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2010 Ratings winners

So who won the 2010 TV Ratings year? Everyone. No-one. It depends who you ask. It depends what Press Release you want to buy into.

So who won the 2010 TV Ratings year?

Everyone. No-one. It depends who you ask. It depends what Press Release you want to buy into. The devil is in the detail.

This year more than any other has been an extraordinary one.

We’ve had Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games, two AFL Grand Finals, the FIFA World Cup and digital channels. The ABC now has 4 channels, TEN has two. And we now have timeshifted data (which isn’t even completed for last week yet). How can we possibly compare all this information fairly?

Deep breath. Here goes….

TEN’s Press Release included data that removed Olympics and Commonwealth Games but only supplied figures for three commercial networks. And even then it was only for the Primary channels. TEN claimed to win 16-39, 18-49 (but only from 6pm -10:30pm) and Daytime.

Seven’s Press Release included both Olympics and Commonwealth Games (despite them airing on rival networks) and even Easter non-ratings, with data for both 6am – midnight and 6pm – midnight. It claimed a win in Total People, News and Public Affairs, Breakfast Television, Primetime, Advertising Revenue and Overall. In demographics it claimed victories in 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54 for its Primary Channel from 6am-midnight.

Nine’s Press Release claimed wins in 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54 across its three channel network from 6pm – midnight, but includes the weeks of both Olympics and Commonwealth Games. It also trumpeted a win in 25-54 and 18-49 on its Primary channel.

All of the data is true, if assisted by shifting the goalposts. None used the same methodology.

In fact we now even have two definitions of “Primetime.” For Seven and TEN it is 6pm – 10:30pm, for Nine it is 6pm – midnight. Oddly, Nine calls 6pm-10:30pm “Peak.”

TV Tonight applied the industry standard to the data as follows:

– 6pm – midnight, 5 City Metro.
– 5 Network share / Primary channels / Digital channels
– Weeks 7-48 excluding Easter, Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Advertisers have traditionally removed 2 weeks each for extraordinary events such as Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Nine takes the view that these were Winter not Summer Olympics, aired from 9:30pm. Seven says there are now so many extraordinary events it is questionable whether the TV year can ever really be considered ordinary anymore, so it measures them all as is. With the Commonwealth Games performing so dreadfully TEN is probably relieved to abide with historic practice and drop them from results.

With all of this in mind, here is the data for 2010:

NETWORK
TOTAL PEOPLE*
Seven: 28.63%
Nine: 27.64%
TEN: 21.22%
ABC: 16.89%
SBS: 5.61%

16 – 39*
Nine: 29.82%
TEN: 27.81%
Seven: 26.80%
ABC: 10.10%
SBS: 5.47%

18 – 49*
Nine: 30.09%
Seven: 27.71%
TEN: 25.58%
ABC: 11.05%
SBS: 5.59%

25 – 54*
Nine: 29.84%
Seven: 27.78%
TEN: 24.30%
ABC: 12.38%
SBS: 5.71%

The bottom line?

Seven wins in Total People. Nine wins in Demos. TEN has the #1 audience of the year with MasterChef Australia: The Winner Announced on 4,028,882 viewers.

PRIMARY CHANNEL:
TOTAL PEOPLE*
Seven: 24.65%
Nine: 23.49%
TEN: 19.98%
ABC1: 14.55%
SBS1: 4.99%

16 – 39*
TEN: 26.11%
Nine: 23.61%
Seven: 23.16%
ABC1: 7.63%
SBS1: 4.90%

18 – 49*
Nine: 24.42%
TEN: 24.01%
Seven: 23.97%
ABC1: 8.66%
SBS1: 4.96%

25 – 54*
Nine: 24.60%
Seven: 23.97%
TEN: 22.77%
ABC1: 9.95%
SBS1: 5.04%

* 5 City Metro Consolidated Data, Survey Wks 7-48 Exc Easter, Winter Olympics (13th Feb – 1st March) & Comm. Games (3rd – 15th Oct). Overnight Data – Week 48.

DIGITAL CHANNELS:
TOTAL PEOPLE:
GO!: 3.8%
7TWO: 3.4%
7mate^ : 2.7%
GEM^: 1.7%
ABC2: 1.6%
ONE: 1.4%
SBS2: 0.6%
ABC3+: 0.5%
ABC News 24^: 0.5%

16 – 39:
GO!: 5.8%
7mate^: 4.9%
7TWO: 2.8%
GEM^: 2.2%
ABC2: 1.9%
ONE: 1.8%
SBS2: 0.6%
ABC News 24^: 0.6%
ABC3+: 0.3%

18 – 49:
GO!: 4.9%
7mate^: 3.7%
7TWO: 3.1%
GEM^: 2.1%
ABC2: 1.9%
ONE: 1.7%
SBS2: 0.7%
ABC News 24^: 0.5%
ABC3+: 0.2%

25 – 54:
GO!: 5.3%
7mate^: 4.2%
7TWO: 3.0%
GEM^: 2.1%
ABC2: 1.9%
ONE: 1.7%
SBS2: 0.6%
ABC News 24^: 0.5%
ABC3+: 0.3%

5 City Metro Consolidated Data, Survey Wks 7-48 Exc Easter. Overnight Data – Week 48.
^ not on air all year.
+ ABC3 share: 6-9pm.

33 Responses

  1. oh yeah, I get my info from this very site. Do you not watch the numbers? I wouldn’t do anything to win the ratings because, as you said yourself, it’s a business – what matters is making money. One has been profitable in it’s 1st year of operation, yet people keep saying it’s “a failure” because of it’s daily share, however it’s “daily” share is only based on 6pm-midnight, when One has very little live sport on, so the figures are misleading as to what’s really going on, hence my comment. Ten is dominant during the day – and I get that info from this very site before you ask about it – so 24-hour shares would tell the real story of how the channels are performing, simple. Who on Earth decided that only 6pm-midnight should be used to calculate “the winner”? That’s what this article is about, not whose making the most money.

  2. @koverstreet. arrogant statement to Dale when it looks like you haven’t read up on the advertising share details. Seven has taken top spot for some time now, this year gaining a 38’ish share. Nine was in 2nd spot.
    So the clear winner in $$$ is Seven.

  3. @ dale – nope Nine did. You probably don’t understand how advertising works but the vast majority of advertising $$$ is in those younger demos (under 50) that Nine dominate in. Seven dominate in the much older demos which most advertisers don’t care about. So Nine are the clear winners where it matters ie $$$.

  4. As i keep saying This is another great example David where the ratings system is ordinary.Each channel should be treated as a individual channel,the digital channels should not be included under the Channel 9,Channel 7 overall stats for example

  5. @ Bazza…… where did u get your info from??? somehow I dont thing abc 2 would come even close to even getting 3th place..

    oh and just for the record… they all repeat american tv shows!

  6. @ Donald……. yeah and???? at the end of the day its a business, so regardless which network, there are always going to be changes…… what would u do to win the ratings??

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