ABC storms Seven’s teacup

Ratings Week 46 was the week the Chaser invaded Today Tonight and attracted melodramatic media attention, the three commercial networks agreed to host an EPG, an actress told our producers the state of childrens’ telly was unacceptable, a media mogul said TEN was overpriced and GTV9 hit the property market. The raid from ABC upon Seven is something of a metaphor this year, just take a look at any given Wednesday results.

And with only two more ratings weeks remaining, Seven was again the leader winning the week with 28.8% to Nine’s 26.7%, TEN’s 22.1%, the ABC’s 17.2% and SBS’ 5.1%.

Seven won Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, Nine took Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Seven won all cities once more.

As major programming winds down, Dancing with the Stars was afforded the title top show of the week on 1.75m viewers, only just ahead of City Homicide’s 1.72m. Other top shows for Seven were Border Security, Kath & Kim, Home and Away, Seven News, Today Tonight, All Saints, Surf Patrol, My Name is Earl and Better Homes and Gardens. An extra 200,000 viewers flocked to Today Tonight‘s ‘Chaser’ story from the previous night. National Bingo Night has lost its mojo (or possibly just the free newspaper bingo cards). As a result Seven was third behind TEN on Sunday night. By the 8:30 movie everyone had all but left Seven’s building for CSI and Rove. Wednesdays remain problematic from 8:30pm. A similar pattern emerges on Thursdays.

CSI almost restored Nine to its traditional Sunday glory. It was their top show for the week. Also strong for Nine was Missing Persons Unit and its ongoing fortunes with Farmer Wants a Wife (is there a second series in this?). 20 to 1 enjoyed a rare resurgence with its sporting theme. National Nine News, A Current Affair, 60 Minutes, Temptation, Cold Case and CSI: NY followed. Nine will need a re-think for Getaway if it is to return in 2008, its figures have been consistently hovering around the lacklustre 1m mark. Same goes goes for Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Despite middling figures for both, the Bee beat the Bingo.

Australian Idol took TEN’s top slot with 1.4m viewers, just ahead of House. So You Think You Can Dance put in a good finale performance, as did Rove. Otherwise it was left to The Simpsons, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader and a repeat of Thank God You’re Here to hold the fort. Friday and Saturday nights the cleaner could have read his laundry list live to air and few would have noticed.

Those media-hungry Chaser boys got their glory for the ABC once more, the week’s top show. But it was down from the week before, are their stunts backfiring? The last New Tricks followed, then Spicks and Specks, ABC News, Enough Rope, Australian Story and The Librarians. ABC finished ahead of TEN on Friday night.

SBS had a good night on Monday.

Ratings Week 46