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The Block scores a twist for Nine

Ratings: Nine dominated early evening shows last night with a Block twist designed to cause a House Rules upset.

2013-06-24_0956Nine dominated last night from 6pm until 8:30pm when Seven then took the lead.

The Block was the night’s top show, but cleverly Nine did not reveal full scores, requiring its contestants to score one another’s renovations with the final scores to be revealed tonight, up against House Rules own reveal. A devious twist…

Nine network share was 30.8% then Seven 29.7%, TEN 20.1%, ABC 15.1% and SBS 4.2%.

The Block pulled 1.65m viewers for Nine followed by 60 Minutes (1.56m), Nine News (1.52m), House Husbands (1.03m). CSI was 346,000 in 3 cities, The Mentalist was 257,000 in 2 cities.

Seven News (1.42m) was best for Seven then Sunday Night (1.28m), Highway Patrol (1.26m), A Place to Call Home (1.2m), Border Security (1.08m). Endeavour was 400,000.

MasterChef Australia (800,000) topped TEN’s night followed by Elementary (780,000), Modern Family (598,000 / 462,000), TEN News (552,000), The Simpsons (476,000), and Graham Norton (397,000).

Grand Designs (914,000) led for ABC1 then The Time of Our Lives (803,000), Dream Build (783,000), ABC News (756,000), Compass (428,000), The Years that Made Us (380,000) and Australia’s Remote Islands (328,000).

On SBS ONE it was A History of Celtic Britain (251,000), World News Australia (217,000), The Observer Effect (153,000) and The Fight (101,000).

ONE had a rare multichannel prize with 2008 Liam Neeson movie Taken (287,000) at the top of the tree.

Insiders: 259,000 / 48,000 / 44,000
Bolt Report: 180,000 / 118,000
Meet the Press: 102,000 / 147,000

OzTAM Overnights: Sunday 23 June 2013

26 Responses

  1. Part 2 – Why I and others have problems with some forms of promotion

    This’ll be long. You might hate me but I’ll mention the ABC again. Occasionally I have to turn the TV on at 7pm so I watch the ABC News. It’s excellent but I had to make a choice years ago. I’ve noticed recently if it’s on Monday they often play a clip of Four Corners and talk about it. This makes me feel like not watching Four Corners.

    Basically that kind of advertising gets me hostile. Including to a show I’ve loved and respected for over 30 years. In new programming that kind of hostility is fatal. That’s why pop-ups and talking about shows during sport don’t work. It just makes me and people that think like me want to avoid stuff rather than watch it. Even if sometimes I was previously interested in it.

    Ironically an exception to that is the interview show. There you expect people to promote things. I’ll admit I sometimes feel like I’m smashing my head against a rock talking about this.

  2. Part 1

    According to the report last week The Observer Effect was 92,000 and this one it’s 153,000. So it’s up around 61,000. I’m glad for SBS.

    First I apologise if any of my words last week hurt anyone at SBS. Including and especially Ellen Fanning. I’ll just admit to being confused to why a show that’s about interviewing people had a title that’s famous in quantum mechanics (or physics ) . Again sorry.

    I did see the ad last week and it looked good. Plus it seems it did the trick. Although I’m still unhappy about it being mentioned on the News. I get that other stations are doing it and you might be thinking if it works for them…

    P.S. the comment got long so I split it up.

  3. I won’t buy into the Block/HR/et al argument, but I do offer the following.

    First, Taken was so severely censored that it’s a wonder the plot remained undamaged. Pity, it’s a good movie and doesn’t deserve to be treated as if it was being shown during the C period.

    Second, Grand Design punching above 900k pleases me no end. Whilst commercial channels run around trying to work up the next “here is dick, here is dora, see dora suffer a mental anguish because dick is, well, dick”, Grand Designs just gets on with real reality. Damn, there’s a big lesson to be learned there.

  4. @Pertinax
    But I wonder if the television landscape is about to change with the switch off for analog.
    I have long questioned why, say 9 for example, doesn’t prop up Go! and GEM with good solid programming that offers an alternative to their primary channel. Then, when media buyers are looking to place clients, 9 offers an entire suite of advertising opportunities across all their brands. More bang for the buck, especially if the digital stations are performing well with audiences.
    Clients with a smaller budget could choose a package that only includes Go! and GEM, or 9 and Go! Etc etc. Products that skew female could take just the GEM package and so on.

  5. @Cam Reed
    Secondary channels are going to change. They are mostly useful for sport that doesn’t rate well enough to be on a primary channel.

    Freeview and secondary channels are gimmick designed to damage Foxtel. Not that with less than 25% penetration it is much of threat.

    Every viewer taken from a primary channel to a secondary channel is a loss of revenue because advertisers on TV are interested in very large audiences.

    The networks have stopped buying new content for them and they are full of repeats of the few shows that rate these days and failures that have been dumped from primary channels.

    The networks won’t even be in a hurry to spend money switch their main channels to HD because the majority of viewers don’t care and they would lose some viewers who only have SD equipment.

  6. @Mario
    Nine spent a lot of money on the NRL and Cricket and are still in a $500m 5 year contract with WB (think).

    Apollo and Oaktree want to list the company and exit so they are prettying up the balance sheet as much as possible. Nine are dropping many long running shows and filling slots up with free repeats and news and current affairs. That will work for a while (ratings outside of prime-time don’t matter that much because advertising rates are so low), they are hoping until they sell.

    But eventually however owns Nine will have to buy some new content.

  7. @ nik c I will definitely turn over from The Block to House Rules at 7.30. As Nine so graciously gives us so many repeats of The Block I won’t miss anything.

  8. @Johnny1P5..the last aired episode of The Block before yesterday’s reveal would have occurred on April 1..Easter Monday..so they’re about 12 weeks behind.They stated on show it was a no power tool,public holiday long weekend,then went to the Caulfield races..is how i figured that out.

    1. Nine would not have seen any of HR but it would have been wise to the premise. I think it was more about propping up Monday after no more Voice. Strategic planning on Nine’s part and should help shore up tonight.

  9. With the way The Block films the series, wouldn’t this twist been filmed before House Rules started or at the least before they knew that House Rules caught up to them in the ratings (ie: I thought the Block renovations were filmed in Summer and only the Auctions took place close to real time).

    Or have they redone this weeks votes part of the show recently?

  10. Nicks, with respect channel Nine is going through a rough patch. How many times are people writing about Seven, ABC or SBS? I have stopped watching Nine for the reason I stated before. They don’t give their programs a chance and than when they do stick with them, They don’t finish off the season. There is no respect for the veiwer and it shows with the way they treat their programming. I used to watch a lot of Nine but no more!! Am I the only dis-grintled veiwer. I think not!!

  11. geez..I don’t have a dog in this fight..but it seems to me every network is doing what Nine is being solely accused of.Seven dragged out Mkr..even bringing back losing contestants..for what seemed like forever.Mkr,Masterchef,House Rules all have repeat catch up episodes..often huge chunks of afternoons on their secondary channels..so it’s not just a Nine phenomenon.You all may have your favorites but try to be honest when discussing them.As for repeating movies..c’mon everyone has their stable that they trot out a few times each year.

  12. Good numbers to The Block. But I do agree that Nine is getting quite boring now with the amount of repeats this show is currently getting. Something needs to be done.

    Happy to see ONE top the night for multi-channels, with its movie Taken. Not often we see ONE be on top.

    Just a quick question, is it possible to see how the morning sports shows rated? Would like to know how Offsiders rates against Wide World of Sports, and if The Footy Shows rate ok for the 2 hours they are given. Thanks

  13. As I have said before, once Analogue has gone and everyone has Digital only, it is only a matter of time before the so-called secondary channels start to rise.

    Not hard to push the push the numbers on a remote to watch other things, 90 or 72 or 1 or 11 isn’t much of an ask after all.

    I also think One being up there will become more common given the content is in HD (especially for movies), once the dust settles and the general populace get used to the options being there (and I figure it most be close now to most having both HD/SD on their tuners).

    If Nine and Seven put HD content on there HD Channels I am sure we would see the same.

  14. Still don’t get why The Block rates so highly but each to their own. Good to see A Place to Call Home doing well and Time After Time is not bad but against 2 other Aussie dramas its hard to compete. Masterchef has well and truly dropped off. I don’t like this season and have been catching it on my PVR. Sort of over it now.

    Its quite funny though, Seven will have renovated 6 houses and 6 gardens and wrap up all by the end of next Monday yet The Block isn’t even finished yet. It just goes to show how much crap is stuffed into this show each week. I hope House Rules beats it tonight because imo it is the better show and i am looking forward to the House from Hell reveal.

    I still don’t get where all The Block viewers come from as it really isn’t much of a reno show but none the less it is here in the market and while people continue to watch all the fluff and what not Nine will keep commissioning it.

  15. Just having a thought…everyone goes on about TEN regularly showing The Devil Wears Prada, what I’d be interested to know is how many times a year channel Nined show Shrek (all of them) and the Harry Potter movies.

    1. Disappointed: If you want to know how many times a movie has aired I have a little feature called a Search function. This will take you to ratings results if you ask it nicely. I set it my site’s archive as a self-service function. Most of the time when people ask these kinds of questions I feel like saying “one of us can spend the time doing the searching…. I nominate you!” Cheers.

  16. agree Mario, channel 9 is getting so boring with repeat after repeat after repeat with all shows, I used to love this channel but now would not even switch it on, has to be the worst channel on TV.

  17. What is going on with Nine?
    The Block is on just about everyday. Than it is repeated every night just in case you missed it. And than you can catch up on the weekend on GEM or GO. How many hours can be wasted on one network with one show??
    Maybe they are going broke?
    House Husbands is another show that is repeated on the weekend.,
    .Maybe they have no faith in their programs bacause I don’t. Hostage is coming, but whether I attempt to watch it; they will air it, and either change days or airing time, and kill it, before it has a chance to get an audience. One reason why I don’t watch channel nine-used to be the one but no more!! 60 Minutes is the only reason I watch 9 now!!

  18. I am only a once a week Block viewer, I have seen the rooms and will enjoy HR tonight!
    Hope other HR fans will also stick it to the devious and blatant Block tactics!

  19. Observer Effect started out at 121,000 then had a 93,000 rating soon after..so is it gaining an audience or just the Seal effect?I watched it for the 1st time and liked it..especially Ellen Fanning.Seems like The Fight has been around for a while,but I hadn’t seen it, and was my favorite show of the night.Next time a footballer misses a goal ‘under pressure’..think back to Schmeling,Louis..a world on the precipice and what was at stake,in an albeit small measure,by how they did in the ring that night.

  20. Great to see ONE is finally getting a good audience. If only it translated to their drama Wednesday’s (even though 2 of the 3 programs are repeats, they are still premium shows which is made obvious when you see SoHo buys the subscription rights to White Collar and Burn Notice – and reportedly in negotiations for Blue Bloods which would make it a hat trick).

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