If there’s ever a health check of the TV networks it’s Sunday night viewing, and it appears the pulse is weak over at struggling Ten if last night’s Oztam audience figures are to be believed.
Nine has again won Sunday night bragging rights with its head-to-head battle with rival Seven after Married At First Sight again saw off Seven’s My Kitchen Rules to be the evening’s most watched program.
However, the real highlight of the night was the ABC beating the Ten Network and comes only weeks after Ten’s CEO, Paul Anderson, described the television business as being under “extreme duress”.
Nine won the night on primary channels, however, Seven’s multichannels helped them win the night overall. Seven had 29.8 viewer share, Nine scored 29.5 per cent, ABC 17.3 per cent, TEN 16.6 per cent and SBS 6.7 per cent.
According to OzTam figures, Married at First Sight hit a series high with 1.17 million viewers, while MKR could muster only 1.06 million.
It’s a worrying sign for Seven bosses whose stalwart cooking show, it could be argued, is starting to show signs of viewer fatigue after seven years and is now leaking its female audience to arch-rival Nine.
Ten’s loss to the ABC would be embarrassing for network bosses and it appears increasingly evident the broadcaster’s Sunday night stalwart I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here needs a rethink if its to give the network a kick-a-long into the rest of the evening.
I’m A Celeb… managed only 685,000 viewers last night but commendably rose to 782,000 for the elimination.
In contrast the ABC is enjoying a boon in the ratings. Its new show Vera scored 828,000 viewers and beat both Seven’s Sunday Night (733,000) and Nine’s 60 Minutes (688,000).
On Saturday night. the ABC’s Death In Paradise topped the ratings with 963,000 viewers (five-city metro).
Nine, too, had a strong Sunday night. Married at First Sight was the evening’s most watched show, while Nine News reeled in 1.05 million, 60 Minutes (688,000) and Lethal Weapon (360,000).
SBS’s telecast of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras drew a disappointing audience of only 193,000.
