0/5

…and 40 weeks makes a clean sweep for Seven.

Seven Network has now won all 40 weeks in Total People in 2011 survey ratings -the first network to do so since the introduction of OzTAM.

Seven Network has now won all 40 weeks in Total People in 2011 survey ratings.

It’s the first time a network has done so since the introduction of OzTAM in 2001.

The X Factor topped Week 48 with The Winner Announced on 2.02m viewers. Next for Seven were X Factor (Tues: 1.72m, Mon: 1.54m), Beauty and the Geek Australia (Winner Revealed: 1.25m, Thurs: 1.07m), Sunday Night (1.21m), Better Homes and Gardens (1.18m), Seven News (Sun: 1.17m, Weeknights: 1.13m, Sat: 1.08m) and Today Tonight (1.04m).

Celebrity Apprentice (Winner Announced: 1.68m, Boardroom: 1.31m, Challenge: 1.06m) was best for Nine then The Big Bang Theory (Ep 1: 1.33m, Ep 2: 1.15m, Wed Ep 2: 1.03m, Wed Ep 1: 1.00m), 60 Minutes (1.32m), and Frozen Planet (1.03m).

TEN scraped into the top 30 thanks to Junior MasterChef (Finale: 932,000, Winner Announced: 914,000, Sun: 846,000, Tues: 723,000, Mon: 675,000), then Merlin (776,000), NCIS (725,000), and Recruits: Paramedics (640,000).

ABC1 had two top performers in Spicks and Specks Finale (1.56m) and Doc Martin (1.45m) followed by ABC News (Sat: 994,000, Weeknights: 853,000), The Hamster Wheel (919,000), Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple (857,000) and The Slap (830,000).

For SBS ONE it was The Bible: A History (307,000), Town with Nicholas Crane (284,000), David Attenborough: Death of the Oceans? (284,000), and Hitler’s Heroes (240,000).

Seven Network won with 30.7% to Nine 25.9%, TEN 19.3%, ABC 18.8% and SBS 5.2%.

In Primary channels Seven won with 22.2% over Nine 19.4%, ABC1 14.6%, TEN 13.7%, SBS ONE 4.4%.

7TWO dominated multichannels on 5.1% ahead of ELEVEN 3.6%, 7mate 3.5%, GO! 3.3%, GEM 3.2%, ABC2 2.6%, ONE 2.0%, SBS TWO 0.9%, ABC3 0.8% and ABC News 24 0.8%.

Seven won key demos 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54.

Seven took victory in all 5 metro cities.

Seven was first on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Nine won Sunday and ABC won Saturday. ABC also bettered TEN on 3 other nights: Wednesday – Friday. Nine also pushed Seven into third place on Saturday while Seven’s primary channel slipped to fourth.

Survey ratings resume on February 12th 2012.

27 Responses

  1. While Ch7 have done a good job, I feel that the quality of some shows was lacking, but the majority still watched them. There were some personal faves, so well done.
    Try to improve on next year with even more consistant programming.
    E.g show Rafters without mucking the audience about. Also a show like Four Weddings, the Amazing Race & Happy Endings had multiple time slots.
    Please schedule Today Tonight to go for 30 minutes and try to make it more professional and current affairs by digging deeper into news stories not lifestyle fluff pieces..
    Finish Live shows and all reality eliminations on time.
    I realise there are “secret reasons” for running over to avoid channel switching, but if you stand by your products resorting to “cheating” isn’t as convincing with your strategy. Tery something new and you may be rewarded and pleasantly surprised.

  2. Congrats to Seven, that is an amazing achievement. Should be some big, fat bonus cheques being handed out to Execs just in time for Christmas! Kudos to them, they have read their audience approximately 100 times better then either Nine or Ten and are reaping the rewards for that.

  3. @ Gary

    To me, Seven was better in 2007. So was Nine. I do not base my opinions or viewing habits on ratings. Sure 2011 gave Seven more weekly wins and a higher share but in 2007 I was more connected to Seven and was more engaged in their programs. It was a year I started to flock to Nine and slowly to watch new and different programs on other networks. Home and Away was better in 2007 than 2011. I am a long term fan of the show and I enjoyed the storylines back then but now it doesn’t matter if i miss it. US shows were better and had higher ratings. Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters and Greys all did well. I enjoyed AGT and DWTS then but now I dont care about any of Seven’s reality shows. I watched Today Tonight for awhile but then switched to Neighbours and I became a regular viewer of Nine News by the end of the year. I needed a change. I may favour Nine now but you will not catch me watching repeats of Big Bang Theory or Two and a Half Men. I do not even watch ACA.

    I believe the quality of tv in general was better in 2007 than it was in 2011. Seven was better, Nine was better, Ten was better and even the ABC to some extent. SBS in my opinion is better now. I do enjoy Letters and Numbers plus some other programs that I didnt watch or didnt exist in 2007.

    In the end well done Seven. There was the good, the bad and the ugly but 2012 will be a more challenging year. Nine have invested in more programming and reality while Ten will have a former Seven executive as CEO who will pull the network up. Seven will have more Rafters, Winners and Losers, Downton Abbey and more so no matter what happens, they will still do well even if they lose ground compared to this year which is very likely.

  4. Well, thats the year and congrats Seven! 40/40 is well done.
    I must say though, I found myself watching less and less of Seven. I hate X Factor and AGT and also every (Aussie) soap/drama on Seven. Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Castle and Criminal Minds are about it for me.
    Compare that to Nine where I watch 2.5 Men, TBBT, CA, Block, CSI: Miami (only for the hilarious storylines) and Nine News. TEN is nothing to me now. That ship has sailed, and it deserves what it got this year because it was waaaaayyy too reliant on the same format- you know what I’m talking about…
    2012 will be interesting to say the least- could it be another Clash of the Titans? With Olympics, BB, Block, and Voice (which I am obsessed about), Nine could very well walk away with a win, or it may fall flat like this year. Then again, Seven seem to have the strongest programmes at 8:30, even though nothing rates there anymore, and that could push them across the line. I think that multichannels will play a much larger role next year- if the two Primary Channels are close (7 and 9) for a ratings week, it will be the multichannels which will decide the outcome.
    What I Want: More Aussie dramas like City Homicide and Rescue Special Ops. Make it happen Networks…

  5. @Cameron

    Every network has its highs and lows. Of course not every network is perfect. Seven had a fantastic year. They did what they needed to do to win every week of the year and the last few weeks they ran practically dead and still won easily over the others. It just shows how much depth Seven has as a whole. I also don’t believe what you say when you say they were better in 2007 then 2011. I see them stronger now then ever. In 2007 digital channels were not around. Its a totally different TV landscape and well its a credit to them to win 40/40 in this environment.

    The major problem with the other networks is, sure they had highlights but they couldn’t sustain their audience once the show was finished. The Block is one prime example. The Block rated very well yet everything else around it fell in a heap. That is the problem with the other networks. There is no depth what so ever.

  6. Given that I live in one of the largest cities in Australia and have done so for 48 years, yet have never once met a person who was involved in any kind of ratings survey…. I’m going to have to conclude, ‘who cares’.

  7. 7 Won every week in the year due to their incredibly talented staff and production outsourcing. Yet they are still too cheap to put on a Xmas party for their staff. Beggars belief really. !
    Bet the executives aren’t refusing their Xmas bonus. ,!

  8. This says more about the lack of competition than how strong Seven is – I don’t watch anything on Seven or FTA’s generally – who makes an appointment to watch commercials interrupted by mediocre/tabloid rubbish? No-one under 40. I’m going to buy Downton Abbey 2 any minute – why do I have to wait?

  9. Also interested how many weeks Seven won in each city. If Nine was stronger in Adelaide and Perth, Seven may not have had a clean sweep. Nine only won weeks in the cities where their stations are O&O. Nine’s problems are partly due to Win. Nine and Ten won weeks in 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54 demos but in the end I believe Seven won these demos overall. Seven would have had a clean sweep in the 55+ demo too.

  10. Including Easter and Summer it is 45 straight weekly wins for Seven. Seven should crow about that as 45 is a bigger number than 40. 7two won the digitals for most of that time. Will Seven make 46 straight wins? Tune in next Sunday!

    While Seven did really well in 2011 not everything was great. Kyle and Jackie O’s show was a flop. Seven News sunk and lost in Sydney. Seven News also lost weeks in Melbourne and even a few in Brisbane. Sunrise was behind Today in Sydney and Melbourne while the gap in Brisbane shrunk. Deal or No Deal was down now hovering over 400k and behind Hot Seat most days. Seven also saw Wild Boys flop and saw another fav US drama axed – Brothers and Sisters. Desperate Housewives rated poorly on Thursdays and will be another loss in 2012. To me Seven was not a well watched network like it was in 2007 and one I didnt watch all the time due to the fact most shows did not interest me. Winners and Losers was the best new local show they put on and Downton Abbey was great. Rafters not as strong but still watchable and Home and Away in my opinion had its worst year in terms of quality. The Early Years (on 7two) are much better to watch and hope they continue.

    Would be nice to see the ratings for the news (all networks) across the year as well as the daily current affairs shows, Today vs Sunrise, Morning shows and Hot Seat vs Deal. Would be nice to see how they compare in each city and vs last year.

  11. Maybe it’s a generational thing but I really don’t see the appeal of any of the shows on 7two (nor do I know anybody who does), I have no problem with British content (spent time in England) but the shows seem to target older (I’m mid 20’s) viewers. I personally prefer Eleven or Go and feel the ABC and SBS have provided some quality tv shows and documentaries this year.
    I feel like I’m the only person who isn’t a fan of channel 7 or 9, to be honest I rather watch channel 10 (though I don’t like the news set up and miss 6:30 with George Negus).

  12. Congratulations 7 on your dominance for 2011, you seem to know what the views want and that is the most important thing, and thank you for not keep repeating 2 and three episodes of a programme in succession every night like other channels you really do deserve to be the top station and hope that next year is just as successful for you. Would like to see channel 10 do better, think that is also a good channel with great people employed there but unfortunately they don’t seem to be able to attract the public but will keep my fingers crossed that next year is better for you. Channel 9 is OK but I don’t like a lot of the the people they employ so don’t watch it for that reason.

  13. To be honest seven may have won in the ratings but really with show like ‘the one’ (I’m more of a sceptic after watching it), Packed to the Rafters (It makes me sad to think this is Australia’s favourite drama), Winners and Losers (it began as a pale immitation of sex in the city and it ended as a pale imitation of the bold and the beautiful) and of course Today Tonight (no explanation needed), the other networks except for SBS and ABC haven’t been much better infact I haven’t been watching Australian television due to the calibre of the shows, ABC has had great ratings success this year by giving us great shows, The Gruen Transfer, The Slap, Doctor Who etc. Also American Horror Story has been a highlight and I’m glad it’s on Eleven not Ten it doesn’t deserve to share a channel with awful shows like Junior Masterchef and Rules of Engagement.

  14. Good on Channel Seven for this, they have done a great job all year. I hope channel 10 can/will improve next year. Can’t wait for their Breakfast show, still not keen on the name, “Breakfast” stupid. Looking forward to see what Paul Henry has to offer. Bets are on the Breakfast show won’t even last 1 year or 2, but anyway……

  15. And so ends another year of ratings.
    Thanks David for you work this year, even through the hiccups experienced near the end of the year (not pointing the finger at anyone…).
    I hope Nine and especially Ten can improve next year. Having one network so dominant is not good for viewers because that could lead to the network needing to do less to maintain its number one status. And really, there’s no reason Ten shouldn’t be doing better. Look at the ratings ABC has pulled recently with less money to splash around.
    But congrats to Seven. They seem to have figured out a formula that works to get the ratings.

  16. The gap between 7 & 9 was smaller in primary channels. Go and Gem need a major boost in 2012. Go fell flat this week only just beating Gem. Gem may have done well some days usually on Sundays and Friday saw a decent share but most days it hovers around 2-3%. Go even saw days around 2-3%. If Nine wants to win 2012 it needs to be competitive in digital channels.

    As for 10, 11 is strong and could do better (4%+) but One is pulling them down.

    7 has dominated 2011 winning all but 3 weeks which occured during the summer non ratings period in Janurary. 7 has been able to win non stop since the Australian Open and its only a matter of time before the winning streak stops. I believe Nine will win another week this year, most likely the last 2 weeks thanks to Carols by Candlelight and cricket. The cricket could give Nine a good lead in during December but they need to see wins during the offical ratings period and not just summer. 2012 will be a better year for 9 and I believe 10 as well. I think 7 will do well but will do worse compared to this year.

  17. Well done Channel Seven. Everything you did in 2011 is well deserved. The fact no one has ever done this shows how dominant the network really is and the fact its done in a digital environment too is an even bigger achievement. I guess the questions that will be asked now is can Nine come close in 2012? Can TEN dip even lower?

    I still think there needs to be some changes done to the ratings. Obviously these new posting rules are here to stay and i am fine with that. The thing i am not fine with is what Nine have done these past weeks by splitting a show in 2 even though its one episode. Now i know some of you will disagree here but i am ok with the Winner Announced thing for reality but i am not happy with the way ratings have gone in the past year. It all started when TEN decided it was ok to split Masterchef and Renovators into individual nights then Nine did it with the block and continued on with that trend with Celebrity Apprentice. Then they decided to do it with Underbelly’s individual episodes. Sorry but this i deem is wrong. A series that is shown should be averaged as a series especially a weeknight one. Also the same should go for the likes of Underbelly etc. What Nine and TEN have done to the ratings is an absolute disgrace and i think it should be changed. Seven have been light on with things. The only thing they do is the Winner Announced stuff which as i said before has been a practice in the ratings business for years which i am fine with but splitting shows? Ridiculous.

    Then we come to the repeating of shows. Seven codes a repeat, Nine codes Ep1, Ep2 of Big Bang and they were both repeats yet its not stated repeats. We need to use a system which is fair and at the moment this one isn’t. One network can do one thing and the other network can do another. What next split the news in 4 segments. Sorry but this needs to stop now! End of rant.

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