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Wednesday comedies sing for ABC

Ratings: Mad as Hell & Utopia pip Doctor Doctor. Look Me in the Eye gives SBS a small lift.

ABC comedies enjoyed another strong night for ABC with Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell and Utopia finales winning their timeslot with 740,000 and 739,000 viewers respectively.

That edged out Doctor Doctor‘s 704,000 viewers and a movie on TEN. SBS newcomer Look Me in the Eye sent social media into streams of tears with 285,000 giving it a small lift.

The Block again topped the night with 1.04m viewers ahead of The Bachelor‘s 717,000, with the latter topping the 16-39 demo. Seven’s factuals were in third place.

AFL panel shows came into play creating staggered viewing in some cities, with The Front Bar technically Footy Show, but at an earlier timeslot. Get Krack!n dipped slightly but still won its slot.

Nine network won Wednesday with 30.3% then Seven 26.0%, TEN 18.2%, ABC 17.3% and SBS 8.2%.

The Block was #1 for Nine with 1.04m viewers then Nine News (982,000 / 982,000), A Current Affair (821,000),  Doctor Doctor (704,000), and Hot Seat (467,000 / 275,000). The AFL Footy Show was 242,000 in 3 cities.

Seven News (959,000 / 938,000) was best for Seven then Home and Away (652,000), Border Security (595,000), The Chase (561,000 / 380,000), Criminal Minds (406,000), The Force (384,000 in 3 cities). The Front Bar was 253,000 in 3 cities.

Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell (740,000), Utopia (739,000), ABC News (675,000), Hard Quiz (585,000), 7:30 (547,000), Get Krack!n (413,000) and Grand Designs (203,000) comprised ABC’s night.

The Bachelor (717,000) was best for TEN then The Project (621,000 / 380,000), TEN Eyewitness News (429,000), Family Feud (322,000) and movie: Dirty Dancing (288,000).

On SBS it was Extreme Railway Journeys (325,000), Look Me in the Eye (285,000), The Good Fight (167,000), SBS World News (145,000).

Shaun the Sheep showed up multichannels on 215,000.

Sunrise: 285,000
Today: 267,000
News Breakfast: 91,000 / 52,000

OzTAM Overnights: Wednesday 6 September 2017

Amended.

22 Responses

  1. In recent times …I have taken to going across to Nine 6PM news after TEN 5PM News…quite enjoying it….more local stuff…..I then watched Trains on SBS…about the Ghan line…although they missed that train ( a bit contrived there, I think)….no TV after that….US chat time for me…..
    I just went and checked out Utopia on iview…..never given it a thought before…I have saved to my watch list….will binge over the weekend….Oh and yes….I know those people they portray…been there…done that…. 😀

      1. Must be said though that Front Bar is doing very adequately against TFS in their usual slot. I imagine it would cost significantly less too. Yes, TFS is going better with Ed but I think Front Bar is chipping away, slowly popping itself out to a 75-80 min show. Front Bar is definitely easier viewing.

        1. @ glennc, you make a good point about the Front Bar being easier viewing. I must say I hadn’t realised that until I read your comment. The Front Bar is very much like sitting at a bar with friends and listening to their banter. I’m a convert from the Footy Show to the Front Bar and agree the Front Bar has the better growth potential at the expense of the Footy Show. An 8:30 start in Perth next year could help their ratings too.

        2. It is easier viewing and the weird thing is that the advertising is front and centre but doesn’t paticulary bother me, same goes for the blatatant gambling ad in Mick’s Multi. I think that’s the key though, it’s so obvious to what it is that I don’t blink an eye at it, where as the way it comes up in other instances during telecasts it feels annoying (like it’s rudely interrupting you).

          As for cost it would be negligible given it’s a Molloy Productions and Carlton Draught Co-Produced show, for one Carlton and United Breweries would be righting it off in it’s advertising budget. So for Seven it’s more than likely not a huge amount they’re paying them to air it and they get the bonus of having the presenters being able to be used elsewhere.

      2. Well sort of when you fill in the blanks David 😉

        As in I’m reading: “AFL panel shows came into play creating staggered viewing in some cities, with The Front Bar technically Footy Show, but at an earlier timeslot. Get Krack!n dipped slightly but still won its slot.”

  2. Utopia…….it sure does nail every aspect….from the hr gestapo….to making the central character the fall guy for a massive overspend that he fought to stop…..and yet another tech failure (they seem to have one each season) this time it was another entry system. It is such a great show highlighting the immemse incompetance in govt depts just the way Yes Minister did a few decades ago. A modern day classic for sure….

      1. That’s what makes it unwatchable for me. I lived that for too many years – from the times when ‘caring about the job’ meant working around the general random incompetence, up until the days it meant not questioning the maliciously weaponised dysfunction – to want to sit through it again for entertainment.

        Well, that & Rob Sitch. Can’t stand him…

    1. It’s interesting reading all the comments about how true Utopia is. I’ve never worked in a large company or government agency, so have no background of what that’s like. I caught a couple of Utopia episodes a while back and thought it was so silly and unrealistic, that I lost interest. I’m quite shocked to hear it’s actually reflective of what goes on. It’s quite sad really.

      1. I would go much further than “actually reflective”. It’s laser-like in its accuracy. That’s what makes it so painfully funny. Observational comedy at its best. If you’ve lived it (I have in large companies in the private sector), it’s unbearably funny to watch as each scene slowly unfolds and draws you in. Silly, yes. Unrealistic, sadly no.

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