Zooey Deschanel at Fox's upfront presentation - she will star in this year's <i>The New Girl</i>.

Too cute or the next Liz Lemon? Zooey Deschanel in The New Girl. Photo: Getty Images

This was Pay TV's account of itself: "Live: Cricket: Big Bash League final on FOX SPORTS 2 attracted the highest audience with Saturday’s match airing to 459,000. Other top sport broadcasts included Live: Cricket Big Bash League Semi-finals #2 (300,000) and Live: Cricket: Big Bash League Pre Match (122,000) on FOX SPORTS 3. LifeStyle YOU came out on top in the Non-sport Broadcasts with Wife Swap Australia attracting 115,000/138,000(* including plus two hours) viewers, followed by Coronation Street on UKTV with 81,000/84,000* viewers and FOX8’s line-up: The Simpsons (81,000/116,000*), Family Guy (77,000/104,000*), Grimm (76,000/95,000*) and the return of American Idol (75,000/126,000*). Other broadcasts rating in the Top 10 Non-sport included TV1’s Law & Order: SVU (73,000/79,000*), Grease (72,000/96,000*) and NCIS (72,000/87,000*); and Phil Spencer: Secret Agent (71,000/93,000*) on The LifeStyle Channel. Year to date share of viewing is 56.4% in STV homes, 22.7% in metro and 18.8% in regional homes (6am-12mn)."

To test your knowledge of Australia and to write a limerick containing the words "spag bol" and "bludger", go to The OzQuiz.

What Australia watched, week ending January 28

Description    Total     Sydney    Melbourne    Brisbane    Adelaide    Perth
1    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - SEMI FINAL: NIGHT 11    Seven    1,750,000    500,000    563,000    381,000    156,000    151,000
2    THE BIG BANG THEORY    Nine    1,659,000    473,000    522,000    360,000    132,000    172,000
3    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT SESSION    Seven    1,604,000    477,000    595,000    287,000    156,000    90,000
4    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 12 NIGHT SESSION - LATE    Seven    1,474,000    471,000    553,000    306,000    144,000    
5    SEVEN NEWS - SUN    Seven    1,464,000    358,000    427,000    278,000    155,000    247,000
6    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 8 NIGHT SESSION    Seven    1,367,000    381,000    468,000    277,000    128,000    113,000
7    THE BIG BANG THEORY -MON    Nine    1,288,000    359,000    376,000    319,000    98,000    136,000
8    NEW GIRL    Ten    1,278,000    317,000    347,000    319,000    110,000    185,000
9    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION    Seven    1,278,000    333,000    437,000    276,000    115,000    117,000
10    NINE NEWS    Nine    1,248,000    384,000    392,000    283,000    100,000    90,000
11    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 12 NIGHT SESSION    Seven    1,234,000    400,000    434,000    289,000    112,000    
12    SEVEN NEWS    Seven    1,232,000    285,000    313,000    284,000    127,000    224,000
13    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - WOMEN'S FINAL    Seven    1,215,000    350,000    409,000    241,000    96,000    120,000
14    HOMELAND    Ten    1,215,000    328,000    320,000    274,000    109,000    183,000
15    M-VALKYRIE    Seven    1,151,000    333,000    373,000    254,000    135,000    56,000
16    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - QTR FINAL: NIGHT 10    Seven    1,130,000    354,000    386,000    216,000    96,000    76,000
17    MODERN FAMILY    Ten    1,127,000    307,000    349,000    223,000    91,000    157,000
18    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 8 NIGHT SESSION - LATE    Seven    1,082,000    333,000    350,000    145,000    103,000    151,000
19    YOUNG TALENT TIME    Ten    1,052,000    271,000    374,000    190,000    89,000    129,000
20    SEVEN NEWS - SAT    Seven    1,047,000    277,000    305,000    313,000    113,000    40,000
21    TODAY TONIGHT    Seven    1,042,000    261,000    267,000    224,000    121,000    168,000
22    THE BIG BANG THEORY -TUE EP1    Nine    1,018,000    353,000    279,000    237,000    60,000    89,000
23    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - WOMEN'S FINAL INTRODUCTION    Seven    1,012,000    277,000    321,000    228,000    95,000    92,000
24    HOME AND AWAY    Seven    982,000    286,000    229,000    230,000    122,000    115,000
25    A CURRENT AFFAIR    Nine    976,000    302,000    308,000    218,000    79,000    70,000
26    NINE NEWS SATURDAY    Nine    974,000    244,000    290,000    229,000    95,000    116,000
27    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION - LATE    Seven    968,000    239,000    360,000    151,000    96,000    123,000
28    THE BIG BANG THEORY -TUE EP2    Nine    948,000    344,000    215,000    238,000    60,000    93,000
29    NINE NEWS SUNDAY    Nine    919,000    283,000    266,000    176,000    121,000    74,000
30    THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - LAUNCH    Ten    897,000    281,000    226,000    213,000    69,000    108,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals) 


What Australia watched, Saturday
Description    Total    Sydney    Melbourne    Brisbane    Adelaide    Perth
1    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - WOMEN'S FINAL    Seven    1,215,000    350,000    409,000    241,000    96,000    120,000
2    SEVEN NEWS - SAT    Seven    1,047,000    277,000    305,000    313,000    113,000    40,000
3    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - WOMEN'S FINAL INTRODUCTION    Seven    1,012,000    277,000    321,000    228,000    95,000    92,000
4    NINE NEWS SATURDAY    Nine    974,000    244,000    290,000    229,000    95,000    116,000
5    ABC NEWS-SA    ABC1    794,000    215,000    258,000    151,000    83,000    87,000
6    NEW TRICKS RPT    ABC1    792,000    210,000    215,000    188,000    72,000    107,000
7    AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS SUMMER SERIES    Nine    653,000    174,000    186,000    163,000    53,000    77,000
10    FOURTH TEST - AUSTRALIA V INDIA SESSION 1    Nine    517,000    153,000    187,000    101,000        75,000
14    THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW    Ten    430,000    113,000    113,000    93,000    45,000    65,000
52    ROCKWIZ RPT    SBS ONE    153,000    40,000    27,000    36,000    25,000    25,000 

Channel Ten must be insane to waste a new season of Glee on a night when the target audience are all out trying to get alcohol with fake IDs. Look at the pathetic numbers in the Friday chart.

What Australia watched, Friday
 Description    Total    Sydney    Melbourne    Brisbane    Adelaide    Perth
1    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 12 NIGHT SESSION - LATE    Seven    1,474,000    471,000    553,000    306,000    144,000    
2    SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 12 NIGHT SESSION    Seven    1,234,000    400,000    434,000    289,000    112,000    
3    NINE NEWS    Nine    1,227,000    390,000    375,000    254,000    109,000    98,000
4    M-VALKYRIE    Seven    1,151,000    333,000    373,000    254,000    135,000    56,000
5    SEVEN NEWS    Seven    1,128,000    231,000    267,000    296,000    126,000    209,000
6    TODAY TONIGHT    Seven    959,000    225,000    250,000    220,000    127,000    137,000
7    A CURRENT AFFAIR    Nine    898,000    297,000    272,000    168,000    76,000    86,000
8    HOME AND AWAY    Seven    888,000    256,000    187,000    219,000    105,000    121,000
9    FOURTH TEST - AUSTRALIA V INDIA SESSION 2    Nine    887,000    254,000    290,000    120,000    105,000    118,000
10    ABC NEWS    ABC1    848,000    274,000    259,000    131,000    98,000    86,000
11    MIDSOMER MURDERS    ABC1    705,000    201,000    218,000    120,000    76,000    90,000
15    GLEE    Ten    575,000    185,000    164,000    121,000    43,000    61,000
20    S.W.A.T.    Nine    468,000    157,000    139,000    78,000    43,000    51,000
27    COAST RPT    SBS ONE    360,000    98,000    114,000    80,000    29,000    39,000


Tennis, cricket and The Big Bang Theory ... that's Australia in January. Adam Hills and Ten's new A Gifted Man didn't stand a chance, but we'd still like to know what this column's more discerning readers thought of them, via Comments, below. 

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 11 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,700,000 506,000 536,000 364,000 137,000 157,000
2 NINE NEWS Nine 1,254,000 412,000 393,000 289,000 87,000 74,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,213,000 292,000 302,000 260,000 120,000 240,000
4 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 11 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 1,194,000 312,000 382,000 271,000 124,000 105,000
5 FOURTH TEST - AUSTRALIA V INDIA SESSION 2 Nine 1,065,000 319,000 301,000 178,000 118,000 148,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 971,000 240,000 266,000 188,000 114,000 163,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 923,000 311,000 291,000 199,000 65,000 57,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 906,000 271,000 247,000 194,000 104,000 91,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 889,000 253,000 316,000 123,000 95,000 101,000
10 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT Nine 770,000 253,000 237,000 163,000 59,000 57,000
11 THE BIG BANG THEORY -THU Nine 770,000 261,000 238,000 151,000 58,000 62,000
13 FOURTH TEST - AUSTRALIA V INDIA SESSION 1 Nine 653,000 227,000 208,000 126,000 91,000
15 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - CHALLENGE Ten 612,000 158,000 173,000 168,000 54,000 59,000
16 A GIFTED MAN Ten 570,000 176,000 129,000 124,000 59,000 83,000
23 ADAM HILLS: INFLATABLE ABC1 401,000 92,000 95,000 104,000 49,000 61,000
27 UNFORGETTABLE -THU Nine 329,000 115,000 112,000 103,000   
30 GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S AUSTRALIA DAY ADDRESS ABC1 275,000 91,000 85,000 37,000 28,000 34,000


Yay, The Good Wife is back, but only a discerning elite chose to watch her, with the rest of the nation preferring to see people throw and hit balls. What did you think of the new, more relaxed Alicia? 

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth  
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,316,000 445,000 403,000 288,000 92,000 88,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,192,000 288,000 302,000 258,000 112,000 231,000
3 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 10 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,074,000 352,000 364,000 214,000 90,000 54,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,017,000 307,000 347,000 225,000 78,000 60,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,016,000 312,000 227,000 238,000 127,000 112,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 997,000 277,000 245,000 194,000 100,000 181,000
7 THE BIG BANG THEORY -WED Nine 859,000 281,000 234,000 193,000 73,000 78,000
8 FOURTH TEST - AUSTRALIA V INDIA SESSION 2 Nine 849,000 266,000 240,000 158,000 90,000 94,000
10 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - TEMPTATION Ten 759,000 257,000 163,000 168,000 59,000 111,000
12 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT Nine 746,000 229,000 229,000 173,000 57,000 58,000
14 THE GOOD WIFE Ten 665,000 223,000 179,000 137,000 53,000 74,000
15 RBT Nine 650,000 240,000 143,000 131,000 58,000 79,000
16 THE GOOD WIFE EP 2 Ten 590,000 194,000 157,000 129,000 46,000 64,000
20 OUTNUMBERED ABC1 452,000 150,000 122,000 57,000 51,000 72,000
36 UNDERWORLD:  RISE OF THE LYCANS GO! 252,000 54,000 80,000 56,000 28,000 34,000 


Ten repeated its Sunday night lineup on Tuesday night, and we were able to learn which new show had best word of mouth. That honour went to New Girl, with 553,000 having heard such good things about it that they just had to see for themselves. Interestingly, only 380,000 joined Darren and this column in rewatching the nude scene involving the Lizard Queen of V. Probably the target audience for Homeland are already many episodes ahead via the torrents, and don't care what Channel Ten is showing.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,355,000 342,000 351,000 313,000 138,000 212,000
2 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,278,000 333,000 437,000 276,000 115,000 117,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,278,000 383,000 413,000 278,000 105,000 99,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,175,000 291,000 301,000 273,000 130,000 179,000
5 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 9 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 1,039,000 240,000 361,000 194,000 111,000 133,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,037,000 308,000 241,000 241,000 127,000 120,000
7 THE BIG BANG THEORY -TUE EP1 Nine 1,028,000 354,000 287,000 236,000 61,000 90,000
10 THE BIG BANG THEORY -TUE EP2 Nine 947,000 341,000 216,000 234,000 60,000 96,000
11 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT Nine 946,000 309,000 298,000 216,000 56,000 66,000
12 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - FIRST WEIGH-IN Ten 825,000 218,000 228,000 220,000 61,000 98,000
13 FOURTH TEST - AUSTRALIA V INDIA SESSION 2 Nine 742,000 220,000 246,000 106,000 99,000 72,000
14 TWO AND A HALF MEN -TUE Nine 721,000 252,000 177,000 187,000 46,000 59,000
17 NIGELLA KITCHEN ABC1 558,000 103,000 191,000 109,000 75,000 81,000
18 NEW GIRL TUES ENCORE Ten 553,000 188,000 125,000 88,000 58,000 93,000
19 YOUNG TALENT TIME TUES ENCORE Ten 541,000 167,000 128,000 94,000 59,000 93,000
21 THE PROJECT Ten 469,000 107,000 160,000 118,000 38,000 45,000
27 HOMELAND TUES ENCORE Ten 380,000 116,000 106,000 46,000 55,000 57,000
57 UNDERWORLD:  EVOLUTION GO! 190,000 44,000 68,000 33,000 24,000 20,000
99 THE MAN WHO JUMPED SBS ONE 139,000 36,000 48,000 25,000 10,000 19,000


At first sight, Channel Ten's brave attempt at competitive programming during the silly season did not do so well on Mnnday night -- see the small numbers in the chart below. But as usual, Ten is playing the niches. Its 9.50am release made these claims:
Satisfying blend of law and politics ... Julianna Marguiles in <i>The Good Wife</i>.

Julianna Marguiles in The Good Wife.

"Last night, The Project debuted in its new 6:00 pm timeslot with an average audience of 493,000 viewers, increasing TEN’s audience between 6:00 – 7:00pm by 22.9%. TEN's chief programming officer, David Mott, said: 'We’re delighted with the performance of The Project at 6:00pm. These early numbers are exactly what we hoped shifting The Project would do for TEN’s early evening schedule. This is a positive start to TEN’s long-term strategy to strengthen its early evening line-up.' Later in the evening, the series return of The Biggest Loser drew an audience of 896,000 viewers (peaking at 1.13 million viewers). Across its timeslot (19:03 – 20:05), The Biggest Loser beat 7’s Home and Away and Tennis coverage in 18-49 (26.4%), 16-39 (27.2%) and 25-54 (25.5%)."

But Channel Seven had the numbers, boasting in its morning release: "A peak audience of 2,015,000 watched a courageous effort from Lleyton Hewitt last night as he became the first man to take a set off Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open this year, before eventually bowing out 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-3. An average audience of 1,180,000 viewers watched the match that went until after 1am this morning. The gripping three-set match between Maria Sharapova and Sabine Lisicki was also a hit with viewers averaging 1,211,000 viewers and peaking at 1,987,000. Over 8 million viewers have now watched the Australian Open on Seven at some stage during the tournament, while almost five million watched yesterday."

 

Kate Beckinsale in the film Underworld: Awakening

Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld series

What Australia watched, Monday

 Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 1,641,000 474,000 518,000 356,000 131,000 162,000
2 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 8 NIGHT SESSION Seven 1,367,000 381,000 468,000 277,000 128,000 113,000
3 THE BIG BANG THEORY -MON Nine 1,350,000 378,000 399,000 326,000 104,000 143,000
4 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 8 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 1,322,000 333,000 468,000 224,000 151,000 146,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,274,000 274,000 340,000 291,000 139,000 230,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,182,000 301,000 379,000 305,000 104,000 93,000
7 THE BIG BANG THEORY -RPT Nine 1,136,000 359,000 352,000 258,000 87,000 80,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,109,000 274,000 272,000 246,000 135,000 182,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,064,000 283,000 243,000 261,000 146,000 131,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,026,000 275,000 322,000 261,000 91,000 77,000
11 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) - LAUNCH Ten 897,000 281,000 226,000 213,000 69,000 108,000
19 THE PROJECT Ten 494,000 134,000 171,000 96,000 51,000 42,000
38 THE BIG BANG THEORY GO! 237,000 83,000 58,000 34,000 36,000 26,000
47 MYTHBUSTERS SBS ONE 205,000 64,000 58,000 37,000 29,000 17,000
54 SUPERNATURAL ELEVEN 186,000 59,000 70,000 32,000 21,000 5,000
87 THE DRUM ABC1 142,000 43,000 52,000 26,000 11,000 11,000
96 KERRI-ANNE SUMMER SERIES Nine 127,000 28,000 42,000 35,000 10,000 11,000


Ten broke ranks with the other commercial networks on Sunday and launched three new shows and a new season of an old favourite. This was its report on the experiment: put out this release: "TEN’s newest entertainment format, Young Talent Time secured a strong debut with 1.05 million viewers tuning in to watch the series premiere. At 7:30 pm, Modern Family was watched by 1.13 million viewers, followed by the series debut of New Girl which delivered an audience of 1.28 million viewers. During its timeslot (20:05 – 20:37), New Girl won its timeslot in the key demographics of 18-49 (35.5%), 16-39 (37.8%) and 25-54 (35.5%).
"At 8:30 pm, TEN’s edgy new Sunday night drama, Homeland, helped consolidate TEN’s night, drawing an audience of 1.22 million viewers and winning its timeslot (20:37 – 21:42) in 18-49 (35.0%), 16-39 (34.9%) and 25-54 (36.3%). Across the night, TEN had 3 of the top 5 programs in its target demographic of 18-49: 1 New Girl; 2 Homeland; 3 Seven’s Tennis: 2012 Aust Open – Day 7 Night Session; 4 Modern Family; 5 Seven News – Sun."
From this we may conclude that Young Talent Time did badly with Ten's target 18-49 demographic, and well with the dreaded Over-55s. Here is the official OzTAM ratings chart:

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT (FEDERER V TOMIC) Seven 1,932,000 580,000 713,000 330,000 182,000 127,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,464,000 358,000 427,000 277,000 155,000 247,000
3 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT (TOMIC PRESENTATION) Seven 1,334,000 314,000 493,000 223,000 110,000 194,000
4 NEW GIRL TEN 1,275,000 316,000 347,000 318,000 109,000 185,000
5 HOMELAND TEN 1,223,000 330,000 323,000 276,000 110,000 184,000
6 MODERN FAMILY TEN 1,127,000 307,000 350,000 221,000 91,000 157,000
7 YOUNG TALENT TIME TEN 1,050,000 270,000 373,000 189,000 89,000 129,000
8 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT (WOZNIACKI V JANKOVIC) Seven 1,025,000 275,000 413,000 177,000 97,000 63,000
9 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT Seven 930,000 381,000 420,000 129,000  
10 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 905,000 283,000 256,000 174,000 119,000 73,000
11 THE BIG BANG THEORY -SUN EP1 Nine 721,000 179,000 223,000 171,000 69,000 79,000
12 THE BIG BANG THEORY -SUN EP2 Nine 715,000 186,000 201,000 180,000 59,000 89,000
13 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 Seven 643,000 155,000 221,000 140,000 64,000 63,000
15 GRAND DESIGNS ABC1 606,000 131,000 193,000 105,000 76,000 101,000
16 60 MINUTES Nine 592,000 163,000 132,000 143,000 60,000 93,000
17 THE MENTALIST -SUN EP1 Nine 510,000 148,000 134,000 126,000 50,000 52,000
19 UPTOWN DOWNSTAIRS ABBEY ABC1 446,000 86,000 129,000 97,000 50,000 83,000
27 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 7TWO 289,000 80,000 118,000 71,000 10,000 11,000
28 THE BIG BANG THEORY TX3 GO! 289,000 63,000 107,000 59,000 27,000 33,000
29 ONCE UPON A TIME IN CABRAMATTA SBS ONE 275,000 94,000 74,000 51,000 28,000 29,000
32 THE BIG BANG THEORY TX2 GO! 251,000 58,000 89,000 45,000 24,000 35,000
33 M-JURASSIC PARK III 7mate 250,000 65,000 74,000 39,000 55,000 17,000
34 M-THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK 7mate 230,000 42,000 72,000 33,000 46,000 37,000
39 SEVEN'S TENNIS: 2012 AUST OPEN - DAY 7 NIGHT SESSION - LATE Seven 192,000 60,000 78,000 30,000 24,000  
41 M-JURASSIC PARK 7mate 191,000 26,000 65,000 29,000 42,000 29,000
42 THE BIG BANG THEORY TX1 GO! 190,000 43,000 65,000 45,000 13,000 24,000
46 THE BIG BANG THEORY GO! 175,000 41,000 62,000 41,000 11,000 20,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)


This is the daily update of The Tribal Mind column by David Dale, who teaches Communications at UTS, Sydney. He is the author of The Little Book of Australia - A snapshot of Who We Are (Allen and Unwin). For continuing conversation about Australian attitudes, bookmark The Tribal Mind.