Channel Ten grabbed 33.2 per cent of the prime time audience last night, proving once again how much Australians love series finals. Seven is still slightly ahead for the whole week so far, but the appeal of various forms of footy will determine whether Nine can end up winning its first week for the year.

What Australia watched, Thursday
1 THE BIGGEST LOSER – FINALE Ten 1,995,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,379,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,371,000
4 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT RPT Ten 1,310,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,230,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,219,000
7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,158,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,125,000
9 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,092,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 1,050,000
11 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 947,000
12 LOST Seven 926,000
13 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 905,000
14 AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS Seven 901,000
15 GETAWAY Nine 896,000

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Popularity: 1%

Channel Nine won last night, but only just, and at this point in the week, Seven is averaging 28.9 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 26.4, Ten on 22.9, ABC on 16.3 and SBS on 5.4.

1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,618,000

2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,580,000

3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,411,000

4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,391,000

5 CHASER’S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,382,000

6 MCLEOD’S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,355,000

7 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 1,331,000

8 HOUSE Ten 1,325,000

14 ANZAC DAY AFL Ten 1,192,000

15 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,184,000

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Popularity: 1%

Many might ask why publish the national television ratings when we have our own Hunter Region ratings results to be guided by? The answer is that I believe it provides a clearer picture of overall viewing trends and some insight into how ratings and programming may evolve over the ratings year.

Without doubt the Hunter market throws up some significant variations to national trends: NBN rates much higher here than Nine is nationally, while Prime and SC TEN rate slightly lower than their national counterparts. Therefore it is clearly necessary to study local results. However, understanding how certain programs are rating nationally can be equally important, especially when you are trying to buy media several months in advance.

Sticky Advertising uses a combination of local and national ratings results to determine trends and anticipate which shows are going to have longevity or consistency. For example, a new show may rate well on NBN locally but be struggling in a key time slot for the Nine Network. If that is the case then there is a big chance that program will be moved to another timeslot or cancelled.

Full Hunter ratings results are also not released as regularly as the national figures, so it can take a while for the performance of programs to become apparent in this market. Following national figures, which can be obtained daily allows us to react more quickly and buy more accuratley for our clients.

Popularity: 1%

What Australia watched, Tuesday

1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 6 Seven 1,899,000

2 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,496,000

3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,461,000

4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,381,000

5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,247,000

6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,230,000

7 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,190,000

8 TEMPTATION Nine 1,075,000

9 ABC NEWS ABC 1,070,000

10 BIG BROTHER Ten 1,058,000

(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Seven won the night, and at this point in the week is averaging 29.8 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 25.9, Ten on 23.3, ABC on 15.5 and SBS on 5.5.

What Australia watched, Monday April 23

1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,487,000

2 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,428,000

3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,347,000

4 BIG BROTHER – GAME ON Ten 1,324,000

5 1 VS 100 Nine 1,322,000

6 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,308,000

7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,290,000

8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,219,000

9 THE RICH LIST Seven 1,162,000

10 CSI: NY Nine 1,144,000

11 TEMPTATION Nine 1,131,000

12 WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU Nine 1,025,000

What Australia watched, Sunday

1 60 MINUTES Nine 1,603,000

2 BIG BROTHER – OPENING Ten 1,549,000

3 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,515,000

4 SEVEN NEWS – SUN Seven 1,484,000

5 AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT Seven 1,398,000
6 GREY’S ANATOMY Seven 1,300,000

7 COUNTDOWN TO THE BIGGEST LOSER Ten 1,273,000

8 20 TO 1 Nine 1,234,000

9 UGLY BETTY Seven 1,216,000

10 CURTIN ABC 1,186,000

11 ROBIN HOOD ABC 1,106,000

12 ROVE Ten 1,073,000

(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

-Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Popularity: 1%