The Sun-Herald

The Who We Are update: Week 28

This week of the blog is now history. For the latest media discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss why Pay TV programs have so few viewers, go to The Tribal Mind

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,368,000 416,000 352,000 281,000 125,000 193,000
2 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Network 7 1,237,000 277,000 403,000 237,000 136,000 184,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,172,000 268,000 401,000 241,000 152,000 110,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,155,000 279,000 361,000 224,000 149,000 142,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Network 7 926,000 253,000 270,000 205,000 82,000 116,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT Network ABC1 880,000 227,000 279,000 149,000 96,000 129,000
7 THE WIZARD OF OZ -RPT Network 9 878,000 214,000 297,000 153,000 80,000 134,000
8 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Network TEN 869,000 161,000 282,000 161,000 110,000 155,000
9 THE BILL Network ABC1 748,000 229,000 226,000 140,000 61,000 92,000
10 M-THE RECRUIT Network 7 725,000 162,000 214,000 157,000 76,000 116,000
11 BATMAN BEGINS -RPT Network 9 720,000 172,000 264,000 134,000 67,000 82,000
12 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Network TEN 704,000 357,000 131,000 120,000 96,000
13 GARDENING AUSTRALIA Network ABC1 658,000 156,000 226,000 112,000 80,000 84,000
14 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Network TEN 647,000 67,000 293,000 34,000 132,000 121,000
15 ABC NEWS UP-DATE Network ABC1 626,000 193,000 198,000 98,000 49,000 87,000
16 WILD AT HEART Network ABC1 625,000 181,000 171,000 148,000 58,000 69,000
17 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT Network ABC1 614,000 168,000 200,000 102,000 60,000 83,000

The ratings race, updated 11.55am Friday
Channel Nine won last night and clinched its hold on the week (with 27.7 per cent of the prime time audience to Seven's 26.6) but Pamela Anderson's hold on the younger audience slipped a little as Big Brother headed back down towards a million viewers.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,436,000 372,000 420,000 269,000 159,000 216,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,366,000 378,000 391,000 252,000 146,000 199,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,286,000 398,000 372,000 224,000 134,000 157,000
4 THE CELEBRITY SINGING BEE Nine 1,266,000 383,000 422,000 167,000 144,000 150,000
5 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,220,000 368,000 356,000 214,000 135,000 146,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,175,000 307,000 384,000 235,000 101,000 147,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,159,000 361,000 345,000 184,000 124,000 146,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,140,000 293,000 345,000 243,000 135,000 124,000
9 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,128,000 336,000 316,000 244,000 98,000 134,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,107,000 292,000 365,000 238,000 104,000 108,000
11 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,101,000 312,000 363,000 201,000 95,000 130,000
12 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,083,000 295,000 317,000 225,000 118,000 129,000
13 BONES Seven 1,075,000 293,000 324,000 213,000 106,000 139,000
14 BIG BROTHER - PAMELA ANDERSON'S TRICKS OF THE TRADE Ten 1,023,000 292,000 288,000 198,000 109,000 136,000
15 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,015,000 250,000 327,000 243,000 100,000 96,000
23 ALL NEW FUTURAMA Ten 804,000 214,000 256,000 136,000 84,000 114,000
24 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 797,000 222,000 313,000 88,000 91,000 82,000
29 Q & A ABC1 486,000 166,000 141,000 73,000 43,000 62,000
31 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 445,000 125,000 141,000 89,000 42,000 48,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
Give that woman a permanent job! The advent of Pamela Anderson brought an extra half million viewers to Big Brother and gave Channel Ten a bigger audience share than Channel Nine last night (24 per cent to 23.8). But a whole other bunch of viewers (we don't want to say smarter, funnier, and more socially aware, but you can) stuck with the ABC between 8pm and 10 pm, giving it a massive 20.6 per cent of the prime time audience. Give those Working Dogs a permanent program!

With all the action going on elsewhere, the new season of Prison Break slipped in unnoticed, as you'll see at the bottom of the chart, below.

Channel Seven won the night, thanks to RSPCA Animal Rescue, but not well enough to offset the huge lead Nine had established on Sunday. The prime time audience shares for the week stand at: Nine 27.7%, Seven 26.6%, Ten 21.0%, ABC 17.6% and SBS 7.2%.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,554,000 428,000 424,000 288,000 174,000 240,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,439,000 416,000 417,000 247,000 161,000 199,000
3 BIG BROTHER - PAMELA ANDERSON ENTERS THE HOUSE Ten 1,417,000 417,000 410,000 290,000 145,000 154,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,349,000 365,000 428,000 257,000 155,000 145,000
5 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,349,000 361,000 409,000 246,000 128,000 205,000
6 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,302,000 365,000 427,000 239,000 131,000 140,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,293,000 390,000 386,000 290,000 121,000 106,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,286,000 380,000 392,000 272,000 123,000 119,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,242,000 371,000 381,000 284,000 115,000 92,000
10 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,230,000 305,000 383,000 243,000 114,000 185,000
11 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,220,000 364,000 355,000 210,000 119,000 172,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,208,000 346,000 348,000 224,000 119,000 171,000
13 THE HOLLOWMEN ABC1 1,185,000 374,000 425,000 156,000 100,000 130,000
14 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,163,000 320,000 375,000 181,000 107,000 181,000
15 THE NEW INVENTORS ABC1 1,054,000 301,000 327,000 218,000 108,000 100,000
16 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 1,051,000 316,000 327,000 184,000 120,000 103,000
18 BIG BROTHER Ten 957,000 292,000 261,000 183,000 108,000 114,000
21 NUMB3RS Ten 900,000 245,000 292,000 178,000 98,000 87,000
22 COLD CASE Nine 886,000 261,000 267,000 170,000 89,000 99,000
23 FIRE 000 Nine 857,000 287,000 270,000 148,000 70,000 81,000
27 PRISON BREAK Seven 727,000 211,000 249,000 90,000 87,000 91,000
36 FOOD SAFARI RPT SBS 429,000 134,000 113,000 86,000 46,000 50,000
37 THE PASSIONATE APPRENTICES SBS 419,000 119,000 130,000 69,000 47,000 54,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,560,000 425,000 426,000 317,000 164,000 227,000
2 THE ONE - AUSTRALIA'S MOST GIFTED PSYCHIC Seven 1,468,000 411,000 374,000 327,000 157,000 199,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,447,000 429,000 476,000 232,000 153,000 157,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,385,000 377,000 367,000 285,000 157,000 200,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,343,000 376,000 397,000 276,000 151,000 143,000
6 WIPEOUT Nine 1,339,000 425,000 422,000 222,000 139,000 130,000
7 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,318,000 357,000 424,000 231,000 152,000 155,000
8 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,274,000 388,000 397,000 211,000 134,000 143,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,266,000 344,000 358,000 319,000 135,000 111,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,229,000 334,000 378,000 274,000 131,000 113,000
11 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,220,000 337,000 311,000 257,000 134,000 180,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,205,000 321,000 384,000 249,000 117,000 133,000
13 NCIS EP 1 RPT Ten 1,071,000 251,000 325,000 214,000 123,000 157,000
16 BORDER PATROL NZ Seven 936,000 271,000 263,000 202,000 102,000 97,000
21 BIG BROTHER Ten 857,000 250,000 245,000 177,000 91,000 94,000
22 LADETTE TO LADY Nine 792,000 246,000 284,000 96,000 87,000 79,000
26 RAMSAY'S BOILING POINT Seven 616,000 192,000 172,000 125,000 73,000 54,000
29 MEDICAL MAVERICKS: THE HISTORY OF SELF-EXPERIMENTATION-EV ABC1 549,000 165,000 133,000 116,000 71,000 64,000
32 BILL GATES: HOW A GEEK CHANGED THE WORLD SBS 519,000 167,000 148,000 107,000 44,000 53,000
34 HOW TO HAVE SEX AFTER MARRIAGE Nine 477,000 160,000 122,000 77,000 63,000 55,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,583,000 417,000 518,000 260,000 163,000 225,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,548,000 423,000 406,000 328,000 145,000 245,000
3 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,485,000 436,000 432,000 280,000 130,000 208,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,426,000 417,000 371,000 276,000 139,000 224,000
5 SURF PATROL Seven 1,408,000 384,000 445,000 254,000 137,000 190,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,383,000 391,000 442,000 277,000 152,000 121,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,313,000 355,000 437,000 260,000 139,000 123,000
8 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,309,000 369,000 421,000 197,000 148,000 174,000
9 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,270,000 363,000 394,000 229,000 137,000 147,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,242,000 362,000 412,000 248,000 132,000 89,000
13 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE OF MAMMALS Nine 1,197,000 327,000 335,000 250,000 138,000 148,000
18 ELDERS WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 876,000 261,000 273,000 154,000 75,000 113,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 867,000 224,000 263,000 157,000 109,000 114,000
20 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 862,000 244,000 283,000 131,000 102,000 101,000
21 BIG BROTHER NOMINATION Ten 853,000 240,000 252,000 153,000 99,000 109,000
22 TOP GEAR SBS 838,000 224,000 254,000 145,000 110,000 106,000
23 THE F WORD Nine 806,000 178,000 308,000 127,000 93,000 101,000
26 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 731,000 238,000 190,000 151,000 57,000 95,000
27 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 713,000 213,000 249,000 80,000 84,000 87,000
29 MARK LOVES SHARON Ten 676,000 196,000 215,000 94,000 97,000 74,000
41 30 ROCK Seven 372,000 118,000 129,000 36,000 52,000 38,000

Channel Nine and the ABC broke records last week, and Channel Seven breathed a sigh of relief. The 2.14 million viewers in the mainland capitals who watched last Wednesday's State of Origin game was the highest audience for such an event since OzTAM started measuring ratings in 2001. The 1.25 million who gathered on Sunday to see Kylie Minogue in French maid uniform was the highest audience for any Dr Who episode.

And now that the big biffo is over until grand final time, Channel Seven can get on with its attempt to prove it can win the second half of the year without needing to include the two weeks of the Olympics. Seven's fightback continues tomorrow with episodes of an ancient Gordon Ramsay series and on Wednesday with the replacement of Ugly Betty with the traditional family favourite RSPCA Animal Rescue, which is "counterprogrammed" against Nine's Fire 000.

The ABC benefitted by providing a refuge for the biffophobes on Wednesday, drawing 1.1 million for both Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer. SBS drew 872,000 for Top Gear (see the Top 40, below).

Seven is cheered by the notion that if Nine had not swamped Wednesday with the State of Origin, the week's audience shares would have been very different from: Nine 29.5 per cent, Seven 27.6, Ten 19.8, ABC 17.5 and SBS 5.6.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,946,000 571,000 559,000 362,000 211,000 242,000
2 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,578,000 481,000 479,000 264,000 168,000 185,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,565,000 475,000 509,000 242,000 194,000 145,000
4 CSI Nine 1,555,000 388,000 467,000 306,000 188,000 207,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,527,000 341,000 452,000 345,000 166,000 222,000
6 GLADIATORS Seven 1,258,000 287,000 430,000 239,000 135,000 168,000
7 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,227,000 369,000 332,000 254,000 116,000 155,000
8 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Seven 1,159,000 326,000 382,000 200,000 123,000 129,000
9 DOCTOR WHO ABC1 1,112,000 381,000 282,000 229,000 88,000 133,000
10 VALENTINE'S DAY ABC1 1,037,000 330,000 353,000 140,000 99,000 115,000
13 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 965,000 256,000 306,000 172,000 113,000 119,000
14 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 935,000 302,000 271,000 170,000 89,000 103,000
15 DEXTER Ten 932,000 241,000 337,000 129,000 91,000 133,000
17 DOCTOR WHO: CONFIDENTIAL CUTDOWN ABC1 921,000 292,000 272,000 178,000 75,000 104,000
18 ROVE Ten 871,000 241,000 296,000 131,000 90,000 112,000
21 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 753,000 222,000 224,000 116,000 93,000 98,000
23 WIMBLEDON MEN'S FINAL Nine 656,000 182,000 208,000 95,000 68,000 102,000
24 LIPSTICK JUNGLE Seven 642,000 199,000 221,000 104,000 58,000 58,000
27 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 459,000 275,000 167,000 17,000
28 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Ten 444,000 118,000 162,000 53,000 52,000 58,000
29 TRINNY & SUSANNAH UNDRESS Seven 421,000 115,000 143,000 68,000 55,000 40,000
31 CAR OF THE FUTURE SBS 372,000 107,000 111,000 74,000 44,000 36,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending July 5
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE 3 - MATCH Network 9 2,145,000 920,000 329,000 708,000 81,000 107,000
2 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,810,000 523,000 519,000 354,000 185,000 229,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,661,000 454,000 489,000 275,000 205,000 239,000
4 CITY HOMICIDE Network 7 1,611,000 441,000 541,000 282,000 158,000 188,000
5 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Network 7 1,587,000 508,000 410,000 235,000 221,000 214,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,571,000 450,000 428,000 398,000 146,000 149,000
7 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,557,000 435,000 427,000 294,000 161,000 241,000
8 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,514,000 395,000 448,000 291,000 182,000 198,000
9 BORDER SECURITY (R) Network 7 1,503,000 425,000 433,000 262,000 160,000 224,000
10 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,495,000 459,000 416,000 249,000 171,000 199,000
11 CSI Network 9 1,469,000 375,000 462,000 276,000 183,000 174,000
12 STATE OF ORIGIN PRE MATCH Network 9 1,403,000 583,000 269,000 459,000 92,000
13 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,383,000 410,000 410,000 230,000 140,000 193,000
14 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,369,000 401,000 377,000 230,000 153,000 207,000
15 HELL'S KITCHEN Network 9 1,354,000 379,000 446,000 205,000 138,000 187,000
16 GETAWAY Network 9 1,348,000 444,000 371,000 239,000 119,000 175,000
17 NCIS Network TEN 1,313,000 344,000 358,000 243,000 168,000 200,000
18 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE OF MAMMALS Network 9 1,303,000 345,000 398,000 255,000 155,000 150,000
19 STATE OF ORIGIN POST MATCH Network 9 1,290,000 516,000 253,000 459,000 62,000
20 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Network 9 1,266,000 363,000 441,000 224,000 125,000 115,000
21 PRIVATE PRACTICE Network 7 1,263,000 412,000 405,000 215,000 108,000 124,000
22 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,251,000 278,000 330,000 291,000 128,000 224,000
23 DOCTOR WHO: VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED Network ABC1 1,248,000 434,000 344,000 214,000 111,000 145,000
24 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,224,000 338,000 384,000 240,000 133,000 129,000
25 NCIS RPT Network TEN 1,211,000 349,000 333,000 191,000 144,000 194,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,198,000 367,000 313,000 210,000 133,000 176,000
27 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,198,000 335,000 378,000 244,000 135,000 106,000
28 WORLD'S GOT TALENT Network 7 1,196,000 365,000 352,000 181,000 156,000 143,000
29 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,186,000 323,000 384,000 223,000 106,000 150,000
30 ABC NEWS-SUN Network ABC1 1,185,000 354,000 349,000 243,000 103,000 135,000
31 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,176,000 327,000 332,000 238,000 161,000 117,000
32 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Network 7 1,159,000 348,000 384,000 174,000 115,000 138,000
33 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,156,000 323,000 370,000 245,000 118,000 99,000
34 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,148,000 381,000 366,000 127,000 140,000 135,000
35 GLADIATORS Network 7 1,136,000 316,000 376,000 207,000 121,000 115,000
36 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,127,000 329,000 264,000 242,000 115,000 178,000
37 SPICKS AND SPECKS-EV Network ABC1 1,126,000 304,000 395,000 172,000 140,000 115,000
38 THE SIMPSONS TUES Network TEN 1,126,000 316,000 344,000 172,000 141,000 152,000
39 WITHOUT A TRACE Network 9 1,119,000 300,000 368,000 175,000 152,000 124,000
40 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Network TEN 1,106,000 324,000 354,000 186,000 134,000 109,000
(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 06:12 AM
• Comments (67)

The Who We Are Update: Week 27

To learn what the world would be like if there were no Australia, go to Who We Are.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,251,000 278,000 330,000 291,000 128,000 224,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,176,000 327,000 332,000 238,000 161,000 117,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,127,000 329,000 264,000 242,000 115,000 178,000
4 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Network 7 948,000 241,000 257,000 229,000 102,000 120,000
5 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Network TEN 892,000 227,000 246,000 175,000 94,000 151,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT Network ABC1 885,000 246,000 274,000 182,000 78,000 105,000
7 STUART LITTLE 2 -RPT Network 9 836,000 282,000 187,000 158,000 99,000 110,000
8 THE BILL Network ABC1 795,000 224,000 235,000 155,000 79,000 103,000
9 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Network TEN 775,000 123,000 387,000 50,000 101,000 114,000
12 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT Network ABC1 671,000 195,000 202,000 122,000 79,000 72,000
13 WILD AT HEART Network ABC1 668,000 217,000 141,000 171,000 64,000 75,000
14 THE WEDDING SINGER Network 9 658,000 260,000 172,000 131,000 94,000
17 SEVEN'S R.U: AUS V FRA Network 7 535,000 262,000 37,000 189,000 17,000 29,000
25 WIMBLEDON WOMEN'S FINAL Network 9 422,000 138,000 117,000 57,000 53,000 57,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,495,000 459,000 416,000 249,000 171,000 199,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,453,000 418,000 365,000 255,000 174,000 241,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,274,000 403,000 304,000 220,000 159,000 187,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,139,000 349,000 303,000 229,000 132,000 125,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,116,000 347,000 255,000 206,000 141,000 167,000
6 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,089,000 311,000 298,000 228,000 145,000 107,000
7 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,056,000 237,000 376,000 204,000 98,000 141,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,019,000 260,000 296,000 239,000 123,000 101,000
9 SILENT WITNESS Network ABC1 988,000 266,000 300,000 188,000 111,000 124,000
11 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Network TEN 875,000 220,000 256,000 155,000 124,000 120,000
14 SPOOKS Network ABC1 813,000 225,000 247,000 164,000 75,000 102,000
18 BIG BROTHER Network TEN 742,000 199,000 192,000 143,000 93,000 115,000
19 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 14: ADELAIDE VS GEELONG Network 7 741,000 24,000 430,000 12,000 153,000 122,000
21 RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS RPT Network TEN 567,000 147,000 200,000 86,000 72,000 63,000
22 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 562,000 359,000 204,000
32 WIMBLEDON D11 Network 9 396,000 153,000 105,000 63,000 34,000 40,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,476,000 400,000 418,000 273,000 148,000 237,000
2 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,347,000 379,000 443,000 204,000 136,000 186,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,347,000 444,000 371,000 238,000 119,000 175,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,225,000 369,000 355,000 207,000 120,000 174,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,208,000 352,000 385,000 248,000 116,000 108,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,206,000 353,000 378,000 233,000 93,000 149,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,152,000 315,000 360,000 235,000 123,000 120,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,113,000 329,000 287,000 209,000 120,000 167,000
9 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,107,000 324,000 354,000 186,000 134,000 109,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,095,000 301,000 341,000 229,000 112,000 112,000
11 BONES Seven 1,074,000 312,000 297,000 224,000 110,000 131,000
12 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,009,000 292,000 341,000 151,000 115,000 111,000
13 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,008,000 192,000 418,000 153,000 116,000 129,000
14 CATALYST ABC1 984,000 262,000 304,000 205,000 97,000 116,000
15 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 980,000 280,000 316,000 251,000 134,000
16 7.30 REPORT ABC1 974,000 282,000 309,000 187,000 90,000 105,000
17 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 918,000 291,000 278,000 228,000 120,000
18 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 876,000 243,000 243,000 181,000 99,000 111,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 860,000 215,000 271,000 153,000 116,000 104,000
20 ALL NEW FUTURAMA Ten 858,000 171,000 319,000 130,000 108,000 129,000
21 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 845,000 219,000 244,000 146,000 103,000 133,000
22 FUTURAMA RPT Ten 825,000 178,000 311,000 133,000 80,000 123,000
23 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 768,000 238,000 267,000 90,000 86,000 87,000
24 THE GIL MAYO MYSTERIES ABC1 768,000 242,000 205,000 155,000 74,000 92,000
29 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW -RPT Nine 560,000 175,000 178,000 76,000 78,000 53,000
31 Q & A ABC1 504,000 186,000 158,000 71,000 43,000 46,000
33 FAMILY GUY Seven 478,000 146,000 163,000 54,000 64,000 51,000
35 AMERICAN DAD Seven 423,000 147,000 136,000 46,000 47,000 47,000
37 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 370,000 100,000 112,000 75,000 41,000 42,000
41 SUNRISE Seven 302,000 99,000 56,000 74,000 30,000 43,000
45 BLUE WATER HIGH ABC1 280,000 104,000 81,000 39,000 37,000 19,000
46 WIMBLEDON D10 Nine 278,000 88,000 98,000 44,000 28,000 19,000
49 TODAY Nine 270,000 103,000 73,000 40,000 22,000 31,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE 3 - MATCH Nine 2,144,000 912,000 332,000 705,000 89,000 107,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,587,000 435,000 462,000 306,000 140,000 244,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,425,000 406,000 407,000 246,000 145,000 221,000
4 STATE OF ORIGIN PRE MATCH Nine 1,339,000 555,000 265,000 428,000 91,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,237,000 366,000 351,000 264,000 114,000 141,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,218,000 382,000 325,000 204,000 127,000 180,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,166,000 314,000 376,000 234,000 122,000 119,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,158,000 314,000 370,000 236,000 114,000 123,000
9 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,115,000 300,000 391,000 169,000 141,000 114,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,088,000 283,000 365,000 251,000 108,000 82,000
11 7.30 REPORT ABC1 1,064,000 316,000 305,000 188,000 107,000 149,000
12 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,058,000 284,000 392,000 149,000 113,000 119,000
13 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,003,000 292,000 306,000 165,000 117,000 125,000
16 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 906,000 201,000 347,000 136,000 107,000 115,000
20 BIG BROTHER Ten 861,000 238,000 252,000 163,000 92,000 116,000
22 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 836,000 190,000 389,000 138,000 118,000
23 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Ten 815,000 191,000 308,000 113,000 86,000 117,000
24 HOUSE RPT Ten 797,000 186,000 285,000 78,000 106,000 142,000
27 BACK TO YOU Ten 736,000 152,000 286,000 94,000 85,000 118,000
34 FOOD SAFARI RPT SBS 461,000 131,000 129,000 97,000 53,000 50,000
35 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 460,000 147,000 150,000 51,000 56,000 56,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
Channel Seven won last night and would have had a chance of winning the week if not for tonight's biffo, which will keep Nine on top.

The biggest program this year on Pay TV, Australia's Next Top Model, totalled 203,139 viewers in the mainland capitals over the two showings of its finale last night. One of history's unanswerable questions is whether it would have done better or worse if Jodhi Meares had been able to conquer her nerves and actually turn up to do her hosting duties. But her replacement Charlotte Dawson got the opportunity to show she should be next year's host.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,587,000 508,000 410,000 235,000 221,000 214,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,552,000 469,000 409,000 281,000 165,000 228,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,417,000 426,000 387,000 216,000 170,000 219,000
4 NCIS Ten 1,312,000 343,000 359,000 243,000 168,000 200,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,294,000 354,000 433,000 233,000 138,000 136,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,277,000 401,000 339,000 210,000 140,000 188,000
7 NCIS RPT Ten 1,214,000 350,000 334,000 192,000 145,000 194,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,213,000 328,000 410,000 239,000 140,000 95,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,207,000 333,000 398,000 217,000 114,000 145,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,201,000 337,000 407,000 251,000 119,000 87,000
11 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,148,000 381,000 366,000 127,000 140,000 135,000
14 WORLD'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,054,000 365,000 352,000 181,000 156,000
19 E.J. WHITTEN LEGENDS GAME Nine 795,000 Not shown 538,000 Not shown 100,000 157,000
21 BAD LADS ARMY Nine 724,000 221,000 222,000 117,000 81,000 83,000
25 MEDICAL MAVERICKS: THE HISTORY OF SELF-EXPERIMENTATION ABC1 650,000 219,000 206,000 78,000 71,000 75,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,714,000 451,000 479,000 353,000 178,000 253,000
2 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,611,000 441,000 541,000 282,000 158,000 188,000
3 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,503,000 425,000 433,000 262,000 160,000 224,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,494,000 403,000 428,000 259,000 170,000 235,000
5 SURF PATROL Seven 1,383,000 410,000 410,000 230,000 140,000 193,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,363,000 429,000 436,000 257,000 132,000 109,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,355,000 354,000 445,000 271,000 147,000 138,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,312,000 368,000 425,000 266,000 159,000 94,000
9 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE OF MAMMALS Nine 1,302,000 345,000 397,000 255,000 155,000 150,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,268,000 377,000 359,000 219,000 135,000 178,000
11 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,267,000 363,000 440,000 224,000 125,000 115,000
14 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 957,000 273,000 280,000 200,000 98,000 106,000
17 TOP GEAR SBS 872,000 281,000 261,000 134,000 100,000 95,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 860,000 242,000 258,000 167,000 110,000 82,000
23 BIG BROTHER NOMINATION Ten 793,000 225,000 237,000 157,000 88,000 86,000
25 MARK LOVES SHARON Ten 781,000 208,000 215,000 135,000 114,000 109,000
26 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 744,000 250,000 287,000 88,000 68,000 50,000
30 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Nine 639,000 144,000 239,000 93,000 104,000 60,000
31 BIG BROTHER - BIG MOUTH Ten 558,000 161,000 169,000 87,000 77,000 64,000
39 WIMBLEDON D7 Nine 379,000 115,000 140,000 51,000 40,000 34,000
42 SUNRISE Seven 336,000 102,000 65,000 90,000 28,000 51,000
44 BOSTON LEGAL (R) Seven 315,000 115,000 200,000 Not shown Not shown Not shown
51 TODAY Nine 283,000 96,000 79,000 54,000 23,000 32,000
54 30 ROCK Seven 255,000 44,000 91,000 48,000 40,000 33,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

It was the battle of the Australian icons last week, as Dannii Minogue took on Schappelle Corby. And although Dannii scored a technical knockout, Schappelle performed strongly enough to let Channel Nine win the week and conclude the first half of the year with a higher audience share than Channel Seven. Nine has averaged 27.8 per cent for the ratings year so far, a rise of 1 per cent, while Seven averaged 27.7, a fall of 6 per cent. Full details below.

Then on Sunday night, Dannii's sister helped Doctor Who to the biggest audience he's ever achieved in Australia. Many people who don't normally watch television must have been pulled back to the box, because every network did well.

Nine got huge numbers for 60 Minutes and Domestic Blitz, while Seven's Gladiators and Choirs were only down because Perth was watching football at that time. Seven's new Private Practice attracted the same sort of audience that usually tunes to Grey's Anatomy (but lost them once Lipstick Jungle came on). And Ten has to be happy that the Big Brother eviction topped a million.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,814,000 523,000 521,000 354,000 186,000 229,000
2 NINE NEWS SUN Nine 1,659,000 454,000 491,000 275,000 201,000 239,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,574,000 450,000 428,000 398,000 146,000 151,000
4 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,512,000 395,000 446,000 290,000 183,000 198,000
5 CSI Nine 1,470,000 377,000 460,000 276,000 182,000 174,000
6 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 1,262,000 412,000 405,000 215,000 108,000 123,000
7 DOCTOR WHO: VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED ABC1 1,248,000 434,000 344,000 214,000 111,000 145,000
8 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,185,000 354,000 349,000 243,000 103,000 135,000
9 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,140,000 303,000 371,000 178,000 156,000 132,000
10 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Seven 1,021,000 348,000 384,000 174,000 115,000 Not shown in Perth because of football
11 GLADIATORS Seven 1,020,000 316,000 376,000 207,000 121,000 Not shown in Perth because of football
12 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,003,000 301,000 287,000 178,000 124,000 112,000
13 ROVE Ten 933,000 295,000 287,000 145,000 100,000 106,000
14 LIPSTICK JUNGLE Seven 925,000 275,000 361,000 124,000 80,000 85,000
17 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 829,000 272,000 188,000 151,000 103,000 115,000
20 SUPERNATURAL Ten 661,000 190,000 183,000 119,000 80,000 88,000
23 THE GIRLS FROM BELARUS ABC1 571,000 176,000 160,000 93,000 56,000 85,000
24 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 531,000 268,000 73,000 168,000 22,000
31 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Ten 347,000 122,000 79,000 59,000 47,000 39,000
33 CITIES OF LIGHT: THE RISE AND FALL OF ISLAMIC SPAIN SBS 333,000 103,000 103,000 75,000 23,000 29,000

The margin between Nine and Seven for the first half of the ratings year is so fine that Nine can't take any risks for the second half, which is why it announced late on Friday it had axed Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune. It was providing a lead-in of only 585,000 viewers for Nine's 6pm news while its rival, Deal or No Deal, hands over 890,000 to Seven's news, and sets Seven up nicely for the night. Wheel will be replaced by Antiques Roadshow, which may be an appropriate label for most of what we'll be seeing this year (go here for details).

The most watched shows of the week were Seven news Sunday 1.77m; 60 Minutes (9) 1.76m; Australia's Got Talent (7) 1.73m; Schappelle Corby: The Hidden Truth (9) 1.54m for part one and 1.28m for Part 2, when viewers realised they were not going to learn Whodunit.

Nine averaged 28.8 per cent of the prime time audience for the week, while Seven got 27.7, Ten 19.9, ABC 17.5 and SBS 6.0. The ABC's hottest hits were Spicks and Specks with 1.35m and the Sunday news with 1.21m. SBS scored with the Top Gear Botswana special (928,000) and The Passionate Apprentices (485,000). Pay TV's top performers included Australia's Next Top Model (Fox 8) with 320,000, the Titans v Dragons rugby league match (Fox Sports 2) 295,000, the Australia vs China soccer qualifier (Fox Sports 3) 217,000, and Selling Houses Australia (Lifestyle) 180,000.

What Australia watched, week ending June 28
Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,774,000 419,000 566,000 396,000 150,000 244,000
2 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,762,000 553,000 540,000 295,000 195,000 178,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Network 7 1,733,000 460,000 516,000 318,000 203,000 235,000
4 SCHAPELLE CORBY: THE HIDDEN TRUTH Network 9 1,589,000 512,000 430,000 275,000 169,000 202,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,564,000 407,000 416,000 317,000 172,000 252,000
6 BORDER SECURITY (R) Network 7 1,547,000 416,000 487,000 272,000 161,000 211,000
7 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,506,000 462,000 454,000 266,000 160,000 163,000
8 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Network 9 1,486,000 430,000 467,000 239,000 159,000 191,000
9 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,480,000 446,000 430,000 324,000 175,000 105,000
10 NCIS Network TEN 1,473,000 360,000 454,000 319,000 160,000 179,000
11 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,461,000 436,000 458,000 244,000 135,000 188,000
12 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,415,000 386,000 395,000 257,000 154,000 223,000
13 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S BEAR - A SPY IN THE WOODS Network 9 1,402,000 376,000 402,000 276,000 154,000 195,000
14 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,362,000 363,000 445,000 236,000 149,000 169,000
15 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,351,000 324,000 397,000 304,000 136,000 190,000
16 SPICKS AND SPECKS Network ABC1 1,350,000 429,000 401,000 247,000 127,000 146,000
17 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Network 7 1,344,000 342,000 468,000 232,000 133,000 169,000
18 GETAWAY Network 9 1,338,000 380,000 429,000 242,000 136,000 151,000
19 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,300,000 357,000 419,000 224,000 138,000 163,000
20 SCHAPELLE CORBY: THE HIDDEN TRUTH - PART 2 Network 9 1,280,000 398,000 340,000 239,000 140,000 164,000
21 GLADIATORS Network 7 1,264,000 277,000 413,000 258,000 153,000 163,000
22 GREY'S ANATOMY Network 7 1,259,000 377,000 436,000 209,000 113,000 124,000
23 SEARCH & RESCUE Network 9 1,245,000 344,000 398,000 229,000 129,000 144,000
24 FIRE 000 Network 9 1,243,000 373,000 385,000 228,000 123,000 134,000
25 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,211,000 314,000 388,000 257,000 141,000 110,000
26 ABC NEWS-SUN Network ABC1 1,207,000 333,000 373,000 241,000 117,000 142,000
27 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,198,000 322,000 367,000 241,000 132,000 136,000
28 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,193,000 336,000 326,000 224,000 135,000 173,000
29 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,183,000 337,000 370,000 224,000 109,000 143,000
30 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,180,000 288,000 402,000 248,000 105,000 138,000
31 HELL'S KITCHEN Network 9 1,179,000 299,000 427,000 151,000 137,000 166,000
32 THE GRUEN TRANSFER Network ABC1 1,172,000 375,000 364,000 219,000 87,000 126,000
33 NCIS RPT Network TEN 1,163,000 305,000 354,000 191,000 160,000 153,000
34 MY NAME IS EARL - THU Network 7 1,143,000 290,000 349,000 227,000 102,000 174,000
35 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,140,000 320,000 354,000 237,000 123,000 106,000
36 CRIMINAL MINDS Network 7 1,137,000 281,000 334,000 244,000 125,000 152,000
37 THE SIMPSONS TUES Network TEN 1,118,000 307,000 372,000 207,000 119,000 113,000
38 SILENT WITNESS Network ABC1 1,110,000 347,000 332,000 175,000 131,000 126,000
39 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,105,000 307,000 360,000 213,000 121,000 104,000
40 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Network 7 1,085,000 292,000 319,000 214,000 102,000 158,000
41 CRIMINAL MINDS - MON Network 7 1,078,000 287,000 306,000 228,000 128,000 130,000
42 WILD CHINA Network ABC1 1,065,000 279,000 310,000 224,000 115,000 137,000
(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 04:07 PM
• Comments (63)

The Who We Are update: Week 29

This week of the blog is now history. For the latest media discusion, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss the DVDs Australians love most, go to The Tribal Mind
To discuss what the world would be like without Australia, go to Who We Are

The ratings race, updated 10am Sunday
Seven won Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Nine won Sunday, Thursday and Saturday. At the end of the week, the prime time audience shares are: Seven 27.3 per cent, Nine 26.3, Ten 21.5, ABC 17.6, SBS 7.2.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description STN Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,295,000 364,000 353,000 270,000 145,000 163,000
2 FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,168,000 337,000 320,000 218,000 137,000 156,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,072,000 277,000 380,000 178,000 141,000 96,000
4 ABC NEWS-SAT Network ABC1 892,000 254,000 238,000 194,000 88,000 118,000
5 RAISE YOUR VOICE Network 9 883,000 270,000 193,000 201,000 88,000 131,000
6 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Network 7 828,000 281,000 190,000 159,000 92,000 106,000
7 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Network TEN 766,000 433,000 79,000 112,000 142,000
8 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Network TEN 756,000 229,000 268,000 148,000 110,000
9 THE BILL Network ABC1 747,000 187,000 224,000 120,000 83,000 133,000
10 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Network TEN 723,000 68,000 397,000 57,000 98,000 102,000
11 GARDENING AUSTRALIA Network ABC1 720,000 169,000 213,000 157,000 85,000 96,000
16 SEVEN'S R.U: TRI-NATIONS: AUS V S A Network 7 610,000 342,000 34,000 176,000 17,000 41,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)
Continued here

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,456,000 403,000 358,000 277,000 154,000 265,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,317,000 390,000 381,000 214,000 147,000 184,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,195,000 360,000 287,000 192,000 138,000 217,000
4 SILENT WITNESS Network ABC1 1,168,000 385,000 298,000 204,000 127,000 155,000
5 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,155,000 320,000 378,000 204,000 103,000 151,000
6 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,128,000 310,000 366,000 233,000 127,000 92,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,083,000 267,000 331,000 230,000 117,000 138,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,061,000 280,000 361,000 230,000 103,000 85,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,034,000 341,000 252,000 179,000 115,000 147,000
10 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Network TEN 997,000 282,000 306,000 189,000 113,000 108,000
11 SPOOKS Network ABC1 976,000 316,000 245,000 187,000 95,000 132,000
17 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 16: KANGAROOS VS COLLINGWOOD Network 7 743,000 12,000 486,000 9,000 110,000 126,000
18 BIG BROTHER Network TEN 741,000 189,000 215,000 174,000 84,000 79,000
20 SCHOOL OF ROCK RPT Network TEN 720,000 199,000 228,000 115,000 86,000 91,000
22 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 603,000 320,000 282,000
45 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 285,000 184,000 101,000

If Catholics were a united viewing block, you'd have expected the coverage of Pope Benedict's activities to have boosted ratings. But audiences for news were down on Thursday, and Seven's special papal report at 4.30 pulled only 323,000 in the mainland capitals.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,406,000 374,000 353,000 297,000 149,000 233,000
2 GETAWAY Nine 1,346,000 430,000 417,000 240,000 120,000 139,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,279,000 337,000 369,000 241,000 131,000 201,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,248,000 344,000 418,000 246,000 129,000 111,000
5 BONES Seven 1,208,000 302,000 392,000 245,000 124,000 146,000
6 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,194,000 310,000 362,000 253,000 112,000 158,000
7 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,191,000 330,000 372,000 243,000 108,000 138,000
8 THE CELEBRITY SINGING BEE Nine 1,188,000 321,000 446,000 162,000 127,000 132,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,177,000 349,000 329,000 210,000 117,000 173,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,130,000 312,000 352,000 214,000 94,000 158,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,112,000 304,000 342,000 260,000 108,000 99,000
12 LAW AND ORDER: SVU RPT Ten 1,048,000 337,000 293,000 181,000 116,000 121,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,035,000 288,000 346,000 213,000 103,000 85,000
14 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 968,000 298,000 275,000 192,000 94,000 109,000
20 BIG BROTHER Ten 807,000 203,000 243,000 166,000 92,000 103,000
21 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 805,000 219,000 314,000 92,000 91,000 89,000
36 SUNRISE Seven 350,000 95,000 72,000 111,000 20,000 53,000
38 SEVEN NEWS SPECIAL Seven 323,000 116,000 102,000 56,000 35,000 14,000
58 TODAY Nine 257,000 73,000 90,000 48,000 21,000 24,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,603,000 423,000 466,000 334,000 151,000 228,000
2 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,492,000 393,000 413,000 306,000 149,000 232,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,449,000 385,000 385,000 278,000 157,000 244,000
4 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,406,000 414,000 398,000 284,000 126,000 184,000
5 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,342,000 358,000 451,000 232,000 155,000 145,000
6 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,314,000 371,000 463,000 211,000 113,000 156,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,291,000 360,000 413,000 265,000 131,000 122,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,262,000 341,000 322,000 237,000 143,000 220,000
9 JAMIE OLIVER'S EAT TO SAVE YOUR LIFE Ten 1,180,000 364,000 388,000 145,000 158,000 126,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,180,000 346,000 385,000 239,000 120,000 90,000
15 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Ten 1,045,000 304,000 345,000 175,000 111,000 111,000
16 THE HOLLOWMEN ABC1 1,040,000 310,000 388,000 132,000 88,000 123,000
18 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 894,000 312,000 252,000 148,000 80,000 102,000
22 BIG BROTHER Ten 838,000 183,000 256,000 168,000 109,000 123,000
24 COLD CASE Nine 805,000 238,000 222,000 145,000 100,000 99,000
25 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 799,000 231,000 248,000 124,000 94,000 102,000
26 FIRE 000 Nine 757,000 230,000 218,000 134,000 87,000 88,000
29 PRISON BREAK Seven 635,000 191,000 184,000 108,000 72,000 80,000
35 FOOD SAFARI RPT SBS 389,000 98,000 122,000 74,000 46,000 48,000
36 SUNRISE Seven 343,000 97,000 64,000 104,000 26,000 52,000
40 THE UNIT Seven 320,000 69,000 88,000 73,000 47,000 43,000
55 TODAY Nine 277,000 78,000 88,000 60,000 21,000 31,000
109 DAYS OF OUR LIVES Nine 107,000 38,000 21,000 28,000 10,000 10,000
What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,533,000 420,000 425,000 310,000 161,000 219,000
2 THE ONE - AUSTRALIA'S MOST GIFTED PSYCHIC Seven 1,424,000 391,000 408,000 284,000 145,000 197,000
3 WIPEOUT Nine 1,404,000 396,000 444,000 256,000 171,000 136,000
4 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,356,000 408,000 446,000 211,000 146,000 145,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,352,000 364,000 397,000 260,000 130,000 200,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,351,000 385,000 386,000 313,000 154,000 112,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,332,000 386,000 389,000 300,000 162,000 96,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,311,000 413,000 353,000 233,000 157,000 155,000
9 NCIS EP 2 RPT Ten 1,280,000 351,000 376,000 232,000 165,000 156,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,256,000 365,000 347,000 236,000 132,000 176,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,236,000 344,000 387,000 266,000 145,000 93,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,215,000 335,000 385,000 214,000 115,000 166,000
13 NCIS EP 1 RPT Ten 1,106,000 249,000 370,000 233,000 114,000 140,000
14 FAMILY FORTUNES ABC1 1,084,000 301,000 321,000 228,000 110,000 124,000
21 MIRACLE ON EVEREST ABC1 848,000 223,000 273,000 173,000 76,000 104,000
22 BIG BROTHER Ten 837,000 224,000 231,000 176,000 100,000 106,000
24 LADETTE TO LADY Nine 759,000 229,000 277,000 103,000 73,000 77,000
26 RAMSAY'S BOILING POINT Seven 689,000 167,000 256,000 102,000 80,000 85,000
35 HOW TO HAVE SEX AFTER MARRIAGE Nine 483,000 155,000 146,000 61,000 63,000 59,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Tuesday
Big Brother is such a poisoned brand that not even the news of its axing could bring back viewers who might be curious to see its death throes. Last night's regular show and semi-final nomination both drew less than a million in the mainland capitals, and Ten barely beat the ABC in attracting 18 per cent of the prime time audience.

Even Ten's declared target demographic -- viewers aged 18-49 -- preferred The Farmer Wants A Wife, Criminal Minds and City Homicide. You see why BB had to go.

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,603,000 442,000 525,000 289,000 142,000 205,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,570,000 421,000 405,000 348,000 178,000 218,000
3 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,475,000 382,000 458,000 288,000 137,000 209,000
4 CRIMINAL MINDS - MON Seven 1,454,000 397,000 492,000 237,000 143,000 186,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,407,000 367,000 386,000 287,000 150,000 217,000
6 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,373,000 367,000 478,000 237,000 141,000 149,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,328,000 390,000 402,000 263,000 133,000 140,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,277,000 367,000 374,000 262,000 141,000 133,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,265,000 375,000 384,000 265,000 123,000 117,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,243,000 342,000 357,000 237,000 131,000 176,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,201,000 332,000 404,000 218,000 102,000 145,000
12 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE OF MAMMALS Nine 1,197,000 328,000 368,000 229,000 123,000 148,000
13 SURF PATROL Seven 1,167,000 312,000 389,000 202,000 109,000 154,000
14 BIG BROTHER NOMINATION Ten 997,000 272,000 301,000 188,000 119,000 117,000
15 BIG BROTHER Ten 982,000 245,000 304,000 205,000 108,000 121,000
16 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 965,000 250,000 272,000 223,000 91,000 129,000
17 ELDERS WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 951,000 300,000 324,000 143,000 83,000 100,000
18 TOP GEAR SBS 922,000 288,000 264,000 162,000 104,000 104,000
19 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 889,000 264,000 272,000 143,000 105,000 106,000
20 THE F WORD Nine 858,000 221,000 309,000 138,000 95,000 94,000
28 MARK LOVES SHARON Ten 635,000 199,000 189,000 93,000 89,000 65,000
32 BIG BROTHER - BIG MOUTH Ten 538,000 184,000 142,000 86,000 76,000 50,000
35 2008 MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT Seven 441,000 142,000 127,000 67,000 54,000 50,000
44 TOUR DE FRANCE 2008 STAGE 10 SBS 303,000 101,000 89,000 27,000 38,000 48,000
45 WIGGLE AND LEARN ABC1 285,000 76,000 80,000 56,000 24,000 49,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)
The ratings race, updated 10am Monday
Most new TV shows this year have performed modestly or failed miserably, but last week was a dream come true for the programmers, as viewers responded eagerly to every experiment.

Channel Seven wondered if anyone in this sceptical age might be curious about mindreading, and found 1.5 million in the mainland capitals mysteriously drawn to The One: Australia's Most Gifted Psychic. The ABC researched the market for political satire, and drew 1.2 million to The Hollowmen (which completes the Wednesday power package of Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer, both on 1.3 million).

Channel Nine drew 1.3 million for both Wipeout and Celebrity Singing Bee. And just before calling in the executioner, Channel Ten augmented Big Brother's audience to 1.4 million by flying in Pamela Anderson (although this sagged to 1.0 million for her second appearance). See the Top 40 programs, below

Channel Nine won a hard-fought week with 27.3 per cent of the prime time audience, followed by Seven on 26.8 per cent, Ten on 21.1, ABC on 17.8 and SBS on 7.0 (thanks mainly to Top Gear, with 838,000 and Bill Gates: How a geek changed the world with 522,000.

We are now past the halfway mark in the "official" ratings year, and Nine announces that it has averaged 27.9 per cent of the prime time audience for the first half (0.9 per cent up on last year), while Seven has averaged 27.6 (down 5.6 per cent), Ten 21.6 (up 0.4), ABC 17.2 (up 5.6) and SBS 5.7 (up 1.9).

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,821,000 508,000 566,000 360,000 172,000 216,000
2 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,680,000 529,000 466,000 351,000 182,000 152,000
3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,641,000 530,000 458,000 354,000 192,000 108,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,576,000 438,000 454,000 313,000 148,000 223,000
5 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,478,000 393,000 455,000 308,000 160,000 162,000
6 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Seven 1,241,000 377,000 367,000 222,000 121,000 155,000
7 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,142,000 277,000 397,000 211,000 110,000 147,000
8 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,142,000 301,000 399,000 200,000 127,000 113,000
9 DOCTOR WHO ABC1 1,101,000 339,000 311,000 230,000 95,000 126,000
10 ROVE Ten 1,073,000 283,000 360,000 157,000 149,000 125,000
11 J.K. ROWLING: A YEAR IN THE LIFE Seven 1,059,000 266,000 324,000 257,000 93,000 118,000
12 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 1,023,000 314,000 301,000 205,000 91,000 112,000
13 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,017,000 285,000 314,000 168,000 125,000 124,000
14 THE EINSTEIN FACTOR ABC1 908,000 226,000 302,000 183,000 94,000 103,000
15 DOCTOR WHO: CONFIDENTIAL CUTDOWN ABC1 875,000 263,000 241,000 197,000 69,000 105,000
16 DEXTER Ten 862,000 201,000 283,000 116,000 127,000 135,000
17 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 826,000 226,000 246,000 141,000 93,000 120,000
19 LIPSTICK JUNGLE Seven 655,000 201,000 210,000 102,000 66,000 76,000
21 M-THE GOLDEN BOWL ABC1 614,000 212,000 178,000 95,000 47,000 81,000
22 SENSING MURDER Nine 598,000 152,000 195,000 107,000 81,000 62,000
23 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 573,000 306,000 Not shown 258,000 9,000 Not shown Not shown
27 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 15: WESTERN BULLDOGS VS MELBOURNE Seven 416,000 5,000 297,000 13,000 93,000 8,000
30 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Ten 357,000 105,000 91,000 46,000 60,000 54,000
32 THE EMPEROR'S TOMB: THE SECRET OF ZHAO LING SBS 334,000 96,000 93,000 80,000 42,000 25,000

What Pay TV subscribers watched
1 NRL SHARKS V SEA EAGLES Fox Sports 2 316
2 NRL BULLDOGS V RABBITOHS Fox Sports 2 297,000
3 NRL WARRIORS V COWBOYS Fox Sports 2 210
4 FAMILY GUY FOX8 206,000
5 LIVE: RUGBY UNION: TRI NATIONS Fox Sports 3 198,000
6 FUTURAMA FOX8 188
7 THE SIMPSONS FOX8 Tue 19:11 144 172
8 PROJECT RUNWAY AUSTRALIA Arena Mon 20:31 141 172
(OzTAM national survey)

What Australia watched, week ending July 12
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,942,000 569,000 558,000 362,000 212,000 242,000
2 CITY HOMICIDE Network 7 1,583,000 417,000 518,000 260,000 163,000 225,000
3 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,582,000 481,000 481,000 266,000 168,000 186,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,563,000 475,000 508,000 242,000 193,000 146,000
5 CSI Network 9 1,541,000 382,000 465,000 303,000 186,000 205,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,527,000 341,000 452,000 345,000 166,000 222,000
7 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,511,000 413,000 414,000 293,000 160,000 231,000
8 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,486,000 464,000 456,000 230,000 132,000 204,000
9 BORDER SECURITY (R) Network 7 1,485,000 436,000 432,000 280,000 130,000 208,000
10 THE ONE - AUSTRALIA'S MOST GIFTED PSYCHIC Network 7 1,467,000 411,000 374,000 327,000 157,000 199,000
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN Network 9 1,438,000 427,000 475,000 229,000 150,000 155,000
12 BIG BROTHER - PAMELA ANDERSON ENTERS THE HOUSE Network TEN 1,417,000 415,000 412,000 291,000 145,000 155,000
13 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,408,000 384,000 445,000 254,000 137,000 190,000
14 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,384,000 397,000 377,000 256,000 149,000 204,000
15 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,368,000 416,000 352,000 281,000 125,000 193,000
16 SPICKS AND SPECKS Network ABC1 1,349,000 365,000 428,000 257,000 155,000 145,000
17 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Network 7 1,348,000 361,000 409,000 246,000 128,000 204,000
18 WIPEOUT Network 9 1,347,000 427,000 425,000 223,000 140,000 131,000
19 NCIS EP 2 RPT Network TEN 1,316,000 356,000 423,000 230,000 152,000 155,000
20 THE GRUEN TRANSFER Network ABC1 1,302,000 365,000 427,000 239,000 131,000 140,000
21 GETAWAY Network 9 1,287,000 396,000 373,000 224,000 136,000 157,000
22 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,273,000 388,000 397,000 211,000 134,000 143,000
23 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Network 9 1,269,000 362,000 395,000 228,000 138,000 146,000
24 THE CELEBRITY SINGING BEE Network 9 1,263,000 383,000 422,000 166,000 142,000 150,000
25 GLADIATORS Network 7 1,258,000 287,000 430,000 239,000 135,000 168,000
26 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,251,000 347,000 380,000 260,000 132,000 132,000
27 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,241,000 348,000 387,000 268,000 126,000 113,000
28 CRIMINAL MINDS Network 7 1,239,000 345,000 399,000 189,000 128,000 178,000
29 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Network 7 1,237,000 277,000 403,000 237,000 136,000 184,000
30 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Network 7 1,230,000 305,000 383,000 243,000 114,000 186,000
31 ABC NEWS-SUN Network ABC1 1,227,000 369,000 332,000 254,000 116,000 155,000
32 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Network TEN 1,225,000 369,000 357,000 215,000 136,000 147,000
33 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE OF MAMMALS Network 9 1,205,000 329,000 336,000 251,000 139,000 150,000
34 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,194,000 361,000 331,000 214,000 127,000 162,000
35 THE HOLLOWMEN Network ABC1 1,185,000 374,000 425,000 156,000 100,000 130,000
36 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,182,000 329,000 368,000 266,000 119,000 100,000
37 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,172,000 268,000 401,000 241,000 152,000 110,000
38 ABC NEWS-EV Network ABC1 1,171,000 325,000 354,000 227,000 118,000 148,000
39 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Network 7 1,159,000 326,000 382,000 200,000 123,000 129,000
40 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,155,000 279,000 361,000 224,000 149,000 142,000
41 SILENT WITNESS Network ABC1 1,136,000 313,000 328,000 232,000 120,000 144,000
42 MY NAME IS EARL - THU Network 7 1,127,000 336,000 316,000 244,000 98,000 134,000
43 DOCTOR WHO Network ABC1 1,112,000 381,000 282,000 229,000 88,000 133,000

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 03:56 PM
• Comments (66)

WHO WE ARE: In joyous screams then let us sing

To learn the difference between men and women, go to The Tribal Mind.
A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 29/6/2008.
These words are symbolic of the culture and identity of our nation: "For most of my life I lived a delusion./ Yes, material gain has caused me confusion./ But slowly in time I learned that my place is/ To tell all that I meet the glory that God is."

They come, of course, from Billy Thorpe's song Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy, which has just been selected by the Film and Sound Archive in Canberra for preservation in the National Registry of Recorded Sound. It was a bold choice by the Archive, because it dramatically broadens the definition of what may constitute a "national song". Compare it with these lines:

"Free and friendly nation,/ Born of our own hand,/ Peace our greatest virtue,/ Mighty southern land./ Valiant into battle,/ Courage to the end,/ Standing firm for freedom,/ Loyal southern friend./ Nature's earthly heaven,/ Glory for our eyes,/ Ours alone those treasures,/ Under Southern Skies."

That's from the "national song" written last year by Amanda Vanstone, the former Minister for Immigration who became Australia's ambassador to Italy. She wasn't proposing it as a replacement for the anthem (Advance Australia Fair) but for use on less formal occasions. We can picture her at this very moment winning trade deals by crooning those lines to Silvio Berlusconi (to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory).

He no doubt responds with "Italian brothers, Italy has arisen,/ With the helmet of Scipio on her head./ Where is Victory?/ God has made her the slave of Rome./ Let us gather in legions./ We are ready to die./ Italy has called" (from the national anthem of Italy, which has not felt the need to update words written in 1847).

Personally, I'd discard Vanstone's stirring sentiments and celebrate my patriotism with one of the numbers selected for preservation in the National Registry of Recorded Sound. Thorpie's "personal anthem" joined Slim Dusty's Pub With No Beer; Men At Work's Down Under; the Aeroplane Jelly jingle; Johnny O'Keefe's She's My Baby; The Saints' I'm Stranded; a 1927 recording of Waltzing Matilda; The Easybeats' Friday on My Mind; Peter Dawson's Along The Road To Gundagai and We Have Survived by No Fixed Address (go to the registry to hear them).

The Archive revealed that the selection criteria included "artistic excellence, historical relevance, technical or scientific achievement, and prominence in shaping Australia's culture and identity."

Last year this column suggested eight candidates for the title of "national song". They were Tie me Kangaroo Down Sport, Down Under, Shaddup You Face, I've Been Everywhere, Man, Pub with No Beer, the Neighbours theme, Australiana (the Austen Tayshus pun collection) and The Sounds of Then (which includes the wonderful line "Laugh and say: 'This is Australia'."). Readers voted solidly to enlarge the list with the Skippy theme, Farewell Aunty Jack, Great Southern Land, I Still Call Australia Home, We Are One But We Are Many, and My Island Home.

Now that the Archive has broadened the definition to include rock songs and ballads that make no mention of the land or its icons, we should vote again. Go to comments to offer your new nominations.

To discuss why TV is programmed for people over 55, go to The Tribal Mind

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 09:22 AM
• Comments (63)

The Tribal Mind: When this lady met this fellow

by David Dale
If men and women could only unite, Australia might get some stimulating television in the second half of this year. But they can't, so we're stuck with the programming preferred by viewers aged over 55 -- the time of life when, apparently, the sexes are most similar.

Last week this column pointed out that the seniors are the biggest consumers of TV, while the groovers watch the least (37 per cent of prime time viewing is by people over 55, up from 32 per cent in 2003; 28 per cent is by people 16-39, down from 30 per cent in 2003).

So the network that wins the year will be the one with the geriatric appeal. Off the back of a truck has fallen some fascinating research about the age of viewers for each station's most popular shows this year. The median age of Australians is 37, which is to say that half the population is older than 37 and half is younger. But the median age of viewers for most top programs is well above the national figure. Half the people who regularly watch Today Tonight, for example, are over 54. What you're about to read suggests that TV is, to put it politely, a mature medium.

The hits of 2008 - How old are the viewers
Inspector Rex (SBS) has a median viewing age of 65
Doc Martin (ABC) 64
Midsomer Murders (ABC) 63
ABC news (ABC) 61
Wild China (ABC) 61
Who Do You Think You Are? (SBS) 58
Seven News (7) 55
Today Tonight (7) 54
Enough Rope with Andrew Denton (ABC) 52
Border Security (7) 51
60 Minutes (9) 51
RSPCA Animal Rescue (7) 50
Australia's Got Talent (7) 50
Tennis: Australian Open Men's Final (7) 50
Better Homes and Gardens (7) 49
One Day Cricket (9) 47
Domestic Blitz (9) 48
David Attenborough - Tiger, Spy in the Jungle (9) 47
Spicks and Specks (ABC) 45
The Gruen Transfer (ABC) 43
NCIS (10) 43
State of Origin Rugby League (9) 43
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (9) 40
Top Gear (SBS) 39
Mythbusters (SBS) 37
House (10) 37
Gladiators (7) 34
The Biggest Loser (10) 35
My Name is Earl (7) 34
So You Think You Can Dance Australia (10) 34
Australia's Next Top Model (Fox8) 34.

So there's not much point in the programmers trying to appeal to the half of Australia that is under 37. They rarely watch the box.

Lets look at the other great niche that has traditionally excited the networks - viewers aged 25-54. Could a smart programmer gain by focusing on their sophisticated tastes? Only if men and women were prepared to sit in front of the same set. Here's how the sexes consumed TV over the past month:

Top shows with women aged 25-54: Grey's Anatomy; Desperate Housewives; Brothers and Sisters; Schapelle Corby (episode one); Better Homes and Gardens; 60 Minutes; State of Origin rugby league; Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares; Australia's Got Talent; All Saints; NCIS; Domestic Blitz.

Top shows with men aged 25-54: State of Origin rugby league; My Name Is Earl; The Gruen Transfer; 60 Minutes; Schappelle Corby (episode one); Spicks and Specks; CSI; Top Gear; NCIS; How I Met Your Mother; Hell's Kitchen; Gladiators.

So the principal passions shared by middle-aged men and middle-aged women are Schappelle Corby, Gordon Ramsay and football. Expect to see a lot more of them in the coming weeks.

Should the networks stick with the predictable, or should they try to entice viewers back with adventurous programming? Tell us at Comments

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 06:26 AM
• Comments (7)

The Tribal Mind: Television becomes an antiques roadshow

by David Dale
What a sweet revenge for the over 55s. Once spurned and ignored by the commercial stations -- "Let them watch the ABC," was the attitude -- they have now become the powerbrokers. Their tastes will determine which network wins this year and gets the most advertising in 2009.

Not long ago Channel Ten used to put out press releases boasting how certain programs were "shedding" older viewers, while Nine and Seven proudly declared their target audience to be viewers aged 25-54. There's none of that talk now.

The oldies are golden, and not just because there are more of them. It's also because they're the first ones back into their cocoons as uncertainty grows about the economy (see last week's column). And once they've pulled up the drawbridge, the over-55s are more likely to watch the box than the under 40s, who have other distractions.

For a vision of the future of Australian television, look at the favourite shows of each age group last week. In particular, compare the audience totals across the mainland capitals ...

Shows most watched by viewers over 55: Seven news 849,000 viewers in this age group; ABC news 804,000; Wild China (ABC) 727, 000; Today Tonight (7) 701,000; Sea Patrol (7) 699,000; Silent Witness (ABC) 697,000; Australia's Got Talent (7) 692,000; Border Security repeat (7) 652,000; The Einstein Factor (ABC) 649,000; Nine news 642,000; CSI (9) 633,000; Australian Story (ABC) 633,000; Better Homes and Gardens (7) 629,000; Domestic Blitz (9) 617,000.

Shows most watched by viewers aged 16-39: The Simpsons (10) 562,000 viewers in this age group; Grey's Anatomy (7) 555,000; NCIS (10) 548,000; Desperate Housewives (7) 533,000; 60 Minutes (9) 487,000; My Name is Earl (7) 486,000; The New Futurama (10) 483,000; How I Met Your Mother (7) 479,000; Rove (10) 465,000; Good News Week (10) 457,000; Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (9) 455,000; The Gruen Transfer (ABC) 455,000; Brothers and Sisters (7) 450,000.

You can see why the oldies are so much more attractive to the networks as a target audience than the groovers. Between 6pm and 10.30pm each night, an average of 1.821 million viewers over 55 watch television (up 3.5 per cent on last year), compared with an average of 1.397 million viewers aged 16 to 39 (down 1 per cent on last year).

Clearly there's not much common ground between the age groups. Best to target the niche with the numbers, so Nine and Seven will need to "skew older" if they are to win the year. Expect comfy crime shows set in English villages; quirky quiz shows hosted by former ABC personalities; deserving documentaries about Asian animals and adventurous Australians; and gardening guides filmed in the beautiful backyards of Lisa McCune and Dannii Minogue, who are the current queens of the senior screen (one remembered from Blue Heelers, the other from Young Talent Time).

The only hope for diversity lies with the niche we haven't dissected yet -- viewers aged 25-54. They'll be next Monday's topic.

Go to Comments to tell us what you think of the geriatrics' dominance of the box.

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

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:41 PM
• Comments (11)

WHO WE ARE: Getting all choked up about snot blocks

To discuss why Australians are in retreat from reality, go to The Tribal Mind

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 22/6/2008
The snot block, the pie floater, the baked bean jaffle, the kebab at 2am, the froggie cake, the bread roll stuffed with Twisties, the scallop pie, butter chicken, the spearmint milkshake: Who says there's no such thing as Australian cuisine?

By adopting and adapting the best takeaways the world can offer, we've created a fast food mecca in the southern hemisphere. That was the consensus among readers who reacted to this column's proposition last week that the nation's greatest achievements in portable edibles were the Chiko roll, the hamburger with beetroot, the pizza with pineapple, hot chips, pad Thai, potato scallops, Neenish tarts, and the gosleme (which I was firmly told should be spelt gozleme).

Some readers introduced regional surprises. "Being from Broken Hill," writes Matthew Huxtable, "our entry for world cuisine is cheeseslaw -- grated carrot, grated cheese (pref. that Kraft foil-coated block that I don't even know you can still buy but was in the normal supermarket aisles and not the fridged section) and coleslaw dressing. Delicious! Best thing with your sandwiches, as its stickiness stopped all the filling from falling out.

"Also, now that my family lives in Victoria, let's not forget the vanilla slice, but not any vanilla slice but the Snot Block. It may not be an Australian dish but we've surely renamed it as ours - 'Fancy a Snot Block, your Majesty?'"

LR says she "wouldn't go past a sausage sandwich - I swear my husband only wants to go to the local hardware store on a saturday morning so he can get one. And you really can't go past the hot chip roll - some like it with sauce or gravy, but for me, just lots of chicken salt is perfect!


"And if you want to include Asian food - I would think that good old butter chicken, or even beef in black bean sauce are more common than pad Thai or gosleme."

Noting that the study of fast food is not all ancient history, a reader who wished to be known as Outbackdee reflected on "memorable takeaway moments from my childhood in the late 80's through to the 90's: Meat pie and tomato sauce; Kebab with hummus, chilli and bbq sauce; Pork roll from the local bakery; Cheese and bacon bread fresh from the oven at 730 am on the way to the train station; And the great staple of Chinese takeaway, sweet and sour pork ... that sweet syrupy mess of fried pork goodness. I craved this the most when backpacking through Europe."

Nicholas was overcome with national pride: "Among foods substantially invented in Australia, I'm stunned no-one's mentioned the lamington or pavlova. I am happy to agree with chocolate crackles, and raise an eyebrow at the fact no-one's answered David's question [on the origin of the neenish tart]. According to my sources, neenish tarts were named for their inventor, Ruth Nienish of New South Wales. Bugger the stump-jump plough, be proud of what matters."

If you are, and want to continue this discussion, go to Comments

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 09:52 AM
• Comments (45)

The Tribal Mind: Let us comfort you

To discuss Australia's top takeaways, go to Chiko and the gang

by David Dale
Australians are crawling back into their cocoons. The age of adventure is over. You can tell from the way they're watching TV. Don't try to show them anything edgy, surprising or demanding. They want slow, reassuring, and predictable.

The programs that symbolise the national mindset right now are Domestic Blitz and Better Homes and Gardens. We demonstrated enough bravery by watching The Chaser boys and electing Kevin Rudd. Now we're pulling up the drawbridge.

This behaviour pattern seems to go in three year cycles. From 2002 to 2004, as we retreated from September 11 and the Bali bombings, the top shows reassured us that every problem had a solution. Messy garden? A team of fairies will fly in for a weekend and redecorate it. Messy crime? A team of scientists will shine a blue light on it and find the culprit within an hour. Our favourite sitcoms came with cues to tell us when to laugh.

In 2005, we started to take a few risks, tolerating and then embracing shows that kept us in suspense from week to week.

Who will survive the island? What secret will be revealed about which desperate housewife? Who will be voted off the dance floor? By 2007, our favourite comedy was about a hyperactive boy with reading difficulties and a drama teacher exploiting a student dead from a drug overdose. And we needed no laugh track to give us emotional prompts.

Now George Bush has ruined the world's economy and the Arabs keep putting up the price of petrol. Once again we want television to tell us that everything will be alright. In Domestic Blitz, a team of experts fly in and take 48 hours to renovate the home of a needy family. Better Homes and Gardens shows us how to survive rising prices, feed the family and paint the shed. Safe sitcoms are back, with How I Met Your Mother and Two and A Half Men apparently sharing the same canned laughter track.

Nostalgia is what it used to be, with 20 to 1 drawing 300,000 more viewers than it could manage last year (when we preferred to look forward). And football, the ultimate in escapism from the chaos of reality, is getting record audiences.

Even the edgiest new hits are predicated on reassurance. Your restaurant is failing? Gordon Ramsay can fix it with a kick up the arse. Worried that commercials are conning you? The Gruen gang will explain how to spot the mind tricks.

The only difference between 2008 and 2002 is that there is no longer such a thing as the mass market. The buzzword this year is fragmentation, which means the programmers have to work harder to offer equal doses of comfort to every demographic niche. How they are doing that will be the subject of the next Tribal Mind column, which will also include any theories on social change that you'd care to raise by going to Comments

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 04:16 PM
• Comments (12)

The Who We Are update: Week 26

This week of the blog is now a heritage item - worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media analysis, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss why TV is programmed for people over 55, go to The Tribal Mind
To discuss Australia's finest fast foods, go to Who We Are

The ratings race, updated 10 am Sunday June 29
Nine won Thursday and will win the week, because Seven's success on Friday with Better Homes and Gardens was not enough to counter the huge head start provided for Nine by Schapelle Corby. Nine averaged 28.8 per cent of the prime time audience for the week, while Seven got 27.7, Ten 19.9, ABC 17.5 and SBS 6.0.

In the chart below, we provide the last ever audience figure for Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, and for its rivals Deal or No Deal and Ten's News At Five. The figures explain why the wheel was axed. But somehow we don't think Antiques Roadshow will do much better, even if it is better suited to the hot new demographic target of over-55s.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,351,000 324,000 397,000 304,000 136,000 190,000
2 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,180,000 288,000 402,000 248,000 105,000 138,000
3 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,105,000 307,000 360,000 213,000 121,000 104,000
4 CATS & DOGS -RPT Network 9 1,030,000 273,000 341,000 225,000 113,000 77,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Network 7 967,000 244,000 282,000 213,000 116,000 112,000
8 THE BILL Network ABC1 737,000 212,000 233,000 138,000 64,000 91,000
9 BRIDE AND PREJUDICE -RPT Network 9 708,000 206,000 248,000 107,000 70,000 76,000
12 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Network TEN 613,000 334,000 39,000 149,000 91,000
13 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Network 7 597,000 288,000 105,000 204,000
14 SEVEN'S R.U: AUS V FRA Network 7 587,000 309,000 34,000 210,000 18,000 16,000
19 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW -RPT Network 9 465,000 154,000 221,000 91,000
23 SUPER TROUPERS: THIRTY YEARS OF ABBA Network 7 372,000 195,000 73,000 104,000
30 BOWLS: PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Network ABC1 284,000 72,000 89,000 66,000 40,000 17,000
31 ABSOLUTELY MELBOURNE - ALL YOU CAN EAT Network 7 277,000 Not shown 277,000 Not shown Not shown
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,473,000 400,000 377,000 282,000 164,000 250,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,461,000 436,000 458,000 244,000 135,000 188,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,322,000 365,000 350,000 231,000 157,000 219,000
4 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,137,000 281,000 368,000 243,000 125,000 119,000
5 SILENT WITNESS-EV Network ABC1 1,110,000 347,000 332,000 175,000 131,000 126,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,082,000 309,000 310,000 220,000 124,000 119,000
7 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,078,000 322,000 345,000 197,000 106,000 108,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,011,000 290,000 270,000 192,000 103,000 155,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 971,000 294,000 294,000 195,000 99,000 89,000
11 SPOOKS Network ABC1 921,000 242,000 289,000 169,000 106,000 114,000
13 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Network TEN 841,000 202,000 270,000 138,000 88,000 142,000
14 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Network TEN 824,000 217,000 233,000 143,000 123,000 108,000
15 DEAL OR NO DEAL Network 7 794,000 208,000 219,000 176,000 87,000 104,000
18 BIG BROTHER Network TEN 694,000 163,000 202,000 130,000 86,000 112,000
20 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 14: HAWTHORN VS WEST COAST Network 7 646,000 26,000 360,000 15,000 92,000 153,000
21 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 588,000 314,000 273,000
22 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Network 9 572,000 144,000 213,000 101,000 67,000 48,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,489,000 380,000 396,000 298,000 164,000 250,000
2 GETAWAY Nine 1,333,000 379,000 428,000 241,000 134,000 151,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,320,000 357,000 354,000 243,000 140,000 226,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,178,000 292,000 372,000 239,000 140,000 136,000
5 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,176,000 299,000 425,000 152,000 135,000 165,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,176,000 330,000 322,000 223,000 129,000 173,000
7 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,168,000 328,000 357,000 239,000 96,000 147,000
8 MY NAME IS EARL - THU Seven 1,142,000 290,000 349,000 227,000 102,000 174,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,112,000 285,000 363,000 246,000 125,000 94,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,089,000 299,000 348,000 234,000 111,000 98,000
11 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,085,000 292,000 319,000 214,000 102,000 158,000
12 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,059,000 230,000 454,000 112,000 120,000 144,000
13 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,057,000 341,000 316,000 170,000 113,000 117,000
14 BONES Seven 1,040,000 251,000 310,000 221,000 112,000 147,000
16 MEDIUM Ten 973,000 288,000 264,000 191,000 105,000 124,000
19 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 880,000 255,000 223,000 181,000 97,000 124,000
20 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 846,000 261,000 307,000 109,000 96,000 73,000
21 ALL NEW FUTURAMA Ten 843,000 244,000 241,000 162,000 100,000 96,000
22 BIG BROTHER Ten 797,000 227,000 220,000 165,000 97,000 87,000
23 THE GIL MAYO MYSTERIES ABC1 795,000 255,000 212,000 160,000 80,000 88,000
29 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 568,000 131,000 195,000 100,000 78,000 64,000
32 Q & A ABC1 484,000 178,000 130,000 87,000 46,000 42,000
33 FAMILY GUY Seven 450,000 134,000 145,000 68,000 58,000 47,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,588,000 412,000 431,000 303,000 179,000 263,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,424,000 402,000 394,000 254,000 154,000 220,000
3 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,343,000 427,000 399,000 246,000 126,000 144,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,304,000 357,000 419,000 277,000 138,000 114,000
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,252,000 325,000 401,000 256,000 127,000 143,000
6 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,249,000 343,000 394,000 228,000 124,000 160,000
7 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 1,244,000 344,000 398,000 229,000 128,000 144,000
8 FIRE 000 Nine 1,243,000 373,000 385,000 228,000 124,000 134,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,206,000 331,000 364,000 259,000 134,000 119,000
10 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,182,000 377,000 368,000 222,000 88,000 127,000
11 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,171,000 332,000 312,000 212,000 140,000 174,000
12 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,137,000 281,000 334,000 244,000 125,000 152,000
15 COLD CASE Nine 966,000 273,000 319,000 170,000 109,000 94,000
16 UGLY BETTY Seven 944,000 249,000 272,000 172,000 122,000 129,000
23 BIG BROTHER Ten 817,000 217,000 222,000 152,000 94,000 131,000
25 BACK TO YOU Ten 808,000 199,000 236,000 142,000 110,000 121,000
37 FOOD SAFARI RPT SBS 420,000 131,000 117,000 76,000 52,000 45,000
38 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 397,000 145,000 123,000 58,000 38,000 34,000
39 THE UNIT Seven 383,000 100,000 121,000 69,000 47,000 47,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,733,000 460,000 516,000 318,000 203,000 235,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,576,000 380,000 436,000 345,000 178,000 238,000
3 NCIS Ten 1,474,000 360,000 455,000 319,000 161,000 180,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,463,000 365,000 429,000 280,000 174,000 216,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,300,000 357,000 419,000 224,000 138,000 163,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,286,000 350,000 374,000 230,000 153,000 179,000
7 SCHAPELLE CORBY: THE HIDDEN TRUTH Nine 1,279,000 398,000 340,000 239,000 139,000 164,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,219,000 338,000 371,000 235,000 141,000 133,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,166,000 319,000 376,000 237,000 97,000 137,000
10 NCIS RPT Ten 1,159,000 304,000 354,000 190,000 159,000 153,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,139,000 289,000 340,000 250,000 152,000 109,000
12 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,119,000 307,000 372,000 207,000 120,000 113,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,116,000 292,000 335,000 247,000 132,000 110,000
14 10 TO ONE Nine 1,070,000 292,000 315,000 215,000 115,000 134,000
17 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 889,000 235,000 252,000 183,000 103,000 116,000
18 DEADLY SURF Nine 866,000 268,000 256,000 150,000 88,000 105,000
21 BIG BROTHER Ten 823,000 196,000 271,000 154,000 96,000 106,000
26 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 594,000 152,000 192,000 91,000 96,000 63,000
28 MEDICAL MAVERICKS: THE HISTORY OF SELF-EXPERIMENTATION ABC1 528,000 153,000 168,000 86,000 64,000 57,000
48 JENNIFER BYRNE PRESENTS ABC1 264,000 88,000 88,000 41,000 23,000 23,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,694,000 462,000 442,000 354,000 174,000 262,000
2 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,547,000 416,000 487,000 272,000 161,000 211,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,533,000 438,000 444,000 276,000 144,000 230,000
4 SEA PATROL Nine 1,497,000 431,000 469,000 241,000 162,000 193,000
5 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S BEAR - A SPY IN THE WOODS Nine 1,385,000 373,000 395,000 275,000 150,000 192,000
6 SURF PATROL Seven 1,365,000 363,000 445,000 236,000 149,000 172,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,351,000 359,000 449,000 270,000 155,000 117,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,304,000 375,000 345,000 259,000 145,000 180,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,299,000 378,000 419,000 252,000 142,000 107,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,253,000 374,000 376,000 221,000 121,000 161,000
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,249,000 345,000 384,000 245,000 125,000 150,000
12 CRIMINAL MINDS - MON Seven 1,078,000 287,000 306,000 228,000 128,000 129,000
15 ELDERS WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,024,000 304,000 377,000 141,000 85,000 117,000
16 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 979,000 270,000 264,000 196,000 122,000 128,000
18 TOP GEAR BOTSWANA SPECIAL SBS 928,000 293,000 271,000 163,000 112,000 90,000
19 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 927,000 250,000 306,000 151,000 104,000 116,000
20 BIG BROTHER Ten 898,000 239,000 240,000 184,000 115,000 119,000
22 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 870,000 241,000 261,000 191,000 66,000 110,000
27 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 738,000 251,000 277,000 80,000 72,000 58,000
30 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 616,000 165,000 208,000 116,000 79,000 49,000
31 BIG BROTHER - BIG MOUTH Ten 581,000 195,000 170,000 83,000 64,000 70,000
59 30 ROCK Seven 256,000 55,000 88,000 46,000 34,000 33,000

The ratings race, updated 10am Monday
Schappelle Corby is a candidate for sainthood. On Sunday, she performed a miracle -- pulled a capital city audience of 1.6 million out of nowhere. As you'll see in the chart below, all the regular Sunday shows attracted their usual numbers, so Schappelle's fans must be people who don't normally watch TV -- possibly because they live in trailers.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,774,000 419,000 566,000 396,000 150,000 244,000
2 60 MINUTES Nine 1,762,000 554,000 543,000 293,000 194,000 177,000
3 SCHAPELLE CORBY: THE HIDDEN TRUTH Nine 1,612,000 517,000 438,000 282,000 174,000 201,000
4 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,506,000 462,000 454,000 266,000 160,000 163,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,479,000 446,000 431,000 324,000 173,000 105,000
6 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Seven 1,344,000 342,000 468,000 232,000 133,000 169,000
7 GLADIATORS Seven 1,264,000 277,000 413,000 258,000 153,000 163,000
8 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,259,000 377,000 436,000 209,000 113,000 124,000
11 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,053,000 320,000 302,000 190,000 115,000 126,000
15 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 859,000 242,000 241,000 171,000 93,000 113,000
16 MANSFIELD PARK ABC1 856,000 289,000 264,000 125,000 74,000 103,000
19 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 13: CARLTON VS ESSENDON Seven 641,000 14,000 408,000 5,000 118,000 95,000
22 SUPERNATURAL Ten 579,000 137,000 197,000 80,000 73,000 91,000
23 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 478,000 274,000 Not shown 191,000 Not shown 12,000
24 M-UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN Seven 435,000 197,000 Not shown 91,000 71,000 76,000
27 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Ten 388,000 93,000 134,000 55,000 49,000 57,000
33 GILMORE GIRLS Nine 280,000 Not shown 172,000 Not shown 54,000 55,000
97 I LOVE YOUSE ALL Nine 64,000 42,000 Not shown 22,000 Not shown Not shown
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The ABC is going gangbusters at the moment, and not just because of youth-appeal shows such as Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer. Last week, for the first time in living memory, the ABC's news beat Channel Nine's news, by averaging 1.21 million viewers to Nine's 1.20m. Its documentary series Wild China (1.26m) and The New Inventors (1.06m) made up for the surprisingly modest performance of the Jane Austen bonnet drama Northanger Abbey (931,000).

The other national broadcaster, SBS, is also doing well, thanks to Top Gear (826,000) and Food Safari (443,000). The most watched shows on Pay TV included Australia's Next Top Model (Fox8) with 311,000; the rugby league match between Storm and Cowboys (FoxSports2) with 269,000 and Selling Houses Australia (Lifestyle) with 204,000.

Channel Seven won the week with 28.2 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.3, Ten 20.7, the ABC 18.8 and SBS 5.6.

What Australia watched, week ending June 21
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,878,000 459,000 587,000 405,000 154,000 273,000
2 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,616,000 502,000 491,000 294,000 155,000 174,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Network 7 1,593,000 413,000 498,000 295,000 182,000 205,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,575,000 437,000 406,000 320,000 174,000 239,000
5 NCIS Network TEN 1,572,000 390,000 460,000 322,000 189,000 210,000
6 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,544,000 518,000 429,000 295,000 150,000 152,000
7 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,510,000 525,000 395,000 243,000 160,000 188,000
8 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Network 9 1,489,000 415,000 426,000 277,000 169,000 203,000
9 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE (R) Network 7 1,456,000 440,000 393,000 244,000 132,000 246,000
10 CSI Network 9 1,449,000 360,000 404,000 283,000 199,000 203,000
11 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Network 7 1,447,000 393,000 426,000 245,000 143,000 240,000
12 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,435,000 468,000 461,000 246,000 171,000 89,000
13 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,414,000 400,000 377,000 265,000 152,000 219,000
14 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,406,000 382,000 411,000 274,000 130,000 209,000
15 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S ELEPHANT - A SPY IN THE HERD Network 9 1,389,000 370,000 390,000 295,000 161,000 172,000
16 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,380,000 398,000 463,000 237,000 129,000 153,000
17 SEARCH & RESCUE Network 9 1,360,000 386,000 445,000 229,000 138,000 163,000
18 NCIS RPT Network TEN 1,360,000 392,000 422,000 209,000 166,000 171,000
19 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Network 7 1,353,000 409,000 434,000 219,000 128,000 163,000
20 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,325,000 394,000 386,000 222,000 118,000 204,000
21 SPICKS AND SPECKS Network ABC1 1,321,000 423,000 384,000 249,000 112,000 153,000
22 GETAWAY Network 9 1,291,000 397,000 413,000 241,000 110,000 130,000
23 GREY'S ANATOMY Network 7 1,281,000 350,000 442,000 223,000 111,000 154,000
24 ABC NEWS-SUN Network ABC1 1,272,000 337,000 440,000 221,000 106,000 169,000
25 WILD CHINA Network ABC1 1,258,000 324,000 412,000 247,000 116,000 159,000
26 GLADIATORS Network 7 1,254,000 273,000 405,000 248,000 137,000 192,000
27 FIRE 000 Network 9 1,218,000 364,000 398,000 197,000 130,000 130,000
28 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,212,000 363,000 374,000 215,000 116,000 144,000
29 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,211,000 362,000 332,000 211,000 121,000 185,000
30 THE GRUEN TRANSFER Network ABC1 1,204,000 384,000 398,000 199,000 87,000 137,000
31 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,201,000 315,000 393,000 267,000 127,000 98,000
32 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,184,000 345,000 376,000 232,000 132,000 100,000
33 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,172,000 343,000 366,000 251,000 121,000 91,000
34 THE SIMPSONS TUES Network TEN 1,133,000 277,000 387,000 210,000 136,000 123,000
35 10 TO ONE Network 9 1,129,000 355,000 326,000 208,000 114,000 126,000
36 MY NAME IS EARL - THU Network 7 1,110,000 265,000 328,000 247,000 111,000 160,000
37 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Network TEN 1,107,000 309,000 359,000 190,000 121,000 128,000
38 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Network TEN 1,105,000 320,000 385,000 188,000 107,000 105,000
39 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Network 7 1,104,000 275,000 332,000 241,000 111,000 145,000
40 HELL'S KITCHEN Network 9 1,093,000 321,000 366,000 152,000 124,000 130,000
(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 08:32 AM
• Comments (84)

The Who We Are update: Week 25

This week of David Dale's media blog is now a heritage item - worth reading but no longer current. For the latest discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss why Australians are crawling back into their cocoons, go to The Tribal Mind
To discuss Australia's top takeaways, go to Chiko and the gang

On Saturday morning, the prime time audience shares stand at ABC 18.5% Seven 28.6% Nine 27.0% Ten 20.4% SBS 5.4%. Seven won Friday night with the help of Better Homes and Gardens, but Saturday could have turned it around for Nine. Can The Vicar of Dibley and King Arthur knock off Big Momma's House (and what does it say about Australia's tastes if Big Momma wins?) Register your prediction here and bask in glory when we give the week's results on Sunday afternoon.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,406,000 382,000 411,000 274,000 130,000 209,000
2 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Network 7 1,074,000 308,000 298,000 232,000 96,000 139,000
3 NINE NEWS SAT Network 9 1,009,000 260,000 329,000 233,000 122,000 64,000
4 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,005,000 268,000 268,000 227,000 102,000 140,000
5 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Network 7 956,000 276,000 302,000 196,000 72,000 109,000
6 BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2 Network 9 883,000 292,000 223,000 165,000 95,000 109,000
7 THE BILL Network ABC1 840,000 279,000 238,000 142,000 85,000 95,000
9 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Network TEN 752,000 Not shown 354,000 108,000 165,000 125,000
14 MIDSOMER MURDERS RPT Network ABC1 630,000 171,000 215,000 102,000 81,000 61,000
15 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Network TEN 568,000 55,000 243,000 52,000 133,000 84,000
18 TOP GEAR: BEHIND THE SCENES RPT Network SBS 498,000 191,000 121,000 73,000 59,000 55,000
29 M-KING ARTHUR Network 7 279,000 140,000 Not shown 139,000 Not shown Not shown

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,521,000 413,000 427,000 276,000 175,000 231,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,510,000 525,000 395,000 243,000 160,000 188,000
3 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,247,000 385,000 383,000 271,000 124,000 83,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,219,000 347,000 332,000 199,000 138,000 202,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,154,000 332,000 309,000 203,000 131,000 180,000
6 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,136,000 324,000 326,000 282,000 110,000 95,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,113,000 346,000 343,000 224,000 128,000 73,000
8 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,072,000 323,000 320,000 188,000 120,000 122,000
9 SILENT WITNESS Network ABC1 1,018,000 294,000 320,000 173,000 111,000 119,000
10 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Network TEN 935,000 273,000 251,000 164,000 129,000 118,000
14 BIG BROTHER Network TEN 845,000 272,000 221,000 155,000 79,000 118,000
15 SPOOKS Network ABC1 832,000 240,000 253,000 143,000 96,000 100,000
19 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 13: ST KILDA VS FREMANTLE Network 7 726,000 21,000 396,000 13,000 130,000 167,000
21 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 616,000 376,000 231,000 10,000
29 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 397,000 292,000 105,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,477,000 382,000 379,000 327,000 159,000 229,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,389,000 344,000 403,000 282,000 149,000 210,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,284,000 398,000 408,000 237,000 110,000 131,000
4 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,238,000 372,000 381,000 225,000 117,000 143,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,227,000 350,000 371,000 220,000 120,000 166,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,194,000 343,000 412,000 221,000 125,000 93,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,135,000 292,000 393,000 243,000 123,000 84,000
8 MY NAME IS EARL - THU Seven 1,110,000 265,000 328,000 247,000 111,000 160,000
9 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,104,000 275,000 332,000 241,000 111,000 145,000
10 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,099,000 324,000 368,000 152,000 124,000 131,000
11 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,094,000 315,000 380,000 187,000 106,000 105,000
12 BONES Seven 1,082,000 289,000 307,000 216,000 115,000 154,000
13 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,063,000 322,000 342,000 220,000 104,000 74,000
14 ALL NEW FUTURAMA Ten 1,020,000 262,000 351,000 181,000 129,000 97,000
18 FUTURAMA RPT Ten 911,000 241,000 305,000 142,000 130,000 94,000
20 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 894,000 226,000 351,000 101,000 103,000 113,000
23 THE GIL MAYO MYSTERIES ABC1 851,000 274,000 224,000 152,000 87,000 114,000
24 BIG BROTHER Ten 802,000 218,000 262,000 146,000 89,000 86,000
31 Q & A ABC1 543,000 222,000 121,000 113,000 39,000 48,000
32 FAMILY GUY Seven 525,000 124,000 220,000 75,000 53,000 53,000
36 AMERICAN DAD Seven 404,000 108,000 157,000 55,000 39,000 45,000
37 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 397,000 103,000 130,000 78,000 43,000 43,000
41 SUNRISE Seven 347,000 117,000 56,000 98,000 24,000 52,000
46 BLUE WATER HIGH ABC1 315,000 84,000 86,000 77,000 32,000 35,000
49 TODAY Nine 278,000 86,000 88,000 51,000 18,000 34,000
61 SPIRAL SBS 224,000 62,000 75,000 40,000 26,000 21,000
62 STARGATE ATLANTIS Seven 221,000 62,000 79,000 27,000 24,000 29,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,618,000 441,000 430,000 350,000 164,000 233,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,443,000 405,000 387,000 286,000 155,000 209,000
3 SEARCH & RESCUE Nine 1,361,000 386,000 445,000 229,000 137,000 164,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,321,000 423,000 384,000 249,000 112,000 153,000
5 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,304,000 400,000 414,000 220,000 124,000 146,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,253,000 331,000 389,000 281,000 139,000 114,000
7 FIRE 000 Nine 1,215,000 363,000 397,000 197,000 130,000 128,000
8 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,204,000 384,000 398,000 199,000 87,000 137,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,189,000 362,000 321,000 212,000 123,000 170,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,171,000 346,000 359,000 227,000 136,000 103,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,102,000 325,000 316,000 244,000 110,000 107,000
12 7.30 REPORT ABC1 1,090,000 320,000 304,000 218,000 99,000 149,000
13 COLD CASE Nine 1,070,000 313,000 352,000 172,000 117,000 117,000
14 THE NEW INVENTORS ABC1 1,059,000 288,000 295,000 244,000 104,000 128,000
15 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,040,000 321,000 281,000 210,000 108,000 120,000
16 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 987,000 203,000 321,000 203,000 118,000 143,000
24 THE COOK AND THE CHEF ABC1 792,000 251,000 228,000 149,000 100,000 63,000
25 BIG BROTHER Ten 790,000 201,000 180,000 187,000 107,000 115,000
29 THE CATHERINE TATE SHOW ABC1 690,000 213,000 233,000 113,000 62,000 69,000
42 CANAL ROAD Nine 360,000 130,000 95,000 47,000 47,000 41,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
Thanks to Dannii Minogue and her freak show, Channel Seven has a good prospect of winning the week. Prime time audience shares now stand at: ABC 17.6% Seven 29.1% Nine 27.4% Ten 20.7% SBS 5.2%.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,593,000 413,000 498,000 295,000 182,000 205,000
2 NCIS Ten 1,571,000 390,000 460,000 322,000 189,000 210,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,514,000 435,000 360,000 322,000 177,000 220,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,419,000 431,000 341,000 272,000 157,000 217,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,380,000 398,000 463,000 237,000 129,000 153,000
6 NCIS RPT Ten 1,363,000 393,000 422,000 210,000 167,000 171,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,248,000 353,000 423,000 245,000 126,000 102,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,245,000 372,000 378,000 227,000 112,000 155,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,215,000 358,000 384,000 243,000 124,000 106,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,208,000 360,000 319,000 227,000 112,000 190,000
11 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,181,000 283,000 423,000 251,000 117,000 107,000
12 THE SIMPSONS TUES Ten 1,131,000 277,000 387,000 209,000 135,000 123,000
13 10 TO ONE Nine 1,126,000 353,000 327,000 209,000 115,000 123,000
14 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 1,107,000 310,000 358,000 190,000 121,000 128,000
15 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,040,000 307,000 343,000 173,000 103,000 114,000
16 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES Nine 1,032,000 310,000 287,000 150,000 128,000 156,000
17 DEADLY SURF Nine 972,000 309,000 288,000 157,000 91,000 127,000
18 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 932,000 253,000 229,000 193,000 123,000 133,000
29 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 594,000 164,000 214,000 95,000 68,000 52,000
39 SUNRISE Seven 354,000 106,000 62,000 106,000 31,000 49,000
52 TODAY Nine 272,000 80,000 83,000 41,000 25,000 43,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,744,000 515,000 433,000 323,000 193,000 281,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,585,000 467,000 417,000 282,000 161,000 257,000
3 SEA PATROL Nine 1,490,000 417,000 422,000 278,000 169,000 203,000
4 BORDER SECURITY (R) Seven 1,435,000 431,000 386,000 241,000 130,000 247,000
5 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S ELEPHANT - A SPY IN THE HERD Nine 1,377,000 367,000 389,000 293,000 158,000 170,000
6 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,370,000 413,000 438,000 222,000 129,000 169,000
7 SURF PATROL Seven 1,308,000 393,000 372,000 222,000 117,000 205,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,287,000 344,000 435,000 279,000 140,000 90,000
14 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 1,027,000 301,000 288,000 215,000 92,000 131,000
15 ELDERS WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 1,006,000 290,000 319,000 152,000 102,000 143,000
16 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 986,000 306,000 306,000 151,000 118,000 105,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 901,000 267,000 224,000 166,000 112,000 132,000
24 TOP GEAR SBS 826,000 218,000 291,000 138,000 93,000 86,000
25 MEDIA WATCH ABC1 781,000 248,000 209,000 137,000 65,000 122,000
26 HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED Ten 751,000 233,000 206,000 115,000 92,000 104,000
31 TALKING HEADS ABC1 591,000 186,000 189,000 91,000 66,000 58,000
58 BINDI: THE JUNGLE GIRL ABC1 259,000 66,000 88,000 34,000 16,000 55,000
62 GORDON THE GARDEN GNOME ABC1 248,000 73,000 84,000 43,000 13,000 36,000
68 30 ROCK Seven 237,000 66,000 81,000 32,000 30,000 28,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
A record audience of 2.08 million for Wednesday's State of Origin match was only one of the reasons why Channel Nine won the week and looks like winning the year. Another reason is that, apart from its news, Channel Seven seems to have run out of puff. With Desperate Housewives and Australia's Got Talent finishing their seasons soon, Seven's schedule is seriously short of hits. The Olympics will provide a boost, but the advertising industry does not include such extraordinary events in its annual assessment of a station's success.

Ten is in far worse shape. Not even the disappearance of co-host Kyle Sandilands could bring the viewers back to Big Brother, which has settled into a rut below 900,000 a night. Nine doesn't even have to try.

The most watched shows last week included Better Homes and Gardens (7) 1.61m; Seven news (7) 1.60m; NCIS (10) 1.57m; Australia's Got Talent (7) 1.56m; Sea Patrol (9) 1.48m; and Domestic Blitz (9) 1.36m (see below for the full Top 40). The cleverest show on broadcast television, 30 Rock, which Seven plays at 11.30 pm on a Monday, got 236,000 -- the kind of number that excites programmers only on pay TV, where Australia's Next Top Model (Fox 8) got 333,000 last week; NRL - Titans v Storm (Fox Sports 2) got 281,000 and Selling Houses Australia (Lifestyle) got 221,000.

The ABC managed 18.3 per cent of the prime time audience, thanks to Spicks and Specks (1.2 million) and The Gruen Transfer (1.1m), while SBS got a healthy 6 per cent, thanks to Top Gear (897,000). Channel Nine got 28.5 per cent, to Seven's 26.7 and Ten's 20.5.

Update 2pm Monday: Seven disputes the pessimistic analysis above, pointing out that it has still in its cupboard: Dancing with the Stars, Packed To The Rafters, The One, Make Me A Supermodel, Jamie Durie's new series, City Homicide, new season for Criminal Minds, Private Practice, Lipstick Jungle. Will they win the year for Seven?

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,878,000 459,000 587,000 405,000 154,000 273,000
2 60 MINUTES Nine 1,635,000 515,000 497,000 293,000 155,000 174,000
3 DOMESTIC BLITZ Nine 1,515,000 504,000 418,000 295,000 149,000 149,000
4 CSI Nine 1,459,000 364,000 409,000 285,000 199,000 203,000
5 BATTLE OF THE CHOIRS Seven 1,445,000 393,000 426,000 245,000 143,000 239,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,435,000 470,000 463,000 244,000 170,000 88,000
7 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,281,000 350,000 443,000 223,000 111,000 154,000
8 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC1 1,267,000 335,000 439,000 220,000 106,000 168,000
9 WILD CHINA ABC1 1,260,000 325,000 412,000 247,000 117,000 159,000
10 GLADIATORS Seven 1,254,000 273,000 405,000 248,000 137,000 192,000
11 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 1,026,000 312,000 341,000 157,000 103,000 113,000
12 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Ten 1,010,000 331,000 246,000 213,000 106,000 114,000
15 NORTHANGER ABBEY ABC1 927,000 321,000 283,000 122,000 78,000 124,000
18 BIG BROTHER SUN Ten 859,000 273,000 184,000 189,000 104,000 108,000
19 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 12: COLLINGWOOD VS CARLTON Seven 853,000 98,000 425,000 61,000 136,000 134,000
28 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 413,000 278,000 122,000 14,000
29 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Ten 406,000 87,000 142,000 61,000 45,000 72,000

What Australia watched, week ending June 14
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE 2ND - MATCH Network 9 2,084,000 880,000 259,000 768,000 69,000 108,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,610,000 493,000 491,000 258,000 151,000 217,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,603,000 441,000 408,000 312,000 185,000 256,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,599,000 361,000 396,000 413,000 186,000 244,000
5 NCIS Network TEN 1,575,000 376,000 459,000 341,000 174,000 226,000
6 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Network 7 1,556,000 420,000 457,000 254,000 193,000 231,000
7 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE (R) Network 7 1,515,000 436,000 416,000 286,000 167,000 209,000
8 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Network 9 1,491,000 354,000 449,000 321,000 184,000 183,000
9 STATE OF ORIGIN PRE MATCH Network 9 1,423,000 614,000 199,000 522,000 87,000
10 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,407,000 483,000 404,000 244,000 161,000 115,000
11 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,406,000 422,000 394,000 269,000 143,000 178,000
12 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,399,000 388,000 359,000 260,000 160,000 232,000
13 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,364,000 440,000 382,000 251,000 127,000 163,000
14 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,353,000 421,000 337,000 271,000 120,000 204,000
15 CSI Network 9 1,342,000 333,000 406,000 258,000 155,000 191,000
16 NCIS RPT Network TEN 1,342,000 341,000 425,000 237,000 151,000 188,000
17 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,336,000 407,000 372,000 239,000 140,000 178,000
18 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LION - A SPY IN THE DEN Network 9 1,335,000 357,000 403,000 260,000 168,000 147,000
19 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Network 7 1,318,000 436,000 394,000 198,000 129,000 161,000
20 MY NAME IS EARL - THU Network 7 1,311,000 365,000 313,000 279,000 163,000 192,000
21 GETAWAY Network 9 1,299,000 415,000 360,000 230,000 149,000 144,000
22 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,296,000 434,000 377,000 217,000 130,000 139,000
23 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Network 7 1,268,000 376,000 299,000 278,000 148,000 168,000
24 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,266,000 333,000 412,000 276,000 145,000 100,000
25 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,261,000 352,000 378,000 273,000 147,000 110,000
26 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,260,000 386,000 318,000 235,000 129,000 192,000
27 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,235,000 347,000 410,000 257,000 126,000 95,000
28 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Network TEN 1,233,000 326,000 419,000 219,000 131,000 137,000
29 SPICKS AND SPECKS Network ABC1 1,224,000 351,000 384,000 179,000 133,000 177,000
30 WILD CHINA Network ABC1 1,196,000 300,000 385,000 237,000 120,000 155,000
31 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,191,000 331,000 377,000 230,000 110,000 142,000
32 THE SIMPSONS TUES Network TEN 1,153,000 279,000 396,000 215,000 120,000 143,000
33 10 TO ONE Network 9 1,151,000 360,000 311,000 262,000 117,000 101,000
34 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Network TEN 1,150,000 277,000 420,000 185,000 133,000 134,000
35 CSI: NY Network 9 1,134,000 278,000 341,000 201,000 169,000 144,000
36 ABC NEWS-SUN Network ABC1 1,122,000 325,000 346,000 213,000 89,000 149,000
37 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,102,000 297,000 382,000 220,000 128,000 76,000
38 BONES Network 7 1,098,000 302,000 255,000 248,000 126,000 167,000
39 DEADLY SURF Network 9 1,083,000 368,000 282,000 233,000 86,000 115,000
40 HELL'S KITCHEN Network 9 1,082,000 305,000 358,000 170,000 116,000 133,000
41 THE GRUEN TRANSFER Network ABC1 1,081,000 303,000 390,000 135,000 104,000 150,000
(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 04:21 PM
• Comments (65)

The Who We Are Update: Week 24

This week of the media blog is now history. To join the latest discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To discuss the best MacGuffins of movie history, go to The Tribal Mind
To discuss whether Australians are too dumb to function in modern life, go to Who We Are

What Austraia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,353,000 421,000 337,000 271,000 120,000 204,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,102,000 297,000 382,000 220,000 128,000 76,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,068,000 280,000 338,000 190,000 120,000 139,000
4 RICHIE RICH -RPT Network 9 989,000 310,000 228,000 245,000 86,000 121,000
5 BED OF ROSES Network ABC1 961,000 293,000 305,000 183,000 76,000 104,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT Network ABC1 900,000 245,000 302,000 171,000 80,000 102,000
7 THE GREAT OUTDOORS Network 7 877,000 259,000 274,000 169,000 75,000 99,000
9 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Network TEN 841,000 117,000 351,000 60,000 209,000 105,000
10 THE BILL Network ABC1 830,000 224,000 282,000 151,000 69,000 105,000
16 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Network TEN 636,000 83,000 280,000 83,000 119,000 72,000
17 TOP GEAR: THE CHALLENGES SPECIAL Network SBS 540,000 176,000 167,000 103,000 48,000 47,000
18 SEVEN'S R.U: AUS V IRE Network 7 506,000 293,000 23,000 152,000 18,000 19,000
32 ROAD TO BEIJING Network 7 308,000 106,000 78,000 50,000 38,000 36,000
33 SATURDAY DISNEY Network 7 283,000 70,000 104,000 46,000 34,000 29,000
37 BOWLS: PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Network ABC1 253,000 89,000 55,000 67,000 30,000 12,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Saturday
Channel 9 : Footy 567,000
Channel 2: British dramas 1.03m and 889,000.
Channel 10: Big Bother 977,000 followed by a "Chick Flick" starring Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock. Preferably containing all 3 actors. 619,000
Channel 7: Better Homes & Gardens 1.61m & after that who cares as BHG will rack up enough numbers to win Friday night

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,610,000 493,000 491,000 258,000 151,000 217,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,515,000 439,000 362,000 297,000 161,000 256,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,299,000 377,000 303,000 231,000 158,000 230,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,242,000 390,000 316,000 203,000 118,000 216,000
5 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,218,000 326,000 414,000 253,000 134,000 92,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,162,000 301,000 463,000 232,000 94,000 72,000
9 SILENT WITNESS Network ABC1 1,033,000 314,000 303,000 191,000 112,000 113,000
10 BIG BROTHER - FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Network TEN 977,000 245,000 288,000 199,000 123,000 121,000
11 DEAL OR NO DEAL Network 7 896,000 239,000 242,000 183,000 108,000 125,000
12 SPOOKS Network ABC1 889,000 272,000 253,000 183,000 89,000 93,000
17 BIG BROTHER Network TEN 774,000 220,000 219,000 149,000 82,000 104,000
19 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 12: ESSENDON VS WEST COAST Network 7 670,000 11,000 373,000 12,000 109,000 166,000
21 BRIDGET JONES' DIARY RPT Network TEN 619,000 182,000 192,000 89,000 80,000 76,000
22 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Network 9 594,000 168,000 220,000 83,000 76,000 47,000
23 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Network 9 567,000 377,000 178,000 12,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,458,000 368,000 400,000 276,000 183,000 231,000
2 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,311,000 365,000 313,000 279,000 163,000 192,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,301,000 415,000 361,000 232,000 149,000 144,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,272,000 328,000 347,000 234,000 165,000 199,000
5 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Seven 1,268,000 376,000 299,000 278,000 148,000 168,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,268,000 368,000 386,000 253,000 145,000 116,000
7 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Ten 1,233,000 326,000 419,000 219,000 131,000 138,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,228,000 324,000 386,000 241,000 132,000 145,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,140,000 339,000 286,000 229,000 120,000 166,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,130,000 306,000 394,000 218,000 121,000 92,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,116,000 289,000 357,000 244,000 129,000 97,000
12 BONES Seven 1,098,000 302,000 255,000 248,000 126,000 167,000
13 HELL'S KITCHEN Nine 1,094,000 311,000 357,000 173,000 119,000 133,000
16 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 933,000 248,000 254,000 173,000 127,000 131,000
19 THE AMAZING RACE Seven 900,000 274,000 306,000 110,000 108,000 102,000
22 THE GIL MAYO MYSTERIES ABC1 837,000 228,000 249,000 142,000 85,000 133,000
23 BIG BROTHER Ten 816,000 253,000 228,000 144,000 84,000 106,000
24 JAMIE AT HOME EP 2 RPT Ten 736,000 172,000 284,000 122,000 65,000 93,000
25 JAMIE AT HOME EP 1 RPT Ten 696,000 169,000 242,000 102,000 72,000 111,000
29 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 522,000 166,000 148,000 93,000 76,000 38,000
30 Q AND A ABC1 518,000 182,000 133,000 86,000 44,000 73,000
33 FAMILY GUY Seven 474,000 168,000 119,000 66,000 60,000 61,000
35 AMERICAN DAD Seven 397,000 150,000 103,000 51,000 45,000 48,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The ratings race, updated 10am Thursday
The ABC provided a much needed refuge from the biffo last night. The State of Origin pulled viewers from Ten and Seven but barely diminished Spicks and Specks and The Gruen Transfer. This was despite the fact that, as Nine pointed out, "an average of 2.096 million viewers watched Channel Nine's exclusive coverage across the 5 City Metro. This is the highest result for a State of Origin game since the introduction of OzTAM ratings, beating the result from game one three weeks ago (2.092 million)".

Nine will easily win this week (and probably the year, excluding the Olympics), but the ABC is currently on its highest audience share in years.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE 2ND - MATCH Nine 2,096,000 885,000 261,000 768,000 73,000 108,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,600,000 404,000 434,000 311,000 172,000 278,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,398,000 396,000 366,000 265,000 133,000 238,000
4 STATE OF ORIGIN 2 - PRE MATCH Nine 1,354,000 573,000 201,000 493,000 87,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,301,000 393,000 336,000 268,000 127,000 177,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,293,000 357,000 369,000 309,000 148,000 109,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,280,000 345,000 414,000 302,000 136,000 84,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,231,000 340,000 369,000 293,000 134,000 96,000
9 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,199,000 342,000 376,000 176,000 131,000 173,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,167,000 348,000 361,000 202,000 111,000 146,000
11 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,121,000 317,000 398,000 141,000 109,000 156,000
16 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 949,000 271,000 256,000 173,000 113,000 136,000
17 UGLY BETTY Seven 943,000 234,000 334,000 138,000 121,000 116,000
19 BIG BROTHER Ten 902,000 258,000 282,000 139,000 92,000 132,000
20 BACK TO YOU Ten 885,000 157,000 338,000 115,000 119,000 156,000
28 THE CATHERINE TATE SHOW ABC1 658,000 170,000 254,000 73,000 74,000 87,000
29 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 561,000 165,000 185,000 103,000 68,000 40,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,720,000 510,000 424,000 322,000 193,000 271,000
2 NCIS Ten 1,575,000 376,000 459,000 341,000 174,000 226,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Seven 1,556,000 420,000 457,000 254,000 193,000 231,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,549,000 446,000 396,000 280,000 177,000 251,000
5 NCIS RPT Ten 1,342,000 341,000 426,000 237,000 151,000 188,000
6 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,296,000 434,000 377,000 217,000 130,000 139,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,294,000 386,000 379,000 257,000 159,000 112,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,283,000 389,000 339,000 224,000 139,000 191,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,249,000 343,000 400,000 247,000 103,000 156,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,217,000 377,000 362,000 255,000 134,000 89,000
11 NINE NEWS Nine 1,181,000 307,000 362,000 262,000 150,000 100,000
12 10 TO ONE Nine 1,158,000 360,000 314,000 262,000 121,000 101,000
15 DEADLY SURF Nine 1,090,000 369,000 282,000 238,000 87,000 114,000
16 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - REVISITS Nine 1,063,000 321,000 342,000 151,000 113,000 137,000
19 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 937,000 281,000 239,000 177,000 115,000 125,000
20 BIG BROTHER Ten 929,000 250,000 282,000 171,000 106,000 120,000
28 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Nine 561,000 154,000 180,000 80,000 92,000 56,000
41 SUNRISE Seven 360,000 130,000 64,000 93,000 23,000 49,000
49 GIRLS OF THE PLAYBOY MANSION Nine 297,000 99,000 80,000 40,000 40,000 39,000
51 NAUGHTY NAUGHTY PETS ABC1 293,000 65,000 112,000 54,000 32,000 30,000
52 WIGGLE AND LEARN ABC1 279,000 60,000 106,000 53,000 20,000 40,000
53 TODAY Nine 276,000 88,000 85,000 52,000 23,000 29,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,718,000 484,000 421,000 354,000 214,000 245,000
2 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,517,000 396,000 512,000 313,000 166,000 130,000
3 BORDER SECURITY (R) Network 7 1,515,000 436,000 416,000 286,000 167,000 209,000
4 SEA PATROL II - THE COUP Network 9 1,491,000 353,000 451,000 322,000 184,000 182,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,470,000 392,000 381,000 290,000 167,000 240,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,429,000 406,000 465,000 289,000 143,000 126,000
7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Network TEN 1,355,000 335,000 507,000 212,000 146,000 155,000
8 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S LION - A SPY IN THE DEN Network 9 1,339,000 360,000 403,000 261,000 167,000 149,000
9 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,336,000 407,000 372,000 239,000 140,000 178,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,334,000 419,000 314,000 252,000 140,000 209,000
11 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Network 7 1,318,000 436,000 394,000 198,000 129,000 161,000
15 AUSTRALIAN STORY Network ABC1 969,000 265,000 265,000 240,000 70,000 129,000
16 DEAL OR NO DEAL Network 7 950,000 294,000 241,000 185,000 115,000 115,000
19 BIG BROTHER Network TEN 909,000 270,000 265,000 164,000 87,000 121,000
21 TOP GEAR Network SBS 897,000 275,000 279,000 146,000 89,000 108,000
27 MILLION DOLLAR WHEEL OF FORTUNE Network 9 756,000 207,000 248,000 154,000 96,000 52,000
28 MONDAY AFTERNOON AFL Network TEN 741,000 94,000 410,000 56,000 106,000 75,000
39 REVENGE TV Network 7 334,000 141,000 131,000 62,000
69 30 ROCK Network 7 236,000 75,000 55,000 42,000 22,000 42,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
All combatants in any war think God is on their side, but last week, Channel Seven could make this claim more strongly than Channel Nine, because it was saved by The Vicar Of Dibley. Until Friday, Nine was winning the week, thanks to shows such as CSI, Sea Patrol and Domestic Blitz, which appeal to older viewers. But on Friday Better Homes And Gardens brought Seven neck and neck with Nine, and on Saturday the portly prelate pushed Seven's nose in front.

The prime time audience shares were Seven 28.2 per cent, Nine on 27.7, Ten on 20.4, ABC on 18.1 and SBS on 5.6. See below for the most watched shows of the week.

On Pay TV, the most watched were the World Cup soccer qualifier between Australia and Iraq (Fox Sports 3) 330,000; NRL Wests Tigers v Cowboys (Fox Sports 2) 291,000; Australia's Next Top Model (Fox8) 232,000; and The Simpsons (Fox8) 221,000. The ABC triumphed with Spicks And Specks (1.37m) and The Gruen Transfer (1.27m) and SBS scored with a new season of Top Gear (786,000).

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,597,000 361,000 396,000 413,000 184,000 244,000
2 NINE NEWS SUN Network 9 1,407,000 483,000 405,000 243,000 161,000 115,000
3 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,407,000 422,000 394,000 269,000 143,000 179,000
4 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,364,000 440,000 382,000 251,000 127,000 163,000
5 CSI Network 9 1,342,000 333,000 406,000 258,000 155,000 191,000
6 WILD CHINA Network ABC1 1,196,000 300,000 385,000 237,000 120,000 155,000
7 ABC NEWS-SUN Network ABC1 1,122,000 325,000 346,000 213,000 89,000 149,000
8 WITHOUT A TRACE Network 9 1,063,000 271,000 331,000 191,000 135,000 136,000
9 GLADIATORS Network 7 1,035,000 179,000 249,000 310,000 162,000 135,000
10 MY NAME IS EARL Network 7 985,000 250,000 232,000 236,000 116,000 152,000
11 GREY'S ANATOMY Network 7 962,000 345,000 224,000 197,000 92,000 104,000
13 PERSUASION Network ABC1 939,000 289,000 308,000 126,000 100,000 117,000
15 BROTHERS & SISTERS Network 7 857,000 291,000 255,000 152,000 73,000 85,000
16 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Network TEN 813,000 270,000 205,000 137,000 67,000 134,000
18 MOST SHOCKING Network 7 756,000 202,000 220,000 195,000 139,000
19 BIG BROTHER SUN Network TEN 756,000 240,000 187,000 133,000 64,000 132,000
20 ROVE Network TEN 734,000 195,000 238,000 126,000 73,000 102,000
23 SUPERNATURAL SUN Network TEN 595,000 145,000 167,000 132,000 73,000 79,000
25 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 11: ST KILDA VS WESTERN BULLDOGS Network 7 521,000 14,000 278,000 9,000 114,000 105,000
27 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Network 9 451,000 293,000 141,000 17,000
29 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Network TEN 387,000 101,000 110,000 78,000 53,000 46,000
34 GILMORE GIRLS Network 9 318,000 73,000 116,000 29,000 40,000 60,000
39 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 11: BRISBANE LIONS VS FREMANTLE Network 7 256,000 38,000 103,000 115,000
41 TREASURES OF THE SILK ROAD Network SBS 235,000 104,000 58,000 32,000 25,000 16,000
57 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 11: PORT ADELAIDE VS CARLTON Network 7 174,000 174,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, week ending June 7
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,823,000 522,000 558,000 322,000 202,000 219,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,723,000 498,000 403,000 396,000 185,000 241,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT Network 7 1,583,000 448,000 430,000 306,000 184,000 215,000
4 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,551,000 450,000 553,000 248,000 195,000 106,000
5 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH TIGER-SPY IN THE JUNGLE Network 9 1,549,000 431,000 459,000 302,000 168,000 189,000
6 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,541,000 425,000 371,000 334,000 168,000 243,000
7 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,514,000 502,000 412,000 265,000 166,000 170,000
8 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE (R) Network 7 1,514,000 495,000 367,000 269,000 179,000 204,000
9 CSI Network 9 1,497,000 424,000 439,000 269,000 192,000 173,000
10 SEA PATROL Network 9 1,471,000 411,000 413,000 304,000 170,000 174,000
11 NCIS Network TEN 1,458,000 414,000 397,000 282,000 162,000 204,000
12 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,435,000 407,000 365,000 286,000 156,000 221,000
13 SEARCH & RESCUE Network 9 1,434,000 407,000 459,000 235,000 164,000 169,000
14 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,430,000 441,000 408,000 248,000 150,000 184,000
15 HOUSE EP 2 Network TEN 1,392,000 404,000 467,000 216,000 143,000 162,000
16 20 TO 1 Network 9 1,392,000 442,000 385,000 235,000 144,000 186,000
17 SURF PATROL Network 7 1,377,000 434,000 351,000 249,000 157,000 187,000
18 SPICKS AND SPECKS Network ABC1 1,367,000 391,000 421,000 248,000 128,000 178,000
19 FIRE 000 Network 9 1,341,000 391,000 418,000 224,000 151,000 157,000
20 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,339,000 382,000 392,000 259,000 138,000 169,000
21 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Network 7 1,303,000 395,000 306,000 286,000 126,000 191,000
22 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Network 7 1,291,000 393,000 338,000 261,000 129,000 169,000
23 GETAWAY Network 9 1,284,000 392,000 399,000 224,000 135,000 135,000
24 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Network 7 1,273,000 425,000 381,000 182,000 129,000 156,000
25 THE GRUEN TRANSFER Network ABC1 1,267,000 384,000 397,000 207,000 109,000 169,000
26 RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - REVISITS Network 9 1,253,000 339,000 433,000 177,000 133,000 170,000
27 M-THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION THE WITCH AND THE Network 7 1,242,000 386,000 371,000 220,000 116,000 150,000
28 ABC NEWS-SU Network ABC1 1,232,000 355,000 373,000 240,000 131,000 133,000
29 GLADIATORS Network 7 1,228,000 315,000 377,000 251,000 129,000 156,000
30 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,224,000 331,000 386,000 249,000 145,000 113,000
31 HOUSE EP 1 Network TEN 1,222,000 332,000 412,000 186,000 126,000 166,000
32 NCIS RPT Network TEN 1,205,000 336,000 341,000 208,000 145,000 175,000
33 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 1,205,000 374,000 284,000 238,000 132,000 177,000
34 ABC NEWS Network ABC1 1,193,000 321,000 377,000 229,000 106,000 161,000
35 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Network 9 1,193,000 307,000 458,000 207,000 137,000 84,000
36 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Network 9 1,191,000 321,000 350,000 239,000 145,000 137,000
37 WILD CHINA Network ABC1 1,159,000 345,000 335,000 236,000 119,000 124,000
38 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Network 9 1,156,000 311,000 361,000 222,000 137,000 125,000
39 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,148,000 316,000 351,000 235,000 133,000 113,000
40 BONES Network 7 1,140,000 293,000 306,000 258,000 128,000 155,000
41 THE NEW INVENTORS Network ABC1 1,137,000 362,000 309,000 226,000 103,000 138,000
42 HELL'S KITCHEN Network 9 1,113,000 338,000 353,000 139,000 126,000 158,000
43 COLD CASE Network 9 1,099,000 356,000 344,000 192,000 111,000 97,000
44 M-JUST LIKE HEAVEN Network 7 1,089,000 356,000 269,000 215,000 97,000 151,000
45 LAW AND ORDER: SVU Network TEN 1,089,000 367,000 289,000 189,000 129,000 115,000
46 CSI: NY Network 9 1,081,000 307,000 268,000 199,000 149,000 159,000
47 WITHOUT A TRACE Network 9 1,064,000 290,000 327,000 172,000 148,000 128,000
48 BIG BROTHER LIVE EVICTION Network TEN 1,011,000 336,000 272,000 196,000 91,000 117,000
49 THE FOOTY SHOW Network 9 983,000 240,000 399,000 111,000 120,000 112,000
50 GOOD NEWS WEEK Network TEN 960,000 299,000 296,000 153,000 101,000 112,000
51 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Network 7 958,000 296,000 262,000 192,000 90,000 118,000

• by David Dale in whoweare-index at 05:21 AM
• Comments (73)

The Tribal Mind: Devices and Desires

To discuss whether Australians are too dumb to function in modern life, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
HERE'S another reason why Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull won't sell as many tickets as Raiders of the Lost Ark, and doesn't deserve to: its MacGuffin is rubbish.

Two weeks ago this column predicted that IJ4's box office would fall short of the $34 million necessary to match the performance of IJ1, because it fails to meet the requirements of the archetypal hero's journey (click here to read that column).

Some readers have kindly pointed out that my prediction is looking pretty shaky, because in its first three weeks, IJ4 has made $24.4m (while Iron Man, a much better blockbuster, took six weeks to reach $19.3m). But I stand by my prediction (in fact I think Sex and The City may end up beating IJ4, after making $11.3m in its first week), because I have identified another fatal flaw: the central plot-moving device produces an ending which looks derivative of Lara Croft (1 and 2), National Treasure (1 and 2), and 100 other pseudo-mystical potboilers. In other words, the MacGuffin is a cliche.

The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, created the term for an item that makes people run around. The MacGuffin can be anything the characters want, seek, steal, hide, suddenly remember, mysteriously commune with and are willing to sell their souls for. Hitchcock said examples of such motivators would be jewels, test tubes, machines, maps, formulas ... "the device, the gimmick if you will, or the papers the spies are after ... The only thing that really matters is that in the picture, the plans, documents or secrets must seem to be of vital importance to the characters.''

The mightiest MacGuffins of movie history:
The one ring in Lord of the Rings
The letters of transit in Casablanca
The statue in The Maltese Falcon
Rosebud in Citizen Kane
The colt from Old Regret in The Man From Snowy River
The Heart of the Ocean in Titanic
The gem in Romancing The Stone
The cryptex in The Da Vinci Code
The philosopher's stone in the first Harry Potter
The list in Mission: Impossible
The golden glow in Pulp Fiction
The tiny galaxy in Men in Black
The key, the compass and the heart in Pirates of the Caribbean
The weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
The monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey
The Fedex package in Cast Away
The Allspark in Transformers
The alethiometer in The Golden Compass.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, George Lucas said Indiana Jones movies need a strong MacGuffin: "The Ark of the Covenant was perfect. The Shankara Stones were way too esoteric. The Holy Grail was sort of feeble but, at the same time, we put the father in there to cover for it. I mean, the whole reason it became a dad movie was because I was scared to hell that there wasn't enough power behind the Holy Grail to carry a movie.''

Lucas said it took him another 15 years to think of a MacGuffin for IJ4, and initially Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg rejected it. "I said, Well, look, I can't think of another MacGuffin. This works. I won't do it unless we can have that MacGuffin. Without the MacGuffin, I will not go near this thing.''

Many of the two million Australians who have now paid to see Lucas's fourth MacGuffin will be wishing Ford and Spielberg had stuck to their guns.

To suggest other great McGuffins, go to Comments

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 06:23 PM
• Comments (8)

WHO WE ARE: A forrest of Gumps

To discuss what went wrong with Indiana Jones, and to nominate the mightiest MacGuffins of moviedom, go to The Tribal Mind
To learn how a typical Australian family behaves, go to Who We Are

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 8/6/2008
Are most people in Australia too dumb to function in the modern world, or is this only true for most people in South Australia? These questions are raised by a throwaway line in a widely ignored report called SA Stats May 2008, just published by the Bureau of Statistics. It contains this explosive proposition:

"Only 30% of South Australians aged 15 to 74 were assessed to have adequate problem solving skills in the 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey."

So the bureau is saying that 70 per cent of South Australians have inadequate problem solving skills. It's a large claim to be buried in a small report. This column has never been one to seek cheap laughs, so we must all restrain ourselves from observing that this might explain much about South Australia's best known export, the Baron Alexander Downer.

We have an obligation to examine the report more closely. The bureau says that in 2006, it tested a sample of 8,988 Australians aged 15 to 74 on four qualities: prose literacy; document literacy; numeracy; and problem solving. It was checking how many people displayed skills which are "the minimum required for individuals to meet the complex demands of everyday life and work in the emerging knowledge-based economy".

Since the bad news emerged in a report on South Australia, you'd assume it was the State that performed worst. Closer examination reveals that this was not the case. Here's the state and territory breakdown: In the Northern Territory, 72 per cent of people were assessed as having less than adequate problem solving skills; in Queensland, 70.8; in Victoria, 70.6; in NSW, 70.3; in South Australia, 69.6; in Tasmania 69.1 and in Canberra 54.5. Apparently there are dumber places on the continent than South Australia.

As the bureau describes the tests, this is what 15.1 million Australians can do: "Tasks in this level typically require the respondent to make simple inferences, based on limited information stemming from a familiar context. Tasks in this level are rather concrete with a limited scope of reasoning."

And this is what 10.6 million Australians cannot do: "Some tasks in this level require the respondent to order several objects according to given criteria. Other tasks require the respondent to determine a sequence of actions/events or to construct a solution by taking non-transparent or multiple interdependent constraints into account. The reasoning process goes back and forth in a non-linear manner, requiring a good deal of self-regulation. At this level respondents often have to cope with multi-dimensional or ill-defined goals."

The only good news is that we seem to be smarter than Canada, where 31.6 per cent have "adequate" problem solving skills (to our 32.2 per cent). But we are dumber than Norway (39.2 per cent) and Switzerland (33.8).

Now hold on a minute. The bureau is telling us that two thirds of the people in Switzerland, one of the richest countries on the planet, with no natural resources apart from snow, do not have the problem solving skills to function in modern life. Before we start beating up on ourselves, it may be time for the testers to reassess their definition of "adequate".

Click here to read the bureau's full report, and tell us what you think at Comments.

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 04:44 PM
• Comments (67)

The Tribal Mind: The end of the CD era

To discuss whether "Australian culture" is an oxymoron, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
Of course, it was Agnetha's ass. That's the last piece of the jigsaw that explains Australia's obsession with Abba. The puzzle presented itself as I was researching a column about the CD age, designed to mark the tipping point (later this year) when Australians will obtain most of their music via digital downloads instead of silver discs. Sales estimates from the Australian Record Industry Association suggests a farewell chart ...

Australia's top selling CDs, 1985-2008
1. Whispering Jack (John Farnham) 1986
2. Come On Over (Shania Twain) 1998
3. Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morissette) 1996
4. Innocent Eyes (Delta Goodrem) 2003
5. Music Box (Mariah Carey) 1994
6. Savage Garden (Savage Garden) 1997
7. Falling Into You (Celine Dion) 1996
8. Recurring Dream (Crowded House) 1996
9. Abba Gold (Abba) 1992
10. Immaculate Collection (Madonna) 1990
11. Age of Reason (John Farnham) 1988
12. The Very Best of (The Eagles) 1994
13. Don't Ask (Tina Arena) 1995
14. Remasters (Led Zeppelin) 1993
15. 1 (The Beatles) 2000
16. The Sound of White (Missy Higgins) 2004
17. Soul Deep (Jimmy Barnes) 1992
18. Forgiven Not Forgotten (The Corrs) 1996
19. Come Away With Me (Norah Jones) 2003
20 Back to Bedlam (James Blunt) 2005

It turns out that the first Australian-made CD is also our top selling CD of all time, which stirs a patriot's heart. Whispering Jack has sold 1.7 million copies, so one in five Australian households have John Farnham on their CD shelf.

The Swedes come in at number 9 -- an extraordinary achievement for a group who peaked during a decade when music was delivered on black vinyl. Having shifted millions of albums in The Decade That Style Forgot, and having broken up in the 80s, they could still sell nearly a million copies of a compilation CD called Abba Gold in the 1990s.

Their appeal had eluded me in the 70s, when I was preoccupied with high voltage rock and roll. I found them pleasant but bland, and then kitschy when revived via Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Mama Mia The Musical. But the other night SBS showed Abba The Movie and I solved the mystery.

The film mixes lame comedy about a desperate disc jockey with footage of Abba's performances during their 1977 Australian tour. On the morning after their first concert, they are reading a Sydney newspaper with the headline "AGNETHA'S BOTTOM TOPS DULL SHOW".

Watching their performances after this scene, you discover that Agnetha (the blonde one) spends much of every concert with her back to the audience, wearing ski pants with no visible panty line, swaying and gliding across the stage. And it's true -- her bottom is superb. Not big, not small, simply a perfectly rounded phenomenon of nature. I could understand why so many 20-something males who should have been listening to Led Zeppelin were among the elderly ladies and pubescent squealers at the concerts and in the autograph queues. And why the happy memories would have propelled those men to keep buying souvenirs of the experience two decades later.

The next mystery from the farewell-to-CDs chart will be much harder to solve -- what on earth did we see in Celine Dion?

For more detail on the top selling albums of all time, go to The music Australia loved. To discuss Australia's Abba obsession, go to Comments

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 05:17 PM
• Comments (23)

WHO WE ARE: Is 42 million hours a day oxymoronic?

To discuss Agnetha's ass and the top-selling CDs of all time, go to The Tribal Mind

A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 1/6/2008
The term "Australian culture" -- labelled an oxymoron only by the terminally cynical -- was thrown around a lot last week. Some aesthetically advanced people wrote to the prime minister suggesting that the international image of AC would be damaged by recent police action against photos of semi-naked children. It's the right time to ask "What IS Australian culture?" and fortuitously, the Bureau of Statistics has just come up with an answer.

A report entitled Arts and Culture in Australia: A statistical overview, 2008 includes a survey which showed how much time Australians spend on various activities. The bureau found, for example, that 87 per cent of Australians over the age of 14 watch TV for an average of 179 minutes a day, which leads to the calculation that the nation spends a total of 42 million hours each day getting culturally enriched by the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Anna Coren and Dannii Minogue. Applying this process to other entertainments, we can create this chart ...

The main ingredients of Australian culture
1 Watching television (42 million hours a day)
2 Listening to the radio (15.9 million hours a day)
3 Reading (8.9 million hours. The Bureau also established that 77 per cent of us read newspapers, 58 per cent read magazines and 48 per cent read books at least once a week)
4 Outdoor activities -- playing sport, exercising (6.2 million hours)
5 "Audiovisual media" -- using a computer (5.8m)
6 "Games/ hobbies/ arts/ crafts" (4.9m)
7 Video/ DVD watching (2.4m)
8 Visiting entertainment and cultural venues (1.3m)
9 Religious activities/ ritual ceremonies (1.3m)
10 Listening to recorded music (1.1m).

Clearly the definition of culture there is pretty broad. Many people would argue the term AC should be confined to Number 8 on the chart. Yet again, the bureau has dug out the details ...

Our most attended cultural activities
1. Cinema (65 per cent of Australians go at least once a year)
2 Zoos and aquariums (35.6 per cent)
3 Libraries (34.1)
4 Botanic gardens (33.7)
5 Popular music concerts (25.2)
6 Art galleries (22.7)
7 Museums (22.6)
8 Theatre performances (17.0)
9 "Other performing arts" (16.6)
10 Musicals and operas (16.3)

The Bureau notes that the most culturally-inclined Australians are women over 45: "Apart from popular music concerts, a higher proportion of females than males attended each venue or event. The difference was most apparent for local, state and national libraries (41% of females compared with 27% of males) and musicals and operas (21% compared with 12%). People aged 15-24 years were those most likely to attend popular music concerts and the cinema, while people aged 25-44 years were those most likely to visit zoological parks and aquariums. By comparison, people aged 45-64 years were those most likely to attend classical music concerts and musicals and operas."

The bureau has also been able to guage our interest in AC by how much we spend on it: "Australian households spent 4.1 per cent of their total expenditure on cultural goods and services." Households spent the largest amounts on books (on average $3.94 a week), televisions ($3.41), Pay TV fees ($2.69) and newspapers ($2.56).

The bureau has even measured by how much Australians have become more cultural recently: "Between 1998-99 and 2003-04, total household expenditure on culture increased from $26.74 to $36.40 per week." The number of people employed in "cultural industries" now stands at 296,183 - which is a pretty big contribution to the economy.

All round, we're a bloody cultural crowd. Aren't you sorry now about your quip that AC is an oxymoron? Unless you disagree with the definition. Go to Comments if you'd like to discuss what AC might be.

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 02:14 PM
• Comments (9)

The Tribal Mind: We need another hero

To learn how a typical Australian family behaves, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
How deeply embedded in the Australian psyche is Indiana Jones? More than Jason Bourne but less that Maria von Trapp, would we say? About equal with Han Solo, but less than Crocodile Dundee and more than Shrek?

We can give scientific answers to these questions by analysing how many Australians have actually seen those characters, and from there we can predict whether Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (henceforth known as IJ4) will be the biggest moneymaker of the decade.

Lets start with Indy's track record so far. Raiders of the Lost Ark (IJ1) sold $13.9 worth of tickets when it was released in 1981, a year when the average ticket price was $4.50. So it was seen by about 3 million Australians at the cinema. IJ2 made $12.3m in 1984, when tickets cost $5.40, so 2.3 million saw it, and IJ3 made $15.8m in 1989 (at $6.60), and thus was seen by 2.4 million. If we apply the same measure to the most successful movies involving other familiar characters, we derive this chart.

Australia's favourite film heroes:
1 Maria von Trapp
2 Crocodile Dundee
3 Luke Skywalker
4 E. T.
5 Shrek
6 Frodo Baggins
7 Harry Potter
8 Vivienne Ward
9 Jack Sparrow
10 Indiana Jones
11 Neo (Thomas Anderson)
12 Maximus Decimus Meridius
13 James Bond
14 Superman
15 Jason Bourne
16 Woody
17 Spider-Man
18 Batman
19 Mad Max
20 Wolverine.

To push Indy higher up that chart, IJ4 will need to make more than $34 million at the Australian box office over the next few weeks. I'm confident in predicting that it isn't going to do that, even at today's inflated ticket prices. Why? Because it does not meet the requirements of the hero's journey. It has an interesting villain and some exciting chases, but the narrative does not resonate with the archetypal tale that is genetically programmed into all of us.

The notion of The Hero's Journey as the basis of all successful epics (whether in book, poem, film or miniseries) was first raised by a Hollywood screenwriter named Christopher Vogler, who drew on the theories of the mythologist Joseph Campbell and the psychoanalyst Carl Jung.

Vogler said an epic adventure must follow these steps: the hero is summoned on a quest, which he or she initially refuses; gets help from a mentor; sets off on a journey, meeting funny friends and enemies and going through a series of tests; bypasses threshold guardians and enters the inmost cave to face the ultimate ordeal; goes through a form of death and resurrection; makes a return journey and brings home "the elixir" (which may be the solution to a mystery or a breakthrough in self-understanding).

George Lucas has admitted folloowing this formula closely in his initial Star Wars series. It works for Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter stories and The Sound of Music and can be applied even to comedies such as Pretty Woman and Four Weddings and A Funeral. It certainly works for IJ3 (where the elixir looked as if it was going to be the Holy Grail but turned out to be Indy's relationship with hs father).

IJ4 lacks this profundity. I can't outline its failures without giving away surprises, so I'll revisit this topic in ten weeks time, when we know how many Australians have seen it. In the meantime, go to Comments to discuss whether IJ4 will be able to push Australia's psychological buttons.

FOOTNOTE (Tuesday June 3): In its first week in Australian cinemas, IJ4 (on 535 screens) sold $12.3 million worth of tickets. Traditionally a big movie ends up totalling about three times its opening week, so conventional wisdom suggests the final result will be above the $34 million which this column thinks it won't make. In its second week, Indy dropped 40 per cent -- suggesting poor word of mouth -- but still made $7.4 million, bringing its total to $19.7m (while the vastly better Iron Man took five weeks to reach 18.3m). Gulping, I stand by my prediction and will provide regular updates on Indy's progress.
Go to The films Australia loved for more details.

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 11:49 AM
• Comments (20)