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Bolt Report inaccurate with ratings data

The Bolt Report says its total audience is often bigger than ABC1's Insiders -but isn't adding up all the numbers.

Yesterday Andrew Bolt slipped in a reference to ratings figures that suggested The Bolt Report has more viewers than ABC1’s Insiders.

“Since The Bolt Report started 22 shows ago we’ve asked more than 50 times for Gillard government ministers for a chat. Gillard, Rudd, Combet, Bowen, Crean… but not one had even though our total audience is often bigger than the ABC’s Insiders,” he said.

The line about “total audience” is meant to mean the total of the show’s two airings at 10am and 4:30pm on Sundays. By all rights it should really be an average of the two (which is frequently the way the Free to Air sector arrives at averages for Pay TV’s many replays).

But even adding in the two numbers, the figure is still incorrect.

Why? Because Insiders plays on both ABC1 and ABC News 24.

If the total audience for The Bolt Report is the total of its two broadcasts, then ABC is entitled to have their three broadcasts factored in. This is a multichannel landscape after all.

So adding up all broadcasts of both shows here are the most recent results.

Sunday 25 September
9am Insiders ABC1 201,000
9 am Insiders ABC News 24 33,000
8pm Insiders ABC News 24 20,000
Total: 254,000

10am The Bolt Report TEN 119,000
4:30pm The Bolt Report Encore 126,000
Total: 245,000

Sept 18
Insiders 239,000
The Bolt Report 221,00

Sept 11
Insiders 236,000
The Bolt Report 134,000 (one screening)

Sept 4
Insiders 276,000
The Bolt Report 264,000

56 Responses

  1. Bolt, Ackerman, Jones. All ‘objective’ ha, media types that provide a great service to this country, ahem, the Liberal Party, ahem, themselves. No way do they deserve a fair go. Lazy, shock jock, journalism at best!

  2. JB – the reason Bolt got his own show is that Lachlan Murdoch and Gina Reinhardt are Huge fans of his.

    Bolt could be on the bottom of the ratings list – and Gina and Lachlan would continue to suppor the show.

    As for Gillard not appearing on his show? Why should she? Bolt – and the Murdoch media – have made it very clear that they hate the woman and wished her harm. Their mate Alan Jones has been encouraging his fans to physically attack her and dump her body in the sea to be eaten by sharks!

    And this is considered objective journalism in Australia?????

  3. aww c,mon David don’t be too harsh on Andy Bolt, he has had a bad week. Give him some journo credit of never letting the truth get in the way of a good story. The Govt pollies should go on his show as he will be very predictable….

  4. He was great on Today and Insiders and now its all gone to his head. He will never beat the insiders. I think it took Sunrise about 5 years to get the PM.

  5. Bolt is very good at ignoring facts to serve his own agenda, just another example I’m afraid. And seriously, around 100 000 watching a first run Bolt report. Pathetic, if I had a show with those numbers I wouldn’t mention them at all.

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