the bachelor
The Bachelor 2020 (Image: Ten)

Hello, I’m from the Red Rose Preservation Society and I am here today to help you mourn the useless death of another bunch of innocent flowers in the shameless pursuit of TV ratings.

Of course Osher, Bimbo the Bearded Bach, Network Ten and assorted timeserving producers are the real culprits for this scentless slaughter — but so, dear reader, are the desperates who are watching the needless slaughter on Ten.

All those young people who mixed up cross-pollination with direct fertilisation of proud plants like the red rose.

Anyway 784,000 of those watched last night’s ep of The Red Rose Murders (aka The Bachelor) enough to top the demos, along with Gogglebox Australia, 857,000, which is off the pace of earlier series.

No AFL last night so Seven struggled. It topped total people because its digital channels did well, but fell far short in the main channels and finished a weak third behind Nine and Ten.

In breakfast Sunrise, 443,000 national and 260,000 metro viewers; Today, 334,000 and 231,000; ABC News Breakfast, 292,000 and 185,000.

In regional markets Seven News, 548,000, Seven News 6.30, 524,000; Home and Away, 359,000; The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 347,000; 7pm ABC News, 336,000.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (25.8%)
  2. Nine (25.0%)
  3. Ten (22.2%)
  4. ABC (15.3%)
  5. SBS (11.7%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (18.0%)
  2. Ten (15.2%)
  3. Seven (14.1%)
  4. ABC (10.4%)
  5. SBS ONE (8.5%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (4.9%)
  2. 7TWO (4.7%)
  3. 10 Bold (4.3%)
  4. ABC Kids/Comedy (3.1%)
  5. 10 Peach (2.7%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Seven News — 1.58 million
  2. Seven News 6.30 — 1.46 million
  3. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 1.25 million
  4. Nine/NBN News  — 1.24 million
  5. 7pm ABC News — 1.04 million
  6. A Current Affair (Nine)  — 969,000
  7. Home and Away (Seven) — 881,000
  8. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 869,000
  9. Gogglebox Australia (Ten) — 857,000
  10. 7.30 (ABC) — 857,000

Losers: Snorrre and more snorrrrrre.

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Seven News — 970,000
  2. Nine/NBN News 6.30 — 939,000
  3. Nine/NBN News  — 935,000
  4. Seven News 6.30 —859,000
  5. 7pm ABC News —711,000
  6. ACA (Nine) — 667,000
  7. 7.30 (ABC) — 551,000
  8. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 474,000
  9. Ten News First — 315,000
  10. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 295,000

Morning (National) TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) — 443,000/260,000
  2. Today (Nine) — 334,000/231,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC, ABC News) — 292,000/185,000
  4. The Morning Show (Seven) — 211,000 
  5. Today Extra (Nine) — 148,000
  6. Studio 10 (Ten) — 73,000

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. NRL:Wests v Souths (Fox League) — 216,000
  2. AFL: St Kilda v West Coast (Fox Footy) — 195,000
  3. AFL: Post Game (Fox Footy) — 103,000
  4. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 86,000
  5. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 81,000