Nine's 'True Story with Hamish and Andy'.
At the half-way point of the 2017 ratings year, the Seven, Nine and Ten networks all have something to crow about, and Australian-made dramas and reality shows continue to dominate.
Seven’s primary channel has won the prime-time ratings battle for 24 consecutive weeks, ranks at No. 1 in total viewers and in the 16-39, 18-49s and 25-54 demographics, and has the year's top show, My Kitchen Rules.
Nine’s boast is that it is the only commercial network to grow its 6 pm-midnight share across total people and all demos for weeks 7 to 26, excluding Easter, while Seven and Ten have lost shares on those metrics.
Despite its corporate problems, Ten says it delivered three of the top seven Australian reality shows among 25 to 54s, the top three game/quiz shows and the top four US drama series.
Moreover, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Gogglebox, Shark Tank and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! all lifted audiences by at least 10 per cent year-on-year.
Seven’s director of network programming Angus Ross told IF: “Seven remains undefeated for 2017 and leads all key advertiser demographics for the year to date.
“Australia’s No. 1 news, AFL and an entertainment schedule with more depth of hit shows continue to be the drivers of Seven’s success. We are looking forward to keeping the momentum going by using the final weeks of House Rules to launch Little Big Shots, Hell’s Kitchen, Behave Yourself, Yummy Mummies and Blue Murder: Killer Cop.”
Nine’s top shows excluding news and sport in the five metro markets were Married at First Sight, The Voice and True Story with Hamish & Andy. Illustrating the continuing shift to catch-up viewing, The Voice drew an average national audience of 1.947 million this season, across overnight, consolidated, encore and 9Now viewing.
The overnight figures for Love Child are down on last year but the show ranks fourth and fifth for consolidated viewing with an average of 92,000 viewers, behind the ABC’s Octonauts and Operation Deep Freeze, Peppa Pig and Hamish & Andy.
Nine Network's program director Hamish Turner said: “We had a great start to the year with Married at First Sight then The Voice and Hamish & Andy.”
Turner is super confident about the second half line-up including the return of The Block, the second tranche of Hamish & Andy episodes and the second season of Doctor Doctor.
Nine also has high hopes for Australia’s Ninja Warrior, which premieres next Sunday and will air Sunday-Tuesday for three weeks. The Endemol Shine Australia production will follow 250 Aussies as they take on what is billed as the world’s biggest and most challenging outdoor sports course.
Premiering soon on Nine, This Time Next Year will see everyday Aussies strive to achieve significant personal goals over the course of a year, hosted by Karl Stefanovic.
Network Ten CEO Paul Anderson said: “Our results so far this year highlight the success of our investment in premium local content across several genres. It is proven programming, brand-safe and advertiser-friendly.“
The number of video segment views on tenplay jumped by 29 per cent during the first half of 2017 to 113 million while the number of unique visitors rose by 9 per cent to 15 million, driven by shows such as MasterChef Australia, Neighbours, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and the new US drama This Is Us.
Ten’s chief content officer Beverley McGarvey said the strong commitment to local content would continue across the rest of this year with The Bachelor Australia, The Bachelorette Australia, Australian Survivor, more Gogglebox, The Wrong Girl, Wake In Fright, Sisters and several new local productions to be announced.
Among the year’s misses were Nine’s The Last Resort and House of Bond, Seven’s Hoges and Ten’s The Biggest Loser: Transformed.