THE
Seven Network has won the television ratings race for the first time in
a non-Olympics year since 1980, overtaking the vanquished Nine Network
by more than two share points.
Channel 7 CEO David Lecke happy to win this years TV rattings. Picture: Lindsay Moller
Seven’s
winning share, ahead of the last day of the official 40-week OzTAM
ratings year on Saturday, is 29.0, Nine’s is 26.9, Ten’s is 22.3, the
ABC’s 16.6 and SBS’s 5.5.
Seven’s chief executive David Leckie declined an interview with
Media yesterday, saying he preferred to let the record speak for
itself.
Australian advertising guru and Mitchell Communication Group
executive chairman Harold Mitchell said Mr Leckie could take the credit
for the resurgence.
"He invented the meaning of the word momentum in television
operations, and Seven has it. You’ve got plenty of competition now that
he has raised the bar to a very high level."
Last week Mr Mitchell said Seven was set to break through the magic
40 per cent revenue share barrier in the $2.8 billion metropolitan TV
advertising market for the first time.
While Seven, the ABC and SBS have all improved on last year’s share
figures, Nine and Ten are down. Seven was the leader not just in total
viewers but also in Ten’s 18-49 target demographic and in the
advertiser friendly 25-54 group.
Ten won in the 16-39 age group again this year and the ABC has
improved more than the other four networks, adding 1.2 share points to
its tally.
Seven has been ahead all year, winning 35 of the 39 weeks of the TV year and often taking the top five spots of the night.
Seven’s historic win came on the back of a rich slate of locally
produced factual and entertainment shows that have dominated the
nation’s TV screens this year.
The ABC comedy Kath & Kim, in its first series on a commercial
network, was this year’s most popular program, with an average audience
of 2.128 million viewers in its new Sunday night slot on Seven. It is
also the only regular show to attract an audience above the magic two
million mark. So popular is the show, even repeats of the ABC’s first
series made it into the top 20 for 2007, with an average audience of
1.443 million.
Nine, which has lost 2.2 share points since last year’s winning
share of 29.1, is barely represented in the top 20 regular programs.
Its new navy boat drama Sea Patrol, starring Lisa McCune, was the only
highlight in a year of failed programming. Sea Patrol came 11th with an
average audience of 1.523 million. National Nine News on Sunday just
scraped into 20th place with an average audience of 1.443 million.
Ten was better represented in the list of popular series than Nine.
Ten’s hit Australian comedy Thank God You’re Here was second with an
average audience of 1.860 million and US imported medical drama House
was a big hit again, with an audience of 1.5million for series three
and four. But 15 of the top 20 spots belonged to Seven and its
well-received stable of factual shows: The Force, Border Security,
RSPCA Animal Rescue, Medical Emergency and Surf Patrol.
The ABC’s best show was The Chaser’s War on Everything, which came
in 21st with an average audience of 1.442 million. The Chaser this year
was more popular than TV standards on other networks, including Nine’s
60 Minutes, Seven’s Today Tonight and Ten’s Australian Idol. The ABC’s
brilliant satire Summer Heights High also did very well, averaging
1.297 million, which is more people than watched the Idol finale on
Sunday night on Ten.
Seven has beaten Nine in news and current affairs for the third
consecutive year. Seven News Sunday averaged 1.446 million, Seven News
1.428 million and Today Tonight 1.363 million.
Popularity: 1%
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