15 UGLY BETTY Seven 987,000 297,000 255,000 178,000 109,000 147,000
17 BIG BROTHER Ten 961,000 269,000 274,000 192,000 97,000 129,000
24 HITCH -RPT Nine 710,000 252,000 193,000 97,000 72,000 96,000
26 THE CATHERINE TATE SHOW ABC 632,000 160,000 259,000 69,000 66,000 79,000
71 JURY DUTY Seven 187,000 60,000 43,000 40,000 20,000 24,000
77 THE GOLDEN GIRLS Seven 175,000 52,000 48,000 40,000 18,000 16,000
82 SALAM CAFE SBS 151,000 43,000 52,000 21,000 22,000 14,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,590,000 478,000 412,000 314,000 149,000 237,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,430,000 406,000 431,000 235,000 147,000 212,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,390,000 412,000 367,000 255,000 150,000 206,000
4 NCIS Ten 1,388,000 353,000 435,000 275,000 153,000 173,000
5 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,337,000 360,000 456,000 177,000 155,000 189,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,327,000 407,000 387,000 270,000 142,000 120,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC 1,278,000 333,000 456,000 245,000 98,000 147,000
8 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,219,000 407,000 366,000 192,000 107,000 147,000
9 20 TO 1 Nine 1,197,000 278,000 402,000 237,000 141,000 140,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,194,000 322,000 343,000 280,000 139,000 111,000
12 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,162,000 358,000 372,000 198,000 123,000 111,000
15 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 985,000 260,000 342,000 153,000 103,000 127,000
17 LADETTE TO LADY Nine 949,000 270,000 344,000 109,000 105,000 122,000
18 BUDGET SPECIAL 2008 ABC 943,000 327,000 237,000 183,000 79,000 118,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 925,000 254,000 277,000 177,000 98,000 119,000
20 THE TREASURER'S BUDGET SPEECH 2008 ABC 919,000 362,000 258,000 201,000 72,000 25,000
27 MILLIONAIRES' MISSION ABC 527,000 161,000 177,000 90,000 38,000 61,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY (r) Seven 1,571,000 485,000 456,000 272,000 165,000 194,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,544,000 422,000 405,000 298,000 172,000 247,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,519,000 413,000 420,000 287,000 161,000 238,000
4 SURF PATROL Seven 1,447,000 485,000 422,000 228,000 141,000 171,000
5 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,398,000 395,000 404,000 273,000 168,000 159,000
6 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,356,000 387,000 362,000 265,000 165,000 177,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,312,000 386,000 369,000 278,000 152,000 126,000
8 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,309,000 374,000 430,000 201,000 123,000 181,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,289,000 332,000 390,000 291,000 154,000 121,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,258,000 367,000 335,000 254,000 123,000 178,000
13 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,086,000 293,000 363,000 191,000 123,000 116,000
14 HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED Ten 1,065,000 289,000 395,000 141,000 125,000 115,000
24 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 832,000 267,000 275,000 121,000 89,000 79,000
28 BIG BROTHER - BIG MOUTH Ten 660,000 209,000 202,000 80,000 84,000 85,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland estimates)

The ratings race, updated 11am Monday
Sound the alarm and call out the bloodhounds -- nearly half a million Australian viewers have gone missing. Last year the premiere of Ugly Betty attracted 2.05 million in the mainland capitals. Last week Betty's second season opened with 1.03 million. Last year Sea Patrol averaged 1.6 million. Last week's episode drew 1.2 million. Last year the Logies broadcast held 1.7 million viewers for four hours. Last week it held 1.48 million. Grey's Anatomy managed 1.3 million against the Logies last year and this year 1 million.

At this point in 2007 Big Brother at 7pm was drawing 1.1 million. Last week it was lucky to get 900,000, despite the presence of Corey Worthington (who proves to be disturbingly bland).

So is there anything the viewing majority do like? These were the most watched shows in the mainland capitals: Seven Sunday news 1.58 million; NCIS (10) 1.57m; The Logie arrivals (9) 1.57m; and Border Security (7) 1.54m. And the finale of Underbelly managed 1.42 million without Melbourne. It's the only series that matches the kind of television that got Australians excited way back in the golden age of 2007.

Nine won the week, with 28.9 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven scored 26.6, Ten 22.2, ABC 16.8 and SBS 5.5. It also won Sunday night, thanks to 60 Minutes. But Grey's Anatomy was number one with viewers under 50. This may bode well for the re-emergence of new House episodes on Wednesday.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,731,000 529,000 458,000 349,000 165,000 230,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,466,000 392,000 348,000 362,000 134,000 229,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,455,000 429,000 463,000 291,000 169,000 103,000
4 CSI Nine 1,453,000 412,000 389,000 301,000 171,000 180,000
5 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,313,000 433,000 429,000 226,000 116,000 109,000
6 GLADIATORS Seven 1,294,000 319,000 423,000 254,000 115,000 182,000
7 ANIMAL EMERGENCY Nine 1,267,000 352,000 378,000 245,000 142,000 151,000
8 RFDS: ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE Nine 1,230,000 361,000 318,000 247,000 153,000 150,000
9 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,079,000 261,000 307,000 214,000 170,000 128,000
10 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,068,000 324,000 339,000 210,000 90,000 106,000
11 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,050,000 306,000 319,000 187,000 112,000 126,000
12 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,044,000 335,000 291,000 193,000 99,000 128,000
13 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,024,000 275,000 320,000 161,000 117,000 151,000
14 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 930,000 279,000 337,000 135,000 100,000 79,000
15 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 848,000 256,000 227,000 174,000 93,000 97,000
20 MAWSON: LIFE AND DEATH IN ANTARCTICA ABC 683,000 203,000 210,000 130,000 68,000 72,000
23 COMPASS ABC 486,000 127,000 166,000 71,000 61,000 60,000
24 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Ten 477,000 112,000 173,000 71,000 49,000 72,000
25 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 462,000 266,000 9,000 167,000 20,000
29 GILMORE GIRLS Nine 409,000 80,000 155,000 53,000 58,000 63,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)
What Pay TV subscribers watched, week ending May 10
1 LIVE: NRL ROOSTERS V RAIDERS Fox Sports 2 274 274,000
2 LIVE: NRL BULLDOGS V PANTHERS Fox Sports 2 274,000
3 FAMILY GUY FOX8 Tue 231,000
4 LIVE: AFL SYDNEY V WESTERN BULLDOGS Fox Sports 1 219 219,000
5 AUSTRALIA'S NEXT TOP MODEL FOX8 217,000
6 8 THE SIMPSONS FOX8 208,000
7 LIVE: AFL ESSENDON V PORT AD Fox Sports 1 193,000
8 NRL COWBOYS V SHARKS Fox Sports 2 189,000
9 LIVE: NRL WARRIORS V RAIDERS Fox Sports 2 186,000
10 SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA Lifestyle 178,000
(OzTAM entire country)

What Australia watched, weekend ending May 10
Description Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1,786,000 463,000 540,000 346,000 200,000 237,000
2 NCIS Ten 1,571,000 415,000 437,000 330,000 196,000 193,000
3 LOGIE ARRIVALS Nine 1,569,000 508,000 536,000 249,000 129,000 147,000
4 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,544,000 472,000 425,000 267,000 174,000 206,000
5 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - THURSDAY Nine 1,527,000 430,000 528,000 209,000 156,000 204,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1,514,000 425,000 390,000 302,000 171,000 225,000
7 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,493,000 414,000 490,000 251,000 142,000 197,000
8 LOGIE AWARDS Nine 1,485,000 449,000 543,000 213,000 137,000 143,000
9 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 1,444,000 427,000 402,000 251,000 158,000 206,000
10 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,422,000 670,000 336,000 183,000 233,000
11 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,418,000 424,000 487,000 180,000 144,000 183,000
12 60 MINUTES Nine 1,406,000 429,000 392,000 246,000 172,000 167,000
13 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,404,000 398,000 369,000 264,000 164,000 210,000
14 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1,386,000 391,000 369,000 261,000 233,000 132,000
15 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,373,000 383,000 378,000 258,000 170,000 185,000
16 NCIS (R) Ten 1,343,000 347,000 413,000 232,000 177,000 173,000
17 SEVEN NEWS - SATURDAY Seven 1,320,000 352,000 404,000 253,000 159,000 150,000
18 HALL OF FAME TRIBUTE MATCH Ten 1,317,000 112,000 676,000 101,000 204,000 225,000
19 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,293,000 303,000 454,000 249,000 133,000 155,000
20 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,291,000 411,000 426,000 181,000 133,000 140,000
21 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,287,000 389,000 332,000 237,000 161,000 168,000
22 GLADIATORS Seven 1,287,000 331,000 441,000 220,000 154,000 142,000
23 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,282,000 363,000 376,000 229,000 134,000 180,000
24 AUSTRALIA: LAND OF PARROTS ABC 1,264,000 336,000 383,000 250,000 136,000 159,000
25 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,233,000 386,000 356,000 208,000 121,000 162,000
26 HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED Ten 1,228,000 361,000 418,000 236,000 117,000 95,000
27 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,222,000 329,000 362,000 217,000 156,000 159,000
28 NINE NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Nine 1,218,000 335,000 384,000 251,000 147,000 101,000
29 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,202,000 347,000 356,000 194,000 135,000 170,000
30 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 1,176,000 504,000 248,000 355,000 69,000
31 GETAWAY Nine 1,173,000 344,000 354,000 206,000 119,000 150,000
32 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,173,000 313,000 396,000 168,000 131,000 165,000
33 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,168,000 341,000 301,000 229,000 128,000 170,000
34 BIG BROTHER - GATECRASHER Ten 1,160,000 409,000 330,000 168,000 121,000 133,000
35 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,160,000 368,000 353,000 203,000 117,000 119,000
36 TRINNY & SUSANNAH UNDRESS THE NATION Seven 1,159,000 348,000 348,000 185,000 140,000 138,000
37 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,146,000 306,000 313,000 244,000 117,000 167,000
38 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,141,000 325,000 368,000 224,000 126,000 99,000
39 ABC NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY ABC 1,137,000 313,000 362,000 209,000 112,000 141,000
40 NINE NEWS - SATURDAY Nine 1,136,000 320,000 404,000 198,000 126,000 89,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 03:28 PM
Comments (72)

The Tribal Mind: The envelopes please

by David Dale
It's Logies week, when Australian television celebrates a year of excellence. It's also Bogies week, when Australian viewers vent their rage for decades of being taken for granted. This column asked for your nominations and then your verdict, and 132 readers responded. In a totally transparent process (which you can observe by going here) the voting went like this ...

Most annoying person. Mike Munro got 3 votes; Sonia Kruger 3; Bindi Irwin 6; Andrew O'Keefe 9; David Koch 20. And the winner, with 54 votes, is Kyle Sandilands.

Most offputting commercial. The Coco Pops ad in which two turds with French accents harass a housewife 7; "the one where the girl is accompanied by a beaver" 18; "the one where the tongue leaves the body in search of a drink" 29. And the winner, with 30 votes, is the series of Commonwealth Bank ads, particularly the Mad Max koala.

Most unnecessary program. 20 to 1 3; The Mint 5; Rules of Engagement 7; The Power of Ten 12; Animal Emergency 19. And the winner, with 29 votes, is Out of the Question.

Most unnecessary personality. Lara Bingle 3; Grant Denyer 5; Karl Stefanovic 7; Candice Falzon 10; Richard Reid (gossip reporter for Nine's Today) 10; The Sunrise "family" 22. And the winner, with 35 votes, is Jackie O.

Most unnecessary adaptation of an overseas show. Big Brother 3; 60 Minutes 4; The Chopping Block 4. And the winner, with 39 votes, before it has even started, is Top Gear Australia.

Most overhyped. Desperate Housewives 2; Border Security 2; Underbelly 2; The Moment of Truth 3; the Neighbours relaunch 3; Dirty Sexy Money 4; Australia's Next Top Model 7; Big Brother 8; Grey's Anatomy 16. And the winner, with 36 votes, is Cashmere Mafia.

Most Underrated. Nip/ Tuck 2; Robin Hood 2; Jekyll 2; Brothers and Sisters 2; Burn Notice 5; 30 Rock 6; Lost 7; East-West 101 9; Big Love 11; Boston Legal 18; Newstopia 19. And the winner, with 24 votes, is Life on Mars.

Most jerked around by the networks. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 2; Torchwood 2; Family Guy 2; The Sopranos 2; Battlestar Galactica 3; Stargate 4; 30 Rock 5; ER 6; Veronica Mars 7; Weeds 9. And the winner, with 32 votes, is Scrubs.

Most missed. Doctor Who 2; The Sopranos 2; Buffy 2; Uninterrupted programs on SBS 4; The Glasshouse 4; The Games 5; The West Wing 6; Summer Heights High 6. And the winner, with 36 votes, is The Chaser's War on Everything.

Most repeated. Mean Girls 2; MASH 2; About a Boy 3; Border Security 3; anything with Gordon Ramsay 4; Friends 4; Bridget Jones 9; CSI 12; Love Actually 13. And the winner, with 29 votes, is The Simpsons.

Worst network. SBS 3; Seven 10; Ten 10. And the winner, with 59 votes, is Channel Nine.

Most surprisingly smooth skin. Juanita Phillips 4; Anne Sanders 5; Marcia Cross 5; Catriona Rowntree 5; Richard Reid 8; Sigrid Thornton 11; Sandra Sully 15. And the winner, with 16 votes, is Kerri-Anne Kennerly.

Most embarrassing program (the Naomi Robson Cup). The Sunrise special with Guy Sebastian 6; My Kid's A Star 7; The Mint 7; The Biggest Loser 8; The Wedge 8; Monster House 10; The Footy Show 18; And the joint winners, each with 22 votes, are Today Tonight and A Current Affair.

Furthest past use-by date (the Bert Newton Trophy). Catriona Rowntree 2; Barry Humphries (in any incarnation) 3; Ray Martin 6; Paul Vautin 8; Sam Newman 12; Kyle and Jackie O 14; Richard Wilkins 16. And the winner, with 21 votes, is Daryl Somers.

The Black Bogie (the Eddie McGuire Chalice). David Koch 25; Richard Wilkins 28. And the winner, with 39 votes, is Kyle Sandilands.

And a special award for the reader who made the greatest contribution is shared between Grant James, who suggested the idea of The Bogies, and Patricia, who wrote:

"How bitchy some people can be! How do they know about all these programs and presenters they dislike if they don't watch them? 'Unnecessary' programs and personalities can be controlled by the off switch - it's very simple! I haven't watched Animal Emergency but anything that increases compassion to the other inhabitants of our planet sounds like a good idea to me. I enjoyed The Chaser but it was due for a break as nothing is more tiring bordering on dangerous than tired satire. SBS is great, though you have to select programs. Leave beautiful clever Juanita alone. Most of all there are other things to do beside watching telly - find out about some of them!"

Let that be a lesson to you.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:32 AM
Comments (23)

WHO WE ARE: The biggest stars in the southern sky

For the results of The Bogie Awards 2008, go to The Tribal Mind.

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 27/4/2008
Alright, if we can't agree on what is the greatest Australian movie ever made, perhaps we can agree on who is the greatest Australian actor. Last week this column sought your reaction to a remark by a spokesman for the prime minister that "without doubt" the best Australian movie ever made was The Man from Snowy River (despite the fact that 70 minutes go by before there is any movement at the station).

Most readers disagreed with the PM, but after that, the consensus broke down. Obviously this column's readers represent a fair sample of the Australian cinemagoing community, and that community has diverse tastes. This was how the voting went: 1 Chopper; 2 Lantana; 3 Breaker Morant; 4 Gallipoli; 5 Picnic at Hanging Rock; 6 The Castle; 7 Mad Max; 8 Muriel's Wedding; 9 Wake in Fright; 10 Don's Party; 11 A Town Like Alice; 12 The Club; 13 Kenny; 14 Romper Stomper; 15 Bad Boy Bubby.

Most of these films are more than 10 years old. As many readers remarked, Australian flicks these days are perceived as a reason not to go to the cinema. But we continue to admire our own actors, and it might be possible to achieve more agreement on who is the best of them.

As I remarked last week, box office success is not the same as quality, but to get you started, here's a list of the Australians who have been in movies which sold the most tikets around the world. (Pedant warning: In compiling this list, I have defined Australian as "spent the formative years of their career in this country". There is no need to tell me Russell Crowe was born in New Zealand, Sam Neill in Northern Ireland, Mel Gibson in New York, Nicole Kidman in Hawaii, Naomi Watts and Guy Pearce in Britain, and Hugo Weaving in Nigeria. This is a nation of immigrants.)

The most successful Australian actors of all time
1 Hugo Weaving (biggest international moneymakers included the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Matrix trilogy and Australian work includes Priscilla, Little Fish, The Interview, and Proof).
2 Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean, Munich, Shakespeare in Love, Shine, Lantana, Ned Kelly, Candy).
3 Mel Gibson (What Women Want, Braveheart, Lethal Weapon, Mad Max, The Year of Living Dangerously, Gallipoli, Tim)
4 Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Bicentennial Man, The Hunt For Red October, The Piano, My Brilliant Career, The Dish, Sirens, Little Fish, Dead Calm)
5 Nicole Kidman (The Golden Compass, Bewitched, The Hours, The Others, Batman Forever, To Die For, Days of Thunder, Moulin Rouge, Dead Calm, BMX Bandits)
6 Russell Crowe (Gladiator, American Gangster, Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind, LA Confidential, The Sum of Us, Romper Stomper, Proof)
7 Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings, Elizabeth, The Aviator, Babel, Notes on a Scandal, Little Fish, Oscar and Lucinda. Discussing her latest film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Steven Spielberg said last week: "She's a very threatening villain. Of all the villains I've been able to work with in the Indiana Jones movies, I can say she's my favorite. And I think Cate made her that way. We gave her a template for this, but she invented the character.")
8 Eric Bana (Troy, Munich, Hulk, Black Hawk Down, Romulus My Father, Chopper, The Castle)
9 Toni Collette (The 6th Sense; Little Miss Sunshine, About A Boy, Muriel's Wedding, Japanese Story, The Black Balloon).
10 Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Van Helsing, Swordfish, Deception, Erskineville Kings, Paperback Hero.)
11 Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee, Strange Bedfellows)
12 Guy Pearce (Death Defying Acts, The Time Machine, Memento, LA Confidential, The Proposition,The Hard Word, Priscilla.)
13 Naomi Watts (King Kong, The Ring, Mulholland Drive, Ned Kelly, Gross Misconduct.)
14 Heath Ledger (Casanova, Brokeback Mountain, A Knight's Tale, Ned Kelly, Two Hands, Candy.)
15 Jack Thompson (Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Man From Snowy River, Breaker Morant, Sunday Too Far Away, Wake In Fright.)

Have I missed anybody? And is there a clear winner amongst that lot? Go to Comments to vote.

To learn about our all-time favourites from every country, go to The Films Australia loved

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in Who We Are at 12:19 AM
Comments (56)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Who We Are update: Week 20

This week of the ratings blog is now history. For the latest discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss the psychological damage caused by Louie The Fly, go to The Tribal Mind.
To nominate the greatest Australian TV drama of all time, go to Who We Are.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,320,000 352,000 404,000 253,000 159,000 150,000
2 HALL OF FAME TRIBUTE MATCH Ten 1,317,000 112,000 676,000 101,000 204,000 225,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,160,000 368,000 353,000 203,000 117,000 119,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,136,000 320,000 404,000 198,000 126,000 89,000
5 BED OF ROSES ABC 1,071,000 307,000 335,000 201,000 91,000 137,000
6 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 951,000 277,000 283,000 209,000 91,000 91,000
7 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 920,000 274,000 285,000 179,000 74,000 108,000
8 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 882,000 243,000 220,000 176,000 110,000 134,000
9 M-INDEPENDENCE DAY Seven 839,000 275,000 218,000 143,000 108,000 95,000
10 ABC NEWS UPDATE ABC 729,000 230,000 203,000 140,000 62,000 94,000
11 FAWLTY TOWERS Seven 727,000 209,000 204,000 161,000 77,000 77,000
12 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC 727,000 183,000 250,000 129,000 94,000 70,000
13 THE BILL ABC 707,000 215,000 194,000 142,000 54,000 103,000
Continued here

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,466,000 436,000 394,000 286,000 144,000 205,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,316,000 408,000 358,000 235,000 136,000 178,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,233,000 386,000 356,000 208,000 121,000 162,000
4 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 1,176,000 504,000 248,000 355,000 69,000
5 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT ABC 1,173,000 313,000 396,000 168,000 131,000 165,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,142,000 316,000 341,000 246,000 134,000 105,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,073,000 308,000 321,000 240,000 121,000 82,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,067,000 292,000 328,000 198,000 118,000 131,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,062,000 330,000 247,000 192,000 115,000 178,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,018,000 324,000 278,000 226,000 101,000 89,000
11 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 998,000 244,000 275,000 178,000 145,000 156,000
12 ABBA'S ALL TIME GREATEST HITS Seven 883,000 256,000 291,000 134,000 99,000 102,000
15 BIG BROTHER Ten 808,000 226,000 230,000 167,000 92,000 93,000
23 I'M A CELEBRITY...GET ME OUT OF HERE Ten 487,000 113,000 156,000 86,000 75,000 57,000
34 MY GOLDFISH IS EVIL-PM ABC 289,000 70,000 98,000 55,000 31,000 34,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES-THU Nine 1,526,000 429,000 528,000 210,000 156,000 203,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,484,000 404,000 392,000 320,000 159,000 210,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,350,000 365,000 385,000 264,000 147,000 189,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,222,000 341,000 378,000 263,000 138,000 101,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,179,000 348,000 357,000 206,000 119,000 150,000
6 TRINNY & SUSANNAH UNDRESS THE NATION Seven 1,159,000 348,000 348,000 185,000 140,000 138,000
7 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,147,000 306,000 313,000 244,000 117,000 168,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,128,000 315,000 303,000 247,000 124,000 138,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,122,000 309,000 388,000 223,000 110,000 93,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC 1,117,000 308,000 364,000 187,000 121,000 139,000
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,040,000 281,000 315,000 204,000 111,000 128,000
12 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 1,035,000 264,000 291,000 216,000 119,000 145,000
13 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,001,000 224,000 459,000 122,000 105,000 91,000
14 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 985,000 289,000 247,000 206,000 118,000 124,000
15 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 984,000 290,000 307,000 178,000 103,000 106,000
17 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS THURS Ten 890,000 227,000 287,000 170,000 108,000 98,000
18 BIG BROTHER Ten 877,000 220,000 266,000 169,000 101,000 122,000
25 FRIENDS Ten 577,000 147,000 187,000 109,000 60,000 74,000
26 KILLER ICE ABC 540,000 180,000 152,000 84,000 53,000 71,000
28 LOST Seven 505,000 141,000 165,000 74,000 72,000 53,000
36 INSPECTOR REX (M) RPT SBS 326,000 101,000 110,000 64,000 30,000 21,000
37 STOCKINGER SBS 323,000 99,000 120,000 47,000 28,000 29,000

What Sydney watched, Wednesday
1 UNDERBELLY Nine 667,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 428,000
3 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 427,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 399,000
5 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 364,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 349,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 347,000
8 BIG BROTHER - CROWDED HOUSE Ten 335,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC 329,000
10 UGLY BETTY Seven 327,000

What Melbourne watched, Wednesday
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 403,000
2 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 402,000
3 ABC NEWS ABC 395,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 383,000
5 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 379,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 377,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 364,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 361,000
9 HELL'S KITCHEN -RPT Nine 350,000
10 BIG BROTHER - CROWDED HOUSE Ten 334,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,547,000 428,000 403,000 287,000 187,000 242,000
2 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 1,439,000 427,000 402,000 248,000 155,000 206,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,433,000 399,000 383,000 256,000 155,000 240,000
4 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,417,000 667,000 334,000 184,000 232,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,231,000 349,000 364,000 211,000 122,000 185,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,208,000 364,000 377,000 247,000 129,000 91,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC 1,199,000 329,000 395,000 213,000 105,000 157,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,141,000 347,000 361,000 217,000 124,000 92,000
9 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,116,000 298,000 379,000 186,000 127,000 126,000
10 BIG BROTHER - CROWDED HOUSE Ten 1,098,000 335,000 334,000 195,000 107,000 128,000
11 FIRE 000 Nine 1,084,000 307,000 324,000 197,000 119,000 138,000
12 HELL'S KITCHEN -RPT Nine 1,076,000 313,000 350,000 142,000 124,000 147,000
15 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,028,000 327,000 282,000 173,000 112,000 134,000
18 HOUSE RPT Ten 913,000 245,000 274,000 178,000 107,000 110,000
19 M-INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM Seven 878,000 280,000 267,000 126,000 110,000 94,000
36 CANAL ROAD Nine 386,000 98,000 126,000 52,000 48,000 62,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
Halfway through the ratings week and Nine looks unbeatable, with an average of 30 per cent of the prime time audience to Seven's 26 per cent and Ten's 23.3. Nine had a massive lead-in with the Logies, and since then, Ten has been stealing younger viewers from Seven.

Interestingly, Big Brother is doing reasonably well at 7pm (though still beaten by Home and Away), which suggests Corey Worthington may not be the turnoff that readers of this blog imagined.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NCIS Ten 1,567,000 413,000 435,000 329,000 196,000 193,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,521,000 427,000 378,000 290,000 185,000 240,000
3 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,510,000 420,000 492,000 256,000 144,000 198,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,506,000 416,000 352,000 290,000 203,000 244,000
5 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,412,000 423,000 482,000 180,000 144,000 182,000
6 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,373,000 383,000 378,000 258,000 170,000 185,000
7 NCIS RPT Ten 1,330,000 343,000 411,000 229,000 176,000 171,000
8 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,289,000 304,000 453,000 246,000 132,000 155,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,243,000 363,000 314,000 248,000 142,000 175,000
10 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,202,000 347,000 356,000 194,000 135,000 170,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,178,000 312,000 380,000 230,000 152,000 104,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC 1,166,000 312,000 359,000 239,000 108,000 148,000
13 20 TO 1 Nine 1,120,000 354,000 297,000 192,000 148,000 129,000
14 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,117,000 319,000 383,000 187,000 130,000 97,000
15 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,112,000 327,000 337,000 189,000 123,000 136,000
17 LADETTE TO LADY Nine 957,000 333,000 390,000 108,000 127,000
35 SUNRISE Seven 365,000 114,000 74,000 95,000 30,000 52,000
39 FIRST TUESDAY BOOK CLUB ABC 331,000 136,000 100,000 53,000 24,000 18,000
44 TODAY Nine 312,000 95,000 100,000 61,000 23,000 33,000
53 INSIDE HAMAS SBS 251,000 101,000 59,000 53,000 10,000 29,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,553,000 431,000 383,000 330,000 180,000 229,000
2 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,544,000 472,000 425,000 267,000 174,000 206,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,419,000 404,000 365,000 274,000 176,000 201,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,333,000 342,000 445,000 267,000 173,000 106,000
5 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,291,000 411,000 426,000 181,000 133,000 140,000
6 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,288,000 389,000 332,000 237,000 161,000 169,000
7 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,278,000 364,000 375,000 228,000 133,000 178,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,251,000 339,000 385,000 253,000 148,000 126,000
9 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,233,000 381,000 353,000 244,000 126,000 129,000
10 HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED Ten 1,227,000 360,000 418,000 236,000 117,000 95,000
11 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,222,000 329,000 362,000 217,000 156,000 159,000
16 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 955,000 275,000 326,000 152,000 95,000 107,000
23 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 837,000 258,000 329,000 96,000 95,000 59,000
28 BIG BROTHER - BIG MOUTH Ten 684,000 235,000 215,000 96,000 64,000 74,000
34 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 399,000 92,000 124,000 85,000 53,000 45,000
37 SOUTH PARK SBS 350,000 74,000 139,000 61,000 43,000 33,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
To hold the attention of 1.5 million Australians for four hours in this age of telly-scepticism is no mean feat. So Nine is correct in counting Sunday's Logies broadcast as a triumph, even if it didn't reach the 2 million figure regularly achieved by the awards ceremony early this decade. It gave Nine 36 per cent of the prime time audience (Seven 22.9, Ten 20.4, ABC 15.9, SBS 4.9) -- which looks like an unbeatable start for the week.

The insertion of Corey Worthington did nothing to pull Big Brother out of its slump -- Sunday should be the biggest hight of the week, but an audience of 1.16 million for the "Gatecrasher" episode is just sad. It was even beaten by an ABC documentary about parrots.

Last week was characterised by fond farewells and lukewarm welcomes. Farewelling The Biggest Loser, in which contestant Sam Rouen, 20, shed 46 per cent of his body weight, Ten got the biggest audience of any series this year -- 1.89 million in the mainland capitals. This topped the 1.85 million who farewelled Ten's So You Think You Can Dance Australia on Sunday.

But only 1.51 million welcomed Big Brother on Monday -- the worst opening in the show's history, although better than the welcome afforded to Dannii Minogue and the two boobs on Tuesday, when Seven managed only 1.36 million for Australia's Got Talent. BB had small audiences during the week and only 1 million saw the smallest contestant, Rima, break her leg in the Friday night games.

While Seven and Ten battled for the younger viewers, Doc Martin kicked a goal for the ABC (1.51m for the season finale on Saturday night) and Nine continued its policy of panic programming -- giving any new show only two weeks to prove itself before replacing it with Golden Ramsay. Panic programming was pioneered three years ago by Channel Ten, which used The Simpsons to plug holes in its schedule. Nine may find Ramsay gets overcooked more quickly than the Springfield family. He served 1.53m viewers on Tuesday, 1.27m on Wednesday and 1.22m on Thursday, which does not necessarily confirm the law of diminishing returns.

Apart from the dancing, dieting and doctoring, the most watched shows of the week were Seven News Sunday 1.77 million and Border Security (7) 1.59 m. On pay TV, Australia's Next Top Model (Fox 8) attracted 255,000 while a Knights vs Titans rugby league match (Fox Sports 2) pulled 288,000.

Seven won the week with 27.1 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine averaged 26.1 per cent, Ten 25.2, ABC 16.6 and SBS 5.1.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,586,000 463,000 540,000 346,000 237,000
2 LOGIE ARRIVALS Nine 1,570,000 511,000 521,000 257,000 131,000 149,000
3 LOGIE AWARDS Nine 1,502,000 454,000 549,000 215,000 138,000 145,000
4 60 MINUTES Nine 1,398,000 425,000 387,000 244,000 175,000 167,000
5 NINE NEWS SUN Nine 1,384,000 391,000 370,000 261,000 231,000 132,000
6 GLADIATORS Seven 1,276,000 327,000 436,000 218,000 154,000 141,000
7 AUSTRALIA: LAND OF PARROTS ABC 1,264,000 336,000 383,000 250,000 136,000 159,000
8 BIG BROTHER - GATECRASHER Ten 1,160,000 409,000 329,000 168,000 121,000 133,000
9 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,111,000 284,000 368,000 202,000 130,000 127,000
10 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,074,000 337,000 292,000 174,000 117,000 154,000
11 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 998,000 260,000 300,000 169,000 125,000 145,000
12 ABC NEWS UPDATE ABC 938,000 281,000 265,000 155,000 101,000 135,000
13 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 938,000 267,000 269,000 150,000 130,000 123,000
14 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 929,000 304,000 268,000 156,000 96,000 105,000
15 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 786,000 258,000 230,000 122,000 73,000 103,000
16 EAST OF EVERYTHING ABC 781,000 261,000 217,000 127,000 75,000 100,000
19 STAR WARS III - REVENGE OF THE SITH Ten 622,000 157,000 196,000 115,000 83,000 70,000
23 MERCURIO'S MENU Seven 481,000 261,000 106,000 115,000
25 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 456,000 266,000 174,000 16,000
26 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 7: MELBOURNE VS FREMANTLE Seven 455,000 9,000 261,000 13,000 172,000
28 GILMORE GIRLS Nine 354,000 95,000 122,000 35,000 46,000 56,000
29 THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR EXPERIMENT SBS 345,000 118,000 89,000 56,000 45,000 36,000
41 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 7: SYDNEY VS WESTERN BULLDOGS Seven 206,000 78,000 Not shown 51,000 77,000 Not shown
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending May 3
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE BIGGEST LOSER - FINALE Ten 1,896,000 516,000 607,000 347,000 213,000 212,000
2 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - WINNER ANNOUNCED Ten 1,877,000 572,000 557,000 329,000 205,000 214,000
3 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - FINALE NIGHT Ten 1,832,000 562,000 534,000 342,000 178,000 216,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1,774,000 502,000 454,000 365,000 193,000 261,000
5 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,594,000 476,000 467,000 266,000 160,000 225,000
6 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - FINAL WEIGH-IN Ten 1,560,000 471,000 494,000 243,000 153,000 200,000
7 SEVEN NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1,549,000 436,000 409,000 315,000 165,000 224,000
8 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,544,000 403,000 554,000 237,000 156,000 193,000
9 BIG BROTHER - LAUNCH SPECIAL Ten 1,511,000 486,000 435,000 276,000 162,000 151,000
10 DOC MARTIN ABC 1,507,000 448,000 409,000 328,000 155,000 168,000
11 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1,505,000 450,000 470,000 265,000 190,000 130,000
12 60 MINUTES Nine 1,460,000 405,000 460,000 270,000 136,000 190,000
13 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,450,000 406,000 392,000 283,000 151,000 216,000
14 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,382,000 325,000 393,000 287,000 159,000 219,000
15 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,375,000 408,000 424,000 237,000 156,000 150,000
16 GLADIATORS Seven 1,366,000 377,000 416,000 279,000 134,000 160,000
17 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,358,000 342,000 410,000 245,000 169,000 191,000
18 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,339,000 662,000 268,000 170,000 240,000
19 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1,318,000 330,000 397,000 252,000 146,000 193,000
20 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,312,000 380,000 428,000 229,000 111,000 164,000
21 NCIS Ten 1,306,000 342,000 385,000 264,000 160,000 155,000
22 SEVEN NEWS - SATURDAY Seven 1,289,000 381,000 346,000 245,000 132,000 186,000
23 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,286,000 403,000 394,000 186,000 145,000 158,000
24 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,284,000 423,000 369,000 254,000 125,000 114,000
25 CSI Nine 1,270,000 260,000 431,000 219,000 168,000 192,000
26 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,260,000 361,000 352,000 217,000 162,000 169,000
27 NCIS (R) Ten 1,252,000 299,000 401,000 217,000 169,000 166,000
28 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,251,000 340,000 384,000 229,000 129,000 169,000
29 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,230,000 329,000 383,000 246,000 135,000 138,000
30 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - THURSDAY Nine 1,227,000 319,000 404,000 203,000 130,000 171,000
31 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,219,000 364,000 320,000 239,000 122,000 174,000
32 NINE NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Nine 1,214,000 319,000 374,000 267,000 144,000 110,000
33 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,184,000 298,000 371,000 205,000 154,000 155,000
34 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,175,000 310,000 348,000 220,000 125,000 172,000
35 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,168,000 369,000 360,000 211,000 133,000 96,000
36 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 1,157,000 340,000 333,000 226,000 87,000 171,000
37 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,157,000 295,000 353,000 237,000 134,000 138,000
38 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,154,000 335,000 335,000 231,000 128,000 124,000
39 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,145,000 321,000 324,000 215,000 135,000 150,000
40 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,135,000 304,000 366,000 238,000 127,000 101,000

What pay TV subscribers watched, week ending May 3
Non-Sporting programs
1 AUSTRALIA'S NEXT TOP MODEL FOX8 255,000
2 FAMILY GUY FOX8 217,000
3 FUTURAMA FOX8 213,000
4 SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA Lifestyle 169,000
5 THE SIMPSONS FOX8 163,000
Sporting programs
1 LIVE: NRL KNIGHTS V TITANS Fox Sports 2 288,000
2 LIVE: AFL HAWTHORN V RICHMOND Fox Sports 1 284,000
3 LIVE: NRL PANTHERS V EELS Fox Sports 2 256,000
(OzTAM national survey)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:06 AM
Comments (56)

Monday, April 21, 2008

The Tribal Mind: Vive les differences

To discuss the best Australian movie ever made, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
We know they say port when they mean suitcase and togs when they mean cossies, but otherwise, Brisbane people are just a sunnier version of Sydney people, aren't they? We know they have a frontier mentality and money coming out their ears, but are Perth people intrinsically different from Adelaide people? They watch a weird kind of football and have cafes we want to copy, but does anything else distinguish Melburnians from Sydneysiders? Answers: no, yes and yes -- you need only look at their tastes in television.

Our topic today is regional differences. Australia is not supposed to have any that matter. But when you compare the top rated programs in each capital, you find a wealth of opportunities for speculation.

Sydney people, for example, love to see Melbourne people getting shot. The number one show in this town every week is Underbelly (which Melbourne is not allowed to see). Melburnians, by contrast, love to see waiters being sworn at. Their top show is Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, about which Brisbane couldn't give a flying f--- and other capitals are lukewarm.

The southerners are also much keener than the rest of us on Jamie At Home, with the politer London chef Jamie Oliver. And possibly as a consequence, The Biggest Loser gets its best ratings in Melbourne.

Perth people clearly worry that the country is about to be invaded by drug dealers, exotic diseases and bacteria-laden foodstuffs -- their favourite of the week is a repeat of Border Security. Brisbane and Adelaide compensate for their distance from the political and business action by being better informed - their most watched show each week is Seven's Sunday news.

The differences go deeper than the top spot. Melbourne and Sydney love the black comedy of Desperate Housewives, while other capitals prefer the grim determination of Sea Patrol (which fits with their paranoid passion for Border Security).

Can we reach a conclusion about Sydney's shallowness from the fact that it is much less interested in Andrew Denton's interviews than Melbourne and Adelaide, but keener on Gladiators (while Melbourne prefers the subtlety of So You Think You Can Dance Australia)? And Sydney was where the disastrous My Kid's a Star did best. But for all its glitz, Sydney has a domestic side - Better Homes and Gardens does better here than in any other capital.

While Melbourne loves The Simpsons, aristocratic Adelaide is the heartland for My Name is Earl (wanting to see how the other half lives?) as well as Samantha Who? and Good News Week. Adelaide is also the town that supports SCU: Surious Cresh Unut - which may be because they understand the New Zealand eccent better (get a South Australian to say fish and chips).

The pressure of all that mineral money must be getting to Perth people. They like The Real Seachange more than all the other capitals - and they can afford to take one.

Click on Comments to give us your interpretation of the national taste deviations.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:11 PM
Comments (1)

Sunday, April 20, 2008

WHO WE ARE: Without doubt?

To learn how the tastes of Melbourne differ from the tastes of Sydney, go to The Tribal Mind

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 20/4/2008
A spokesman for the prime minister declared recently that The Man from Snowy River was "without doubt the best Australian movie ever made". He was commenting on a letter of congratulation sent to Kevin Rudd by the actor Kirk Douglas (who played two roles in The Man From Snowy River).

Assuming that the spokesman was conveying his master's view rather than his own, and that he wasn't just being polite to an ageing icon, it's a big claim. Kevin Rudd is this nation's voice to the world. The opinion polls suggest most Australians go along with him on most matters, but would they agree about the best Australian movie ever made?

On the prime ministerial recommendation, I rented The Man at my local DVD store, and I have to say it's an eccentric choice. Yes, the superb camerawork shows graceful horses and beautiful scenery, but the dialogue is clunky, the acting is uncomfortable, and Kirk Douglas's wig and beard look as if he tied a dead bandicoot round his head. Nearly 80 minutes go by before there's movement at the station. And there's no ending, presumably because they were setting things up for a sequel.

If that's the best we've ever done, you can't be surprised that 21st century Australians make a point of avoiding Australian movies. During the past six months, only two local creations have made more than $1 million at the box office - Black Balloon, a dramedy about a family with an autistic kid (seen by 170,000 people), and Gabriel, a science fiction thriller (seen by 140,000 people).

Some say the reason Australian films are doing so badly is that these days, people only go to the cinema to see big budget spectaculars, and Australians can't afford to make those. So how come 1.6 million of us bought tickets in the past six months for a film called Death At A Funeral? It has all the hallmarks of a classic Aussie production - no special effects, no big stars but plenty of eccentric characters, a bit of slapstick and a quirky storyline. Ah, you see, it was made in Britain, so we had no motive to avoid it.

There was a time when we embraced our own work. And from that golden age, I've worked out the 20 films which were seen by the greatest number of Australians, and which might be candidates for "without doubt the best ever made". I divided box office earnings by the average ticket price in the year the film was released, and came up with this chart:

The most popular Australian movies of all time
1. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
2 Babe (1995)
3 Crocodile Dundee 2 (1988)
4 The Man from Snowy River (1982)
5 Happy Feet (2006)
6 Moulin Rouge (2001)
7 Strictly Ballroom (1992)
8 Gallipoli (1981)
9 Mad Max Two (1981)
10 Priscilla Queen of the Dessert (1994)
11 Muriel's Wedding (1994)
12 Young Einstein (1988)
13 The Dish (2000)
14 The Piano (1993)
15 Phar Lap (1983)
16 Alvin Purple (1973)
17 Mad Max (1979)
18 Shine (1996)
19 The Castle (1997)
20 They're A Weird Mob (1966).

Of course, "most seen" is not necessarily the same as "best". There are others, just outside the top 20, which received critical acclaim: Picnic At Hanging Rock; Lantana; My Brilliant Career; Rabbit Proof Fence; Two Hands; Breaker Morant; Puberty Blues; Oscar and Lucinda and Kenny.

Which do you reckon was our all time best? And will we ever get there again? It's all a matter of opinion and we want yours. Please go to "Comments" and set the prime minister straight.

To learn about our all-time favourites from every country, go to The Films Australia loved

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in Who We Are at 06:58 AM
Comments (97)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Who We Are Update: Week 19

This week of the blog is now history. For the latest discussion of media, go here.
For the results of The Bogie Awards 2008, go to The Tribal Mind.

So far this week, the average audience shares in prime time stand at: ABC 16.6% Seven 27.1% Nine 26.1% Ten 25.2% SBS 5.1%..

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DOC MARTIN ABC 1,507,000 448,000 409,000 328,000 155,000 168,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,289,000 381,000 346,000 245,000 132,000 186,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,094,000 274,000 326,000 230,000 126,000 139,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,043,000 283,000 315,000 212,000 136,000 97,000
5 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,001,000 294,000 288,000 204,000 112,000 103,000
6 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 947,000 282,000 223,000 213,000 83,000 146,000
7 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 935,000 290,000 232,000 174,000 105,000 134,000
11 The BILL ABC 808,000 269,000 218,000 169,000 58,000 94,000
12 FAWLTY TOWERS Seven 775,000 238,000 185,000 160,000 54,000 137,000
13 RACING STRIPES -RPT Nine 758,000 209,000 219,000 149,000 71,000 110,000
14 M-PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL Seven 733,000 260,000 232,000 157,000 84,000
16 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 710,000 391,000 51,000 170,000 97,000
17 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 628,000 58,000 294,000 80,000 107,000 89,000
19 TOP GEAR RPT SBS 471,000 146,000 177,000 77,000 52,000 19,000
26 IPL TWENTY20 CRICKET - LIVE/DELAYED Ten 326,000 96,000 117,000 22,000 53,000 37,000
27 NINE'S SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 324,000 130,000 14,000 169,000 6,000 5,000
87 MY KID'S A STAR Nine 79,000 24,000 34,000 13,000 8,000 Not shown in Perth

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,392,000 406,000 383,000 260,000 161,000 182,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,318,000 355,000 352,000 261,000 159,000 190,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,171,000 423,000 369,000 254,000 125,000 Not shown
4 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT ABC 1,168,000 369,000 360,000 211,000 133,000 96,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC 1,122,000 305,000 380,000 200,000 106,000 131,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,103,000 286,000 347,000 224,000 127,000 118,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,082,000 335,000 287,000 204,000 112,000 144,000
8 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Ten 1,032,000 287,000 317,000 202,000 146,000 81,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 961,000 275,000 323,000 167,000 99,000 97,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 912,000 235,000 295,000 162,000 98,000 122,000
11 BIG BROTHER Ten 883,000 246,000 266,000 197,000 104,000 71,000
12 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 7: WEST COAST VS CARLTON Seven 854,000 26,000 442,000 24,000 144,000 218,000
24 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 469,000 300,000 Not shown 168,000 Not shown Not shown
27 I'M A CELEBRITY...GET ME OUT OF HERE Ten 453,000 149,000 121,000 73,000 77,000 33,000
37 TURN ME ON: THE HISTORY OF THE VIBRATOR RPT SBS 301,000 121,000 79,000 45,000 35,000 20,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Friday
Thursday's finale of The Biggest Loser went against the trend of failed finales (and, for that matter, failed debuts like Big Brother and Australia's Got Talent) and became the most watched show of the ratings year.

Sam Rouen, 20, started at 155 kilograms and ended at 83, so he lost 46 per cent of his body weight -- much more than Adro, the original Loser in our photo. But this year's finale attracted 400,000 fewer viewers than the 2006 finale, one of the most watched programs of all time (go to The culture for details).

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE BIGGEST LOSER - FINALE Ten 1,886,000 512,000 605,000 346,000 212,000 211,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,473,000 422,000 413,000 296,000 144,000 199,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,355,000 402,000 375,000 245,000 134,000 199,000
4 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES-THU Nine 1,216,000 317,000 397,000 202,000 130,000 169,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,216,000 364,000 298,000 264,000 113,000 176,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC 1,198,000 375,000 367,000 211,000 111,000 135,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,186,000 283,000 385,000 271,000 136,000 111,000
8 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,140,000 246,000 486,000 137,000 141,000 129,000
11 BIG BROTHER Ten 996,000 269,000 309,000 201,000 116,000 101,000
13 GETAWAY Nine 968,000 244,000 278,000 220,000 121,000 105,000
16 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 834,000 236,000 197,000 215,000 96,000 88,000
18 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 807,000 228,000 178,000 204,000 84,000 113,000
20 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 714,000 187,000 158,000 176,000 97,000 96,000
21 LOST Seven 683,000 178,000 206,000 134,000 82,000 83,000
24 THE STATE WITHIN ABC 647,000 197,000 163,000 118,000 69,000 101,000
29 FAMILY GUY Seven 490,000 117,000 178,000 70,000 69,000 57,000
34 AMERICAN DAD Seven 385,000 101,000 129,000 44,000 61,000 50,000
36 IPL TWENTY20 CRICKET Ten 355,000 117,000 100,000 53,000 45,000 41,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Remember when Channel Ten had a policy of replacing any show that wasn't working with a repeat of The Simpsons? Channel Nine has now adopted this policy with Golden Ramsay. It's called panic programming and it happened last night to Canal Road, the new Australian drama which Nine has written off after only two episodes. Nine bumped CR to 10.30pm (where it duly confirmed Nine's pessimism by attracting only 433,000) and replaced it with a Ramsay show which had already appeared on Pay TV. The panic programming was rewarded by an audience of nearly 1.3 million.

Seven's scheme to capitalise on publicity for the new Indiana Jones movie by showing an old Indiana Jones movie worked well in Melbourne (where they're not allowed to see Underbelly) but nowhere else. Underbelly's audience was up in every other city, and most of them hung around for Golden. Indy seems to have grabbed his viewers from House, which Ten is keeping in repeats until Underbelly finishes.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,639,000 438,000 435,000 339,000 164,000 262,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,490,000 397,000 415,000 287,000 149,000 243,000
3 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,382,000 325,000 393,000 287,000 159,000 219,000
4 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,344,000 669,000 267,000 168,000 240,000
5 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1,318,000 330,000 397,000 252,000 146,000 193,000
6 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,275,000 393,000 393,000 185,000 147,000 158,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,261,000 337,000 378,000 279,000 162,000 105,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,237,000 326,000 410,000 232,000 124,000 145,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,236,000 336,000 383,000 246,000 132,000 138,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,235,000 358,000 341,000 208,000 139,000 189,000
11 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,198,000 388,000 326,000 227,000 124,000 133,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,165,000 333,000 382,000 227,000 136,000 86,000
13 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,165,000 297,000 356,000 241,000 133,000 138,000
16 HOUSE RPT Ten 986,000 293,000 275,000 196,000 96,000 126,000
17 M-RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Seven 986,000 269,000 331,000 156,000 126,000 104,000
32 CANAL ROAD Nine 433,000 104,000 133,000 78,000 60,000 58,000
33 SECONDS FROM DISASTER Seven 427,000 136,000 137,000 56,000 58,000 40,000

On Monday, the new Big Brother got the lowest launching audience it has ever achieved -- 1.5 million. BB was even beaten by a repeat of Border Security, and did no damage at all to the Despos audience.

When The Tribal Mind announced on Monday that Kyle Sandilands had won the Black Bogie as the most annoying personality on the box, we didn't really think this would translate into a mass flight away from Channel Ten. But then again, the debut of Kyle and Jackie did do slightly better than Tuesday's debut of Dannii and her two boobs (Tom and Red). Perhaps Dannii was cursed by having a sister whose name sounds a bit like Kyle.

In our ratings chart today we've included the most successful of the daytime shows, in accordance with a reader's request.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,563,000 439,000 393,000 333,000 161,000 238,000
2 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,535,000 401,000 550,000 237,000 156,000 192,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,504,000 424,000 389,000 313,000 143,000 235,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,358,000 342,000 410,000 245,000 169,000 191,000
5 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,354,000 401,000 412,000 237,000 155,000 148,000
6 NCIS Ten 1,320,000 348,000 391,000 265,000 161,000 155,000
7 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,315,000 354,000 392,000 266,000 150,000 153,000
8 NCIS RPT Ten 1,267,000 305,000 404,000 221,000 169,000 168,000
9 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,251,000 340,000 384,000 229,000 129,000 169,000
14 20 TO 1 Nine 1,078,000 286,000 310,000 247,000 121,000 114,000
15 LADETTE TO LADY Nine 1,050,000 266,000 389,000 133,000 115,000 147,000
22 MISTRESSES Seven 678,000 203,000 245,000 99,000 66,000 65,000
28 BALLS OF STEEL Nine 497,000 156,000 167,000 59,000 60,000 55,000
29 M*A*S*H Seven 494,000 154,000 150,000 89,000 46,000 54,000
30 THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Ten 471,000 122,000 119,000 120,000 62,000 49,000
35 JUDGE JUDY Ten 381,000 99,000 113,000 79,000 47,000 43,000
40 HUEY'S COOKING ADVENTURES Ten 335,000 89,000 97,000 60,000 44,000 45,000
41 MY GOLDFISH IS EVIL ABC 332,000 67,000 120,000 66,000 48,000 30,000
66 THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW Ten 195,000 44,000 70,000 41,000 18,000 21,000
67 THE MORNING SHOW Seven 185,000 68,000 33,000 48,000 18,000 19,000
69 FRESH COOKING WITH THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY Nine 183,000 57,000 59,000 32,000 16,000 19,000
70 DR PHIL Ten 182,000 32,000 65,000 32,000 21,000 32,000
83 DAYS OF OUR LIVES Nine 145,000 40,000 50,000 27,000 17,000 11,000
88 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Nine 129,000 45,000 42,000 22,000 10,000 11,000
89 MORNINGS WITH KERRI-ANNE Nine 129,000 45,000 40,000 22,000 13,000 8,000
What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,677,000 475,000 421,000 348,000 193,000 240,000
2 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE (R) Seven 1,594,000 476,000 467,000 266,000 160,000 225,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,571,000 449,000 428,000 309,000 171,000 214,000
4 BIG BROTHER - LAUNCH SPECIAL Ten 1,511,000 487,000 435,000 276,000 162,000 151,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,367,000 431,000 341,000 289,000 120,000 185,000
6 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,312,000 380,000 428,000 229,000 111,000 164,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,285,000 360,000 386,000 298,000 131,000 111,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,260,000 344,000 393,000 273,000 124,000 125,000
9 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,258,000 361,000 351,000 217,000 161,000 168,000
10 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,175,000 310,000 348,000 220,000 125,000 172,000
11 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 1,148,000 337,000 330,000 224,000 86,000 170,000
12 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,142,000 321,000 323,000 214,000 134,000 149,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC 1,084,000 275,000 351,000 201,000 112,000 144,000
14 MORE THAN ENOUGH ROPE ABC 1,031,000 334,000 294,000 181,000 101,000 120,000
18 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 918,000 288,000 291,000 163,000 90,000 88,000
24 DIRTY SEXY MONEY Seven 757,000 220,000 274,000 122,000 62,000 78,000
39 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 354,000 80,000 111,000 87,000 40,000 36,000
81 30 ROCK Seven 184,000 64,000 51,000 23,000 20,000 25,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
The finale of So You Think You Can Dance Australia attracted 1.85 million viewers in the mainland capitals on Sunday night, making it one of the most watched shows in a year without big hits. Channel Ten won the night, with 32.3 per cent of the prime time audience (SBS 5.1%, ABC 12.1%, Seven 24.2%, Nine 26.4%).

Finales aren't a guaranteed success these days. Last Tuesday, the talent quest It Takes Two went out with a whimper, drawing only 1.4 million to see comedian Julia Morris triumph as a singer. ITT is replaced tomorrow night by Australia's Got Talent, which Seven seems to be promoting as a show about Dannii Minogue with a couple of boobs behind her as well as in front of her.

The second-last episode of SYTCDA pulled 1.5m last Sunday. Then last Monday, Ten replaced what should have been the finale with a socially responsible show about alcohol, ideally suited to Ten's target audience. But The Truth About Binge Drinking attracted only 786,000, as the dance fans took their alcopops to Desperate Housewives (1.4 million).

The TV reviewers declared that episode two of Nine's new Aussie drama Canal Road was less stupid than the first, but the viewers disagreed, and on Wednesday Canal Road sank by 170 000 to 831,000. Nevertheless, it should survive a little longer than My Kid's A Star which dropped 120,000 to 659,000.

Nine's hopes of recapturing the week with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Saturday were dashed when the ABC grabbed 1.4 million for Doc Martin, to Harry's 1.3 million. And Seven's last minute decision to replace Michael Palin's New Europe with the thousandth repeat of Fawlty Towers proved justified, when John Cleese pulled 839,000 viewers -- 100,000 more than his former Monty Python colleague. On Friday a total of 1.3 million people across three channels in the mainland capitals watched the coverage of the ANZAC march and the dawn service at Gallipoli. Nine should think about making this a weekly event and buying exclusive rights.

By week's end, audience shares in prime time were: Seven 29.0 per cent, Nine 27.6, Ten 22.0, ABC 16.2 and SBS 5.3. This week sees the finales of The Biggest Loser, Doc Martin and East of Everything. Will they all gather record audiences?

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - FINALE NIGHT Ten 1,847,000 576,000 533,000 347,000 173,000 218,000
2 SYTYCDA - WINNER ANNOUNCED Ten 1,821,000 546,000 536,000 333,000 194,000 211,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,774,000 502,000 454,000 365,000 193,000 261,000
4 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - FINAL WEIGH-IN Ten 1,561,000 471,000 495,000 243,000 153,000 200,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,504,000 450,000 470,000 265,000 189,000 130,000
6 60 MINUTES Nine 1,452,000 401,000 456,000 268,000 138,000 190,000
7 GLADIATORS Seven 1,366,000 377,000 416,000 279,000 134,000 160,000
8 CSI Nine 1,260,000 255,000 429,000 219,000 166,000 191,000
9 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 1,184,000 298,000 371,000 205,000 154,000 155,000
10 ROVE Ten 1,182,000 350,000 412,000 164,000 125,000 132,000
11 ANIMAL EMERGENCY Nine 1,123,000 281,000 290,000 237,000 141,000 174,000
12 RFDS: ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE Nine 1,121,000 298,000 295,000 232,000 136,000 159,000
13 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,104,000 264,000 329,000 222,000 134,000 155,000
14 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,088,000 322,000 331,000 200,000 111,000 124,000
15 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,035,000 230,000 340,000 181,000 136,000 148,000
17 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 860,000 275,000 269,000 141,000 92,000 82,000
19 ROBIN HOOD ABC 791,000 261,000 206,000 141,000 87,000 97,000
22 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 6: KANGAROOS VS SYDNEY Seven 662,000 107,000 296,000 8,000 128,000 124,000
24 EAST OF EVERYTHING ABC 655,000 209,000 184,000 117,000 59,000 86,000
28 NINE'S SUNDAY NRL Nine 485,000 296,000 Not shown 175,000 Not shown 14,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Pay TV subscribers watched, week ending April 28
1 LIVE: NRL COWBOYS V STORM Fox Sports 2 328,000
2 LIVE: NRL RAIDERS V STORM Fox Sports 2 322,000
3 LIVE: NRL SEA EAGLES V BULLDOGS Fox Sports 2 253,000
4 LIVE: NRL ROOSTERS V KNIGHTS Fox Sports 2 251,000
5 LIVE: NRL DRAGONS V ROOSTERS Fox Sports 2 243,000
6 AUSTRALIA'S NEXT TOP MODEL FOX8 242,000
7 LIVE: AFL CARLTON V ADELAIDE Fox Sports 1 230,000
8 SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA Lifestyle 214,000
9 FAMILY GUY FOX8 206,000
10 FUTURAMA FOX8 196,000
(OzTAM national)

What Australia watched, week ending April 26
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,765,000 520,000 462,000 336,000 206,000 241,000
2 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,764,000 457,000 490,000 363,000 183,000 271,000
3 60 MINUTES Nine 1,736,000 469,000 519,000 334,000 175,000 238,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1,690,000 426,000 550,000 379,000 164,000 171,000
5 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,624,000 450,000 505,000 316,000 146,000 207,000
6 GLADIATORS Seven 1,569,000 428,000 484,000 344,000 162,000 151,000
7 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - THURSDAY Nine 1,566,000 435,000 562,000 221,000 151,000 197,000
8 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,545,000 422,000 450,000 297,000 183,000 194,000
9 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1,521,000 452,000 390,000 306,000 178,000 195,000
10 SEVEN NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1,511,000 410,000 406,000 305,000 166,000 224,000
11 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,461,000 422,000 438,000 307,000 126,000 168,000
12 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,453,000 430,000 439,000 277,000 139,000 168,000
13 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,452,000 382,000 497,000 249,000 160,000 165,000
14 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - TUESDAY Nine 1,442,000 415,000 514,000 198,000 139,000 175,000
15 DOC MARTIN ABC 1,429,000 363,000 415,000 331,000 137,000 184,000
16 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,399,000 389,000 376,000 266,000 155,000 212,000
17 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1,369,000 382,000 379,000 258,000 145,000 206,000
18 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,362,000 387,000 422,000 244,000 153,000 156,000
19 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,358,000 404,000 372,000 278,000 154,000 149,000
20 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,345,000 376,000 410,000 249,000 139,000 171,000
21 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,341,000 449,000 403,000 219,000 138,000 132,000
22 NCIS Ten 1,326,000 343,000 362,000 299,000 146,000 176,000
23 THE BIGGEST LOSER - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,322,000 371,000 381,000 237,000 146,000 187,000
24 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,308,000 422,000 376,000 249,000 166,000 95,000
25 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE Nine 1,273,000 405,000 344,000 217,000 141,000 166,000
26 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,246,000 576,000 267,000 178,000 225,000
27 THE BIGGEST LOSER Ten 1,238,000 315,000 410,000 230,000 121,000 163,000
28 THE BIGGEST LOSER - ELIMINATION Ten 1,227,000 303,000 403,000 229,000 120,000 172,000
29 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,213,000 383,000 348,000 213,000 142,000 127,000
30 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,203,000 290,000 448,000 201,000 124,000 140,000
31 CSI Nine 1,202,000 299,000 328,000 247,000 133,000 196,000
32 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,201,000 349,000 301,000 238,000 131,000 182,000
33 NINE NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Nine 1,190,000 339,000 367,000 241,000 134,000 109,000
34 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,184,000 336,000 388,000 227,000 121,000 112,000
35 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,184,000 343,000 405,000 168,000 124,000 144,000
36 NCIS (R) Ten 1,164,000 316,000 330,000 229,000 131,000 157,000
37 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,154,000 343,000 336,000 234,000 131,000 110,000
38 ANIMAL EMERGENCY Nine 1,147,000 317,000 305,000 253,000 114,000 158,000
39 ANZAC DAY AFL Ten 1,102,000 83,000 606,000 111,000 151,000 151,000
40 BACK TO YOU Ten 1,101,000 301,000 316,000 233,000 129,000 123,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind, in whoweare-index at 10:01 AM
Comments (65)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The Who We Are update: Week 18

This week of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest discussion of television, go here.
For the results of The Bogie Awards 2008, go to The Tribal Mind.
The ratings race, updated 10am Saturday
At this point in the week, the average audience shares in prime time are: ABC 15.7% Seven 29.9% Nine 26.9% Ten 22.4% SBS 5.2%. Nine is relying on Harry Potter to save its bacon on Saturday night, but Channel Seven has put a big gun against the boy wizard: Basil Fawlty.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DOC MARTIN ABC 1,429,000 363,000 415,000 331,000 137,000 184,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,358,000 404,000 372,000 278,000 154,000 149,000
3 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE Nine 1,273,000 405,000 344,000 217,000 141,000 166,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,154,000 343,000 336,000 234,000 131,000 110,000
5 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,050,000 279,000 370,000 213,000 129,000 59,000
6 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Seven 1,025,000 338,000 292,000 183,000 110,000 102,000
7 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,022,000 280,000 304,000 219,000 94,000 125,000
8 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 963,000 269,000 269,000 179,000 99,000 146,000
9 FAWLTY TOWERS Seven 839,000 257,000 247,000 124,000 56,000 156,000
10 ABC NEWS UPDATE ABC 745,000 211,000 208,000 150,000 59,000 117,000
11 BILL ABC 721,000 203,000 235,000 137,000 54,000 92,000
13 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 672,000 323,000 51,000 122,000 176,000
14 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC 671,000 157,000 214,000 132,000 87,000 79,000
15 A TOUCH OF FROST (R) Seven 633,000 195,000 172,000 107,000 69,000 91,000
16 KEEPING UP APPEARANCES Seven 595,000 183,000 132,000 134,000 87,000 59,000
20 TOP GEAR (SERIES 1) SBS 467,000 128,000 118,000 130,000 55,000 35,000
26 IPL TWENTY20 CRICKET - LIVE/DELAYED Ten 349,000 117,000 92,000 50,000 41,000 49,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,523,000 428,000 406,000 310,000 157,000 223,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,306,000 384,000 320,000 250,000 154,000 198,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,285,000 408,000 392,000 237,000 147,000 101,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,227,000 397,000 393,000 210,000 133,000 94,000
5 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,213,000 422,000 376,000 249,000 166,000 Not shown
6 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT ABC 1,213,000 383,000 348,000 213,000 142,000 127,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,158,000 371,000 262,000 196,000 120,000 208,000
8 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,133,000 309,000 361,000 208,000 121,000 133,000
9 ANZAC DAY AFL Ten 1,102,000 83,000 606,000 111,000 151,000 151,000
13 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 6: FREMANTLE VS GEELONG Seven 864,000 18,000 441,000 6,000 144,000 254,000
21 ANZAC DAY MARCH 2008-AM ABC 707,000 294,000 129,000 148,000 78,000 58,000
24 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 586,000 305,000 281,000
31 GALLIPOLI DAWN SERVICE (2008)-PM ABC 441,000 150,000 120,000 92,000 31,000 47,000
32 SUNRISE Seven 388,000 126,000 86,000 93,000 34,000 49,000
33 SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL Seven 347,000 128,000 92,000 63,000 38,000 27,000
35 THE MORNING SHOW Seven 341,000 109,000 88,000 69,000 41,000 34,000
38 ANZAC DAY SPECIAL Seven 319,000 114,000 80,000 60,000 35,000 30,000
40 ANZAC DAY FROM THE MCG Ten 291,000 34,000 147,000 47,000 63,000
45 GALLIPOLI (Turkish documentary, not Aus movie) SBS 276,000 92,000 72,000 60,000 33,000 19,000
47 SEVEN MORNING NEWS Seven 269,000 85,000 66,000 58,000 34,000 27,000
48 NINE NEWS SPECIAL Nine 268,000 97,000 70,000 46,000 26,000 29,000
50 TODAY Nine 266,000 89,000 94,000 46,000 15,000 22,000
51 VILLERS-BRETONNEUX MEMORIAL SERVICE (2008)-PM ABC 263,000 101,000 41,000 49,000 30,000 42,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES-THURS Nine 1,566,000 435,000 562,000 221,000 151,000 197,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,343,000 381,000 377,000 245,000 138,000 202,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,276,000 366,000 371,000 211,000 126,000 200,000
4 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,153,000 291,000 400,000 223,000 105,000 135,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,103,000 308,000 285,000 218,000 120,000 172,000
6 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,100,000 263,000 446,000 145,000 116,000 130,000
7 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,089,000 343,000 299,000 218,000 96,000 132,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,041,000 328,000 293,000 182,000 103,000 136,000
9 GETAWAY Nine 1,041,000 310,000 299,000 201,000 95,000 136,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,036,000 300,000 304,000 217,000 101,000 114,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,019,000 270,000 347,000 196,000 91,000 116,000
12 MEDIUM Ten 961,000 267,000 269,000 170,000 108,000 146,000
13 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 931,000 233,000 291,000 189,000 91,000 126,000
14 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 893,000 320,000 240,000 147,000 80,000 106,000
17 JAMIE AT HOME RPT Ten 860,000 224,000 276,000 140,000 95,000 125,000
18 THAT '70S SHOW Seven 813,000 246,000 221,000 163,000 82,000 100,000
23 GALLIPOLI SUBMARINE ABC 661,000 227,000 155,000 128,000 75,000 75,000
24 LOST Seven 618,000 205,000 187,000 84,000 71,000 71,000
31 FAMILY GUY Seven 462,000 170,000 137,000 63,000 42,000 51,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,765,000 457,000 490,000 363,000 183,000 271,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,625,000 429,000 414,000 363,000 184,000 235,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,489,000 442,000 363,000 311,000 147,000 226,000
4 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1,371,000 382,000 379,000 258,000 145,000 209,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,261,000 381,000 315,000 270,000 114,000 180,000
6 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,237,000 574,000 266,000 175,000 223,000
7 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,230,000 310,000 395,000 217,000 119,000 190,000
8 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,194,000 288,000 445,000 200,000 123,000 138,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,103,000 299,000 348,000 228,000 125,000 103,000
10 BACK TO YOU Ten 1,097,000 299,000 314,000 234,000 129,000 122,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,096,000 306,000 328,000 238,000 122,000 102,000
14 HOUSE RPT Ten 1,001,000 241,000 320,000 196,000 111,000 133,000
20 CANAL ROAD Nine 831,000 258,000 239,000 104,000 110,000 119,000
23 THE IT CROWD ABC 810,000 191,000 319,000 128,000 68,000 104,000
26 MY KID'S A STAR Nine 659,000 225,000 192,000 95,000 67,000 81,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,624,000 449,000 506,000 316,000 146,000 207,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,485,000 403,000 396,000 306,000 157,000 221,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,453,000 395,000 408,000 270,000 176,000 204,000
4 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,452,000 430,000 439,000 276,000 139,000 168,000
5 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,434,000 415,000 511,000 197,000 139,000 172,000
6 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,373,000 343,000 451,000 253,000 135,000 191,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,328,000 344,000 362,000 299,000 146,000 176,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,217,000 320,000 386,000 248,000 157,000 106,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,193,000 333,000 398,000 222,000 123,000 116,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,192,000 311,000 335,000 256,000 134,000 155,000
11 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,180,000 342,000 403,000 167,000 124,000 144,000
12 NCIS RPT Ten 1,172,000 318,000 332,000 232,000 132,000 158,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC 1,125,000 317,000 329,000 223,000 104,000 151,000
14 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,041,000 295,000 335,000 214,000 103,000 94,000
15 LADETTE TO LADY Nine 911,000 290,000 298,000 99,000 103,000 121,000
19 NEIGHBOURS Ten 790,000 172,000 251,000 185,000 90,000 92,000
20 THE MOMENT OF TRUTH Nine 716,000 187,000 241,000 116,000 89,000 83,000
23 MY SHOCKING STORY Seven 608,000 205,000 172,000 95,000 68,000 68,000
24 BALLS OF STEEL Nine 539,000 201,000 174,000 45,000 59,000 60,000
25 STRESS BUSTER ABC 537,000 171,000 137,000 105,000 58,000 65,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,765,000 520,000 462,000 336,000 206,000 241,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,580,000 407,000 438,000 303,000 195,000 237,000
3 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,545,000 422,000 450,000 297,000 183,000 194,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,470,000 353,000 420,000 289,000 175,000 233,000
5 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,452,000 382,000 497,000 249,000 160,000 165,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,382,000 392,000 450,000 275,000 138,000 127,000
7 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,381,000 390,000 427,000 249,000 155,000 160,000
8 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,321,000 368,000 406,000 245,000 135,000 166,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,311,000 358,000 424,000 267,000 140,000 122,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,299,000 374,000 310,000 253,000 168,000 193,000
11 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - ELIMINATION Ten 1,225,000 303,000 402,000 229,000 120,000 172,000
14 MORE THAN ENOUGH ROPE ABC 962,000 267,000 275,000 185,000 100,000 135,000
15 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 958,000 275,000 278,000 201,000 75,000 129,000
16 CSI: NY Nine 942,000 273,000 275,000 168,000 132,000 94,000
18 DIRTY SEXY MONEY Seven 904,000 235,000 347,000 125,000 88,000 110,000
21 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 842,000 236,000 277,000 139,000 87,000 103,000
24 THE TRUTH ABOUT BINGE DRINKING Ten 786,000 162,000 268,000 156,000 88,000 112,000
30 BOSTON LEGAL (R) Seven 498,000 139,000 203,000 60,000 51,000 45,000
36 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 397,000 106,000 141,000 85,000 48,000 17,000
40 FOOTY CLASSIFIED Nine 336,000 208,000 78,000 50,000
49 30 ROCK Seven 279,000 67,000 117,000 28,000 32,000 34,000

The ratings race, updated 11am Monday
The embattled Channel Nine had good news and bad news during the week, but there was enough of the former to suggest that Seven won't have an easy victory this year. Having axed the game show The Power of Ten because it pulled less than 800,000 viewers, Nine found that its replacement David Attenborough's Life In Cold Blood charmed 1.3 million in the mainland capitals on Monday. Smart move.

Nine then felt confident in axing The Moment of Truth, which got only 741,000 on Tuesday, and replacing it this week with the venerable 20 To 1, hosted by Bert Newton, a star of Attenborough's vintage if not his authority. Nostalgia may not be what it was, but it can attract more viewers than public humiliation.

On Wednesday, having refrained from axing My Kid's A Star because it just topped 800,000 in its opening week, Nine found that the second episode was down to 780,000 - suggesting a short future for the talented juniors. But the Wednesday story had a happy ending when the new Aussie melodrama Canal Road managed a respectable 1.1 million at 9.30.

Thanks to a magical performance by Harry Potter on Saturday night (1.18m, just behind Doc Martin with 1.36m), Nine won the week, with prime time average audience shares standing at: ABC 16.7%; Seven 27.4% Nine 28.2% Ten 22.2% SBS 5.5%.

Then on Sunday, 60 Minutes got its top audience of the year, apparently by showing a segment on Gordon Ramsay that cynics might say was just more cross-promotion of Nine shows.

What pay TV subscribers watched last week
1 LIVE: NRL RABBITOHS V SHARKS Fox Sports 2 293,000
2 LIVE: NRL SHARKS V PANTHERS Fox Sports 2 292,000
3 LIVE & ACTIVE: NRL BULLDOGS V DRAGONS Fox Sports 2 280,000
4 LIVE: NRL RAIDERS V WESTS TIGERS Fox Sports 2 261,000
5 LIVE: AFL HAWTHORN V ADELAIDE Fox Sports 1 203,000
6 NRL COWBOYS V WARRIORS Fox Sports 2 192,000
7 FUTURAMA FOX8 183,000
8 LIVE: AFL BRISBANE LIONS V HAWTHORN Fox Sports 1 178,000
9 FAMILY GUY FOX8 174,000
10 LIVE: NRL WARRIORS V BULLDOGS Fox Sports 2 Sun 12:00 174 174 1,018 413

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,732,000 469,000 518,000 333,000 175,000 238,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,682,000 424,000 545,000 376,000 166,000 171,000
3 GLADIATORS Seven 1,560,000 423,000 482,000 345,000 163,000 149,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,520,000 452,000 392,000 306,000 177,000 194,000
5 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,466,000 424,000 439,000 307,000 127,000 169,000
6 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,347,000 447,000 398,000 219,000 138,000 145,000
7 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,315,000 369,000 379,000 236,000 145,000 186,000
8 CSI Nine 1,205,000 299,000 328,000 249,000 133,000 196,000
9 ANIMAL EMERGENCY Nine 1,147,000 317,000 304,000 252,000 114,000 161,000
10 RFDS: ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE Nine 1,093,000 310,000 288,000 238,000 118,000 138,000
11 ABC NEWS-SU ABC 1,086,000 357,000 287,000 198,000 115,000 129,000
12 ROVE Ten 1,004,000 271,000 347,000 169,000 93,000 124,000
13 POLICE FILES - UNLOCKED Seven 998,000 328,000 436,000 234,000
14 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 984,000 377,000 361,000 140,000 106,000
15 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 962,000 308,000 334,000 187,000 133,000
16 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 932,000 233,000 281,000 159,000 118,000 141,000
20 EAST OF EVERYTHING ABC 717,000 233,000 193,000 123,000 53,000 115,000
23 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 5: WESTERN BULLDOGS VS RICHMOND Seven 556,000 73,000 345,000 50,000 87,000
26 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 493,000 287,000 192,000 14,000
28 IPL TWENTY20 CRICKET Ten 467,000 141,000 151,000 56,000 55,000 64,000
31 COMPASS ABC 417,000 119,000 139,000 60,000 43,000 56,000
39 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 5: WEST COAST VS PORT ADELAIDE Seven 296,000 145,000 151,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending April 19
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1,726,000 392,000 538,000 363,000 203,000 231,000
2 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,672,000 416,000 436,000 366,000 202,000 252,000
3 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - THURSDAY Nine 1,630,000 484,000 559,000 219,000 167,000 201,000
4 BONDI RESCUE Ten 1,590,000 438,000 488,000 309,000 160,000 195,000
5 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,584,000 431,000 477,000 290,000 151,000 236,000
6 60 MINUTES Nine 1,559,000 408,000 501,000 326,000 126,000 199,000
7 SEVEN NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1,492,000 404,000 391,000 298,000 158,000 240,000
8 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA Ten 1,470,000 483,000 464,000 260,000 136,000 126,000
9 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Nine 1,469,000 382,000 441,000 276,000 172,000 198,000
10 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - TUESDAY Nine 1,457,000 391,000 566,000 191,000 154,000 155,000
11 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,443,000 428,000 445,000 223,000 147,000 199,000
12 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1,430,000 389,000 442,000 321,000 169,000 108,000
13 GLADIATORS Seven 1,427,000 399,000 434,000 259,000 172,000 162,000
14 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,410,000 373,000 389,000 267,000 146,000 235,000
15 DOC MARTIN ABC 1,364,000 376,000 376,000 309,000 136,000 168,000
16 IT TAKES TWO Seven 1,356,000 386,000 400,000 255,000 126,000 189,000
17 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - LIFE IN COLD BLOOD Nine 1,313,000 359,000 375,000 279,000 128,000 171,000
18 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,272,000 356,000 321,000 260,000 139,000 197,000
19 THE REAL SEACHANGE Seven 1,267,000 327,000 354,000 253,000 138,000 195,000
20 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Nine 1,267,000 345,000 318,000 252,000 156,000 196,000
21 NCIS Ten 1,263,000 325,000 348,000 256,000 142,000 192,000
22 SCU: SERIOUS CRASH UNIT Seven 1,260,000 293,000 413,000 232,000 122,000 201,000
23 UNDERBELLY Nine 1,249,000 531,000 315,000 164,000 240,000
24 THE BIGGEST LOSER Ten 1,248,000 333,000 395,000 226,000 137,000 157,000
25 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,241,000 379,000 412,000 174,000 112,000 164,000
26 SEVEN NEWS - SATURDAY Seven 1,230,000 335,000 315,000 259,000 104,000 218,000
27 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT ABC 1,223,000 375,000 366,000 212,000 123,000 146,000
28 THE BIGGEST LOSER - THE WEIGH-IN Ten 1,220,000 394,000 375,000 207,000 132,000 112,000
29 NINE NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Nine 1,215,000 321,000 379,000 261,000 142,000 112,000
30 THE BIGGEST LOSER - ELIMINATION Ten 1,212,000 313,000 415,000 209,000 147,000 128,000
31 GETAWAY Nine 1,198,000 378,000 347,000 230,000 115,000 128,000
32 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AUSTRALIA - RESULTS Ten 1,190,000 353,000 381,000 230,000 118,000 108,000
33 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,185,000 322,000 390,000 162,000 137,000 174,000
34 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN Nine 1,185,000 352,000 312,000 219,000 121,000 181,000
35 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,173,000 305,000 382,000 253,000 126,000 107,000
36 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,172,000 328,000 302,000 259,000 115,000 168,000
37 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,166,000 324,000 345,000 235,000 130,000 132,000
38 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,144,000 274,000 465,000 170,000 114,000 121,000
39 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,132,000 272,000 323,000 236,000 136,000 165,000
40 ANIMAL EMERGENCY Nine 1,127,000 258,000 329,000 257,000 115,000 167,000
41 RFDS: ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE Nine 1,121,000 254,000 343,000 253,000 114,000 156,000
42 ABC NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY ABC 1,112,000 321,000 337,000 215,000 104,000 135,000
43 ABC NEWS - SUNDAY ABC 1,108,000 336,000 294,000 203,000 118,000 156,000
44 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,103,000 329,000 344,000 198,000 115,000 117,000
45 CANAL ROAD Nine 1,089,000 312,000 355,000 160,000 105,000 156,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)
David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in whoweare-index at 08:36 AM
Comments (76)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Tribal Mind: A multi-tasking nation of time bandits

To vote for the most annoying people and programs on TV, go to The Bogies.
To learn which city is better -- Melbourne or Sydney, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
THE TEAM of highly paid sociologists who provide the statistical and moral underpinnings for this column love to take a conventional wisdom and prove it wrong, thereby demonstrating the superiority of science over media punditry. They had broad smiles on their faces when The Tribal Mind picked up its latest data package on Friday.

We'd asked them to dissect this assumption: that Australians are losing interest in mainstream television because newer pleasures are filling their time. When you have to listen to your iPod, play video games, muck round on the internet, fiddle with your mobile phone, watch DVDs, instant-message on MSN, pirate next month's movies and flaunt yourself on myface, blogbook and spacetube, something's got to give, and that something is the box in the corner. Yes, you own a giant screen, but the last thing you'd use it for is watching TV.

That conventional wisdom seems to be supported by the ratings charts, where a "hit" these days is any show that can pull more than 1.4 million viewers in the mainland capitals, while five years ago the hit threshold was 1.8 million. Channel Seven may be up and Nine may be down, but traditional television is really just a race between dinosaurs to see who can become extinct first.

To test this, our boffins hacked into the OzTAm mainframe and found ...

Average audience watching TV in the mainland capitals between 6pm and 10.30pm in the first 14 weeks of the year
2003: Nine 1,224,000; Seven 1,063,000; Ten 915,000; ABC 693,000; SBS 212,000; All Pay stations: 520,000.
2008: Nine 1,033,000; Seven 1,093,000; Ten 835,000; ABC 673,000; SBS 234,000; All pay stations: 778,000.

So the conventional wisdom is wrong. While the free stations have lost 208,000 viewers in five years, 258,000 more city people are watching Pay TV (where the 50 most popular shows this year have included 20 rugby league matches, eight AFL matches, five cricket matches, four soccer matches, two movies, An Aussie Goes Bolly, and series such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and Border Security, which have already been repeated on free TV).

But how could we actually be watching more television, when we've embraced an avalanche of alternative ways to waste time? Answer: Australians, notorious as early adopters with short attention spans, have learned to multi-task. We aren't replacing old media with new media -- we're sticking with the old and adding on the new.

Picture a typical 19 year old at 8.45 on a Monday night. On her big screen TV she has just switched from So You Think You Can Dance Australia to Desperate Housewives. She's got her laptop and her mobile open and, while updating her MySpace page, she's texting her friends about what movie they'll see tomorrow night. When the Despos are over, she'll watch a DVD of Blood Diamond.

And, of course, she's got The Sydney Morning Herald next to her, so she can catch up with that morning's Tribal Mind column (to which she'll respond by going to Comments, below). That's what the boffins tell me, anyway.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 05:18 AM
Comments (11)

Monday, April 14, 2008

The Bogies: You be the judge and jury

Voting has now closed. For the results of The Bogie Awards 2008, go to The Tribal Mind.
To discuss the best Australian movie ever made, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
The nominations are in. Now all we need are the votes. Readers responded with malicious enthusiasm to this column's call for audience participation in The 2008 Bogie Awards for the most annoying, embarrassing, overhyped and underrated programs, personalities and ads on Australian television.

Now, in the spirit of Big Brother, Australian Idol, It Takes Two, Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance Australia, we want to give you the illusion that you can make a difference. Lets hear your judgements, below, on the content of this nation's favourite way of wasting time during the past 12 months ...

Most annoying person: Kyle Sandilands; David Koch; Sonia Kruger; Andrew O'Keefe; Bindi Irwin; Mike Munro.
Most offputting commercial: the Coco Pops ad in which two turds with French accents harass a housewife; "the one where the tongue leaves the body in search of a drink"; the Commonwealth Bank ads, particularly the Mad Max koala; the one where the girl is accompanied by a beaver..
Most unnecessary program: Out of the Question; Rules of Engagement; Animal Emergency; The Power of Ten; 20 To 1..
Most unnecessary personality: Candice Falzon; Lara Bingle; Peter Harvey; Jackie O; Karl Stefanovic; Natalie Barr; Danny Weidler; The Sunrise "family"; Grant Denyer; Richard Reid (gossip reporter for Nine's Today).
Most unnecessary adaptation of an overseas show: Big Brother; The Chopping Block; 60 Minutes; Deal or No Deal; Top Gear Australia .
Most overhyped: Grey's Anatomy; Cashmere Mafia; Australia's Next Top Model; Big Brother; The Moment of Truth; The Neighbours relaunch.
Most Underrated: Nip/ Tuck; Grand Designs; Lost; Newstopia; 30 Rock; East-West 101; Jekyll; Boston Legal; Big Love; Life on Mars; Robin Hood; Brothers and Sisters.
Most jerked around by the networks: Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Scrubs; 30 Rock; Weeds; Stargate; Burn Notice; Battlestar Galactica; Lost.
Most missed: The Chaser's War on Everything; The Glasshouse; The Games; Summer Heights High; uninterrupted programs on SBS.
Most repeated: Love Actually; CSI; The Simpsons; Mean Girls; Bridget Jones; About a Boy; Futurama; Border Security; Friends; anything with Gordon Ramsay.
Worst network: Nine; SBS; Seven; Ten.
Most surprisingly smooth skin: Anne Sanders; Sandra Sully; Kerri-Anne Kennerly; Marcia Cross; Catriona Rowntree; Juanita Phillips; Richard Reid; Sigrid Thornton.
Most embarrassing program (the Naomi Robson Cup): My Kid's A Star; The Mint; The Moment of Truth; The Footy Show; The Sunrise special with Guy Sebastian; The Biggest Loser; Monster House; The Wedge; Two and a Half Men; Today Tonight; A Current Affair.
Furthest past use-by date (the Bert Newton Trophy): Tony Jones; Sam Newman; Paul Vautin; Kyle and Jackie O; Ray Martin; Barry Humphries (in any incarnation); Richard Wilkins; Daryl Somers.
The Black Bogie (the Eddie McGuire Chalice): Kyle Sandilands; David Koch; Richard Wilkins.

You could add more nominations, or vote on the ones already revealed. Once we've received your online votes, our panel of incorruptible accountants will tally them and determine the winners.

We propose to announce the result of your deliberations at a coruscating ceremony in the same week as the Logies. Sadly, we're sure there will be considerable overlap.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 08:08 AM
Comments (134)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

WHO WE ARE: The city we love to hate

To learn why State governments should be abolished, go to The next big thing.
To learn how Australians spend their spare time, go to The Tribal Mind

A column about Australia, by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 13/4/2008
The biggest city in the land has managed to inspire serious hatred out there, and not all of it comes from jealous Melburnians. Two weeks ago this column used new figures from the Bureau of Statistics to demonstrate that Melbourne is poorer, older, lonelier and less ethnically diverse than Sydney, but also k