It seems the Aussies were keen to put their money on the horses, with Nine’s Oaks Day coverage racing into the top three programs of Thursday night’s television ratings.
The $1 million Oaks Day feature race had viewers glued to their screens on Thursday, as hot favourite Proxima Dea stormed to victory at Flemington.
Ridden by jockey Zac Lloyd, the three-year-old filly delivered an emphatic win in the 2500-metre Group 1 race, finishing two lengths ahead of Shameful Impulse.
Proxima Dea, trained by David Payne in Sydney, made her move with 400 metres to go, surging past the leaders before charging home to claim the prize.
And it seems the on-track action translated into some healthy numbers for Nine, with Oaks Day reaching 1,393,000 viewers nationally and averaging 219,000, alongside a further 39,000 watching via BVOD.
The coverage ranked third among Thursday’s most-watched programs by national reach, sitting behind Seven News, which reached 2,032,000 viewers, and Nine News, which reached 1,677,000.
Over on Seven, The Chase Australia reached 1,381,000 viewers and averaged 679,000, while RBT pulled in a reach of 1,362,000 and an average audience of 638,000 for Nine.
A Current Affair also performed strongly for Nine, reaching 1,301,000 nationally and averaging 842,000.
Meanwhile, Love Island Australia continued to attract younger audiences, reaching 1,006,000 viewers and averaging 448,000, with a further 321,000 tuning in via BVOD.
Big Brother Australia also made the top 20 for Ten, reaching 780,000 viewers and averaging 420,000, with 101,000 watching on BVOD.
