James Murdoch, the youngest son of Rupert Murdoch, has quit his directorship of News Corporation, the company where his elder brother Lachlan and father Rupert hold positions of executive chairman and co-chairman with Robert Thomson running the day-to-day business as chief executive.

The letter simply said:

I hereby tender my resignation as a member of the Board of Directors of News Corporation (the “Company”), effective as of the date hereof.

My resignation is due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.

The only response from either James’ brother and father to his resignation was a short statement:

We’re grateful to James for his many years of service to the company. We wish him the very best in his future endeavours.

Neither of the Murdochs have taken part in News Corp earnings calls for some time. But it is possible that News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson and Chief Financial Officer Susan Panuccio will be asked about James’ departure at the fourth quarter and full year’s call on Thursday this week in New York after the market closes.

Writing in The AFR, longtime Murdoch watcher Neil Chenoweth commented:

When Rupert Murdoch’s family make public statements it’s tempting to read them as actual messages to the public – but the Murdochs don’t work that way.

When they make a public statement, usually they’re sending a message to each other. Sharing so much fractured history and a $US15.5 billion ($21.7 billion) fortune can do that to a family.

It’s not just that James resigned from a newspaper company in which he was never very interested, citing “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions”.

It’s that he forced Rupert and Lachlan’s company to file his resignation letter, publicly citing News Corp’s political bias, to the SEC.

[Read more]

The Daily Telegraph (UK)’s Christopher Williams wrote (in a piece also published in The AFR):

The biggest surprise in James Murdoch’s departure from the board of News Corp is that it took him so long. In May last year, The Sunday Telegraph reported that after the sale of most of the Murdoch television and film assets to Disney and his receipt of a $US2 billion cut ($2.8 billion), he planned to take “precisely zero” interest in what remains of the family business.

[Read more]

The Guardian reports How departure of James laid bare the Murdoch family rifts:

The unfolding story of the Murdoch family empire is often likened to a television soap opera: there is plenty of jetsetting, wheeler-dealing, power-broking and personal intrigue.

Yet Rupert Murdoch’s dominance of the media scene in Britain, America and Australia has been established for such a long time now that, if it were a fiction, fresh plotlines would be in danger of running out. We have already seen sibling rivalry, feuds, treachery, marital discord and public moral outrage.

But the “writers’ room” churning out scripts for “The Murdochs” in a backroom somewhere has pulled off another triumph this weekend. James Murdoch, the media magnate’s younger son, has walked away from the business that has shaped his life and out of the control of his 89-year-old Melbourne-born father.

[Read more]

Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt wrote Why James Murdoch quitting News Corp’s board is a good thing:

It’s important to say this about James Murdoch quitting the board of News Corp, of which this paper is part.

Good.

I don’t want to offend my boss, but his son did the right thing, because no board member can publicly trash their own product.

Yet James in January announced he was “particularly disappointed with the ongoing [climate] denial among the news outlets in Australia”.

Now he says he’s resigned “due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions”.

But there’s a second reason I say “good”.

No newspaper executive should be an enemy of debate, and accuse sceptics like me of being in “denial”.

I deny nothing. I quote science to say a warming earth has not produced the predicted disasters. We have bigger grain crops, fewer cyclones, more rain over Australia, more polar bears, a greener planet and more atoll islands growing rather than sinking.

[Read more]

The New York Times reported:

James Murdoch wants the world to know he is out of the family business.

Once considered a potential successor to Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch on Friday resigned from the board of the newspaper publisher News Corp, severing his last corporate tie to his father’s global media empire.

The two sides began discussing James Murdoch’s departure from the News Corp board earlier this year, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

But his terse resignation note belied the behind-the-scenes drama that has brought James to this point in his life and career. And it widened the schism that has emerged between James and his 89-year-old father and his older brother, Lachlan, once a dynastic triumvirate that for years held sweeping influence over the world’s cultural and political affairs.

Weeks ago, James and his wife jointly contributed more than $1 million to a fund-raising committee for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. And in February, as wildfires raged across Australia – his father’s birthplace – James issued a rebuke of his own family’s media properties, criticizing how Murdoch publications have covered climate change.

The London-born, Harvard-educated James remains a beneficiary of his family’s trust, meaning he will continue to financially benefit from the profits of Rupert Murdoch’s news and information assets.

And although his resignation letter cited “certain editorial content,” James did not speak specifically about Fox News, the hugely profitable cable channel where prime-time hosts like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham openly cheerlead for Trump.

A spokeswoman for James Murdoch declined to comment further on the reasons for his departure, saying the letter “speaks for itself.”

[Read more]

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Top Photo: James Murdoch speaking at the Vox Media’s 2018 Recode conference

Key to the 7.30pm timeslot success on Network 10’s primary channel are the handful of producers who juggle a number of formats. One of them overseeing the start and the end of the year is Stephen Tate. The head of entertainment and factual programs at 10 starts his year in South Africa and can then be found in the Pacific and last year he was helping organise teams jetting across Australia, Asia and South Africa.

His biggest hit most recently though was the 2019 launch of The Masked Singer. Seven of the 10 2019 episodes did over 1m metro. Despite the significant challenges to making it again this year, filming of the first two episodes has just completed.

Tate arrived in the Victorian capital a week ago as did some of the judges who have to relocate to Melbourne for the shoot – Dannii Minogue, Jackie Henderson and newcomer Urzila Carlson, stepping in for Lindsay Lohan. Dave Hughes is the local returning judge.

The first episodes are being filmed just a week before they go to air. A shorter deadline than is usual for some shiny floor shows that don’t go out live.

“It is a fairly short turnaround, but entirely possible, considering we do I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in a nine-hour turnaround,” Tate told Mediaweek. “An eight or nine day turnaround is quite leisurely,” he chuckled.

Without being able to spend so much time in post-production, it will give the new season what Tate referred to as a “live feel”.

As to whether there was a time when it looked like this year’s season might not go ahead, Tate said that was a possibility that every production in Australia has faced some time this year. “There was never any question that we wouldn’t proceed with The Masked Singer. It was just too big a hit with Australian audiences last year. It’s been more about when we would make it rather than if we will make it.”

10 has taken over two soundstages at Dockland Studios this year after relocating the production from Sydney. “We moved because of studio availability as it’s a very complex show to make. We have to keep all of the masks [performers] separate. It is almost a military operation with all the backstage work happening on a separate soundstage. The masks can never meet.”

10 has found a “creative workaround” to replace a studio audience this year. Tate: “Warner Bros [which makes The Masked Singer for 10] were the first to do this with Dancing with the Stars. They did such a brilliant job of still delivering a live show that was full of energy. The great thing about The Masked Singer is that it is a completely bonkers show so we can really be playful with what we can do in place of an audience.

“We will have a special virtual audience. We have selected a number of super fans to watch the performances and vote.”

With no live audience, Tate expects the time taken to film each episode could be shorter. However it’s still enough of an involved process that they can’t film more than one a day. “We had to do a full security sweep of the audience last year before the reveals to make sure there were no recording devices. That took up to 90 minutes.”

Making up for that though is some ambitious staging to compensate for no live audience. “The props are bigger this year and we have secured The Squared Division [Antony Ginandjar and Ashley Evans] who are by far the most outstanding creative directors in the world. They will really lift our production values.”

Another big change this year, and one aided by the entertainment industry shutdown, is the artist roster for 2020. “Artists who would not normally have been available to consider doing The Masked Singer have said yes. Our reveals will be absolutely extraordinary. You won’t believe who we have got. It truly is amazing. The calibre of the artists has given us an embarrassment of riches.”

Tate added because some of the performers are venturing outside of their genres, playing “a game of hide and seek with the audience”, they won’t necessarily be easy to identify. “They have the ability to do things they are not known for.”

Warner Bros films two shows in two days, takes a break, then does another two shows in two days etc until the series is completed. It is expected there will be one extra episode this year, but there will again be 12 masks.

New international judge joins guessing game

Tate: “Urzilla Carlson is so excited to be here. We have tried to get her to do so many of our shows and this is the first time she has said yes on the first phone call. She and her family are massive fans of The Masked Singer and she couldn’t believe we rang her to ask.”

Carlson quarantined in a hotel in Sydney on arrival in Australia, unlike Dannii Minogue who was able to quarantine privately. Carlson ended her quarantine only late last week, joining the show immediately.

Partnership opportunity: But move quickly

Tate told Mediaweek there still remains an opportunity for brands this year: “Big W has returned after having a great experience last year. We always love it when an incumbent sponsor returns. KFC has joined us and we have filmed some bespoke content for them recently with the masks. Foster Grant, the sunglass brand sold at Chemist Warehouse, has joined us. They are a perfect fit when you think that all of the men in black wear sunglasses.”

Tate noted there is one more sponsor who has signed on, but is not yet able to be revealed. There is also room for another brand. “We can still create bespoke content for them if they sign on soon.”

Osher Gunsberg’s schedules collide

Delays in filming this year have caused some challenges for 10’s most in-demand host. Tate: “It’s a juggle. We will have to find some creative workarounds for the production of The Bachelorette. He will certainly have a presence throughout the entire series of The Masked Singer. He has the energy of 10 hosts. What helps us face the logistical issues is that Warner Bros is the producer of both shows which will help make it work.”

Stephen Tate’s 2020

His first assignment every year is I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! which was produced prior to any Covid impact. “The jungle was so well received this year, often out-rating the tennis and pretty much consistently out-rating the Big Bash League. We put so much love and care into that show and to see it really hit it straps this year was great for everybody.

“After Covid hit we have been working really hard to keep people employed and productions running without putting anyone in danger.

“We have some Family Feud primetime one-hour specials which were about giving back to frontline workers in everything Australia has faced this year. They will launch soon.”

Australian Survivor plan

“We are definitely going ahead. It is a waiting game. Very much like The Masked Singer. We need to wait until it can be done safely without endangering the cast and crew. We are still looking at all options regarding location.” Tate is convinced if they need to make the show within Australia they have great locations to chose from.

Will The Amazing Race take off?

“We are making the show locally and it is what Australia needs at the moment. We need to see a fabulous adventure travel show in our own backyard, showcasing everything Australia has to offer. We have to push through and find ways to make productions keep happening. The intention to film this year and we have just closed casting. We are full steam ahead in pre-production.”

—

Photos: Some of the masks that will appear in season two of The Masked Singer Australia including Hammerhead, Sloth, Echidna, Cactus and Wizard

LMN is an entertainment destination for women, featuring made for television movie programming. LMN films tell both fictional and real-life stories steeped in drama and shining a light on women facing unbelievable challenges.

Liz & Dick

The new high-definition channel will be added at no extra cost to customers of the Foxtel Movies bundle and broadcast 24 hours a day. It will be programmed and managed by Foxtel in Australia and new movies will be added to the on demand library over the coming months.

LMN bolsters Foxtel’s already must-have movie offering with more than 1000 movies on demand including the biggest and recent blockbusters and all-time greats.

Fatal Honeymoon

Brian Walsh, Foxtel’s executive director of television, said: “For more than 20 years, Lifetime Movie Network has captured TV audiences in the US by delivering quality made for television movies featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The movies are a perfect guilty pleasure with captivating stories and outstanding performances. We are delighted to partner with LMN to bring our customers Lifetime’s iconic movie heritage to Australia.”

Tanya Lopez, executive vice president, movies, limited series & original movie acquisitions for Lifetime and LMN, said: “We are thrilled to be working with the strength of Foxtel to bring A+E Networks’ Lifetime original movies to a whole new audience throughout Australia. With a legacy of powerful women on both sides of the camera including the best of Hollywood’s A-list talent, our globally successful Lifetime TV movies offer the widest breadth of subjects and storylines that resonate with today’s audiences seeking to indulge.”

No One Would Tell

Some of the movie headliners showcasing their talents over launch month in September include Catherine Zeta-Jones (Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story), Whoopi Goldberg (A Day Late and a Dollar Short), Hervey Keitel (Fatal Honeymoon), Vivica A. Fox (The Wrong Roommate), John Corbett (The Hunt For Killer 1-5), Lindsay Lohan (Liz & Dick), Shannon Doherty & Mira Sorvino (No One Would Tell) and Denise Richards (Secret Lives of Cheerleaders).

Secret Lives of Cheerleaders

The LMN brand, which launched in the US in 1998 as Lifetime Movie Network, has a strong pedigree of exceptional talent and is the home of some of the grittiest, most thrilling stories to hit the small screen.

The new channel is exclusive to Foxtel from September 1, 2020. More programming details will be announced soon.

—

 Top Photo: Cocaine Godmother

The Awards were hosted by The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade on a closed set at Television Centre, London, with presenters including Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jeff Goldblum, Jessica Hynes, Adrian Lester, Ruth Madeley, Himesh Patel, Billy Porter and Nina Sosanya.

Following seven wins at this year’s British Academy Television Craft Awards, Chernobyl, the drama based on the nuclear disaster, won two more BAFTAs, for Mini-Series and Leading Actor for Jared Harris.

The Leading Actress award was won by Glenda Jackson for her performance in Elizabeth is Missing, her first television role for more than 25 years and the second BAFTA of her career. Her first BAFTA was for Sunday, Bloody Sunday in 1972.

End of the F—ing World, the dark comedy drama, received the BAFTA for Drama Series and first-time nominee Naomi Ackie won Supporting Actress, the first BAFTA of her career.

First-time nominee Sian Clifford won in Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for playing Claire, the older sister of the titular character in Fleabag.

Sian Clifford

Following his success at the Television Craft Awards for Writer: Comedy, Jamie Demetriou, won the BAFTA for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for Stath Lets Flats, which also won for Scripted Comedy.

Taskmaster won for Comedy Entertainment Programme, its first win following two previous nominations. The BAFTA for Entertainment Programme was awarded to Strictly Come Dancing, continuing the show’s success following the recent win for the Entertainment Craft Team at the Television Craft Awards.

Race Across the World received the BAFTA for Reality & Constructed Factual. The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan won in the Features category.

Ava DuVernay won the second BAFTA of her career with When They See Us, the US crime drama series based on the true story of the Central Park Five, in the International category. It follows her win for 13th, which won Documentary at the 2017 EE British Academy Film Awards, and the honorary BAFTA Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing she received later that year.

Emmerdale was awarded the BAFTA for Soap & Continuing Drama. The Left Behind won the BAFTA for Single Drama.

News Coverage was awarded to Sky News’ Hong Kong Protests, and the award for Current Affairs was presented to Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag (Exposure).

Leaving Neverland received the BAFTA for Factual Series, The Last Survivors won Single Documentary and Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story won Specialist Factual.

2019 Rugby World Cup Final: England v South Africa triumphed in the Sport category, while the award for Live Event was presented to Blue Planet Live.

The Special Award was presented to Idris Elba in recognition of his exceptional career and his commitment to championing diversity and new talent in the industry. The actor, writer, director and producer received video messages from Matthew McConaughey, Taraji P Henson, Ruth Wilson and Grace Ofori-Attah.

Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment, the only award voted for by the public, was won by Gavin and Stacey for the iconic moment when Nessa proposes to Smithy.

See a full list of winners here.

Through collaboration with SBS and Australian FTA broadcast partners, the Finecast ID will power Finecast’s connected television campaign planning, optimisation and measurement providing marketers with targeting, tracking and measurement of household reach through a single buying platform for the first time in Australia.

Finecast ID has been created with marketers’ need for a consistent identifier for targeting and measurement at the heart, delivering an accurate and measurable CTV reach and frequency builder while also addressing their concerns around consumer privacy and respecting regulatory pressures.

It is already being embraced by Australia’s largest advertisers with Wavemaker client Domino’s one of the first to adopt the Finecast ID in their media planning.

Domino’s Australia & NZ CMO Allan Collins said: “Tech innovation is central to everything we do at Domino’s, from how we constantly improve our pizza quality, provide the best ordering and delivery experience to the way our messages reach consumers. Every major advertiser knows the importance of being able to measure reach and ensure our marketing dollars are being spent effectively to reach the right audiences and deliver a return. With BVOD audiences surging, the Finecast ID is an instrumental reach builder helping us plan, optimize and measure true 1:1 household reach on Connected Television. Finecast is leading the way in addressable TV and it’s exciting to be one of the first brands to adopt a media innovation that is shaping the future of television advertising.”

Brett Poole, managing director of Finecast, said: “Our challenge was to develop and deliver a stable, credible approach to measuring Connected TV reach for brands. The Finecast ID now firmly sets the standard for identity, frequency management and campaign reach reporting on CTV. It sounds easy but in reality, it has been one of the biggest challenges advertisers face in the Connected TV ecosystem, where most common digital identifiers don’t work.

“With Finecast ID, brands will be able to gain an advantage of the most accurate and reliable way to build reach and deliver effective and efficient TV campaigns in market.

“When Finecast launched in Australia in 2018, there were three common questions from marketers: How can I build incremental reach with linear TV through Finecast? How can I optimise reach and frequency and deliver optimal efficiencies? How can I make sure I am not putting my brand at risk of a poor user experience on BVOD?”

Adam Sadler, SBS director of Media Sales, said: “SBS are truly excited to partner with Finecast for their universal ID solution. This is a market and agency-first initiative, a true step-change for the broadcast video on demand marketplace. As measurability, reach, user experience and data privacy continue to dominate the focus and strategy for most advertisers, Finecast has created a solution that delivers on all of these metrics and this in turn will grow the commercial video on demand streaming space. A great initiative and we look forward to working with the Finecast team.”

Last year Australia picked up four Golden Goddesses and Australia’s Ambassador, Bryan Cockerill, who was a 2019 regional winner for best direction, non-fiction, hopes Australia gets behind this year’s awards again and has an even bigger return of trophies at the Awards Ceremony scheduled to be held in Singapore in December 2020.

“During these extraordinary times, we need to support the industry in our region more than ever, so the Asian Academy Creative Awards are determined to put on a great awards show, whether we’re there in person or frocked-up at home via Zoom.”

The Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA), honour the best content created across 16 markets in the Asia Pacific, is now open for entries for this year’s edition.

Content produced between August 1, 2019, and July 31, 2020, can be submitted for consideration for 2020 awards, set to be held in December. Winners will be presented in 40 categories.

Entry details can be found here.

The closing date for entries has been extended to August 15.

“Entries are now open and there was some fantastic work produced right up until the lockdown. In the current production environment, it’s easy to forget but much of this great content is being devoured viewers and subscribers around the world right now,” president of the AAA Michael McKay added.

“The aim of the AAAs is to promote AsiaPac content and creatives to the world, they celebrate excelle and serve as our major showcase so, from a marketing perspective, it makes sense for producers and platforms to have a strong showing,” McKay added.

The entries are judged by a panel of some 300 industry execs.

Singles

A total of 16 Taylor Swift songs landed on the Singles Chart this week, a new record which was previously shared by Ed Sheeran and Post Malone who each previously has 13 songs enter the chart in a single week.

All of the new entries on the chart this week belong to Swift, bar two. Here are the positions each of the tunes from her new album Folklore have landed on:

#1 Cardigan – Swift’s sixth #1 single with ARIA noting she now only trails Rihanna (7), Delta Goodrem (9), P!nk (9), Kylie Minogue (10) and Madonna (10) in terms of female solo artists with chart toppers.
#3 Exile
#4 The I
#7 The Last Great American Dynasty
#8 My Tears Ricochet
#13 August
#14 Mirrorball
#16 Seven
#18 This is Me Trying
#19 Invisible String
#21 Illicit Affairs
#22 Betty
#25 Mad Woman
#29 Epiphany
#33 Peace
#43 Hoax

Two other artists snuck into the bottom of the top 50:

#48 Onefour with Home and Away. A new single from the Sydney hip hop act.
#49 The Kid Laroi with Tell Me Why. A track from the Sydney rapper’s mixtape Fuck Love.

Albums

Taylor Swift was always going to top the chart with her eighth album which has become her sixth #1 ARIA album. While Folklore debuted at #1 previous releases also shone – Lover lifted from #16 to #12 in its 49th week on the chart, 1989 bounced from #39 to #26 after 209 weeks on the chart. Universal Music reported Folklore had the highest week one album sales this year. It will be fascinating to see how it charts in successive weeks given it is being widely acclaimed, with good reason, as her best album so far. With six #1 albums, Swift moves into second place on the female artists #1 chart alongside Kylie Minogue and P!nk, with all three still in the shadow of Madonna who has topped the album chart 11 times.

Six other releases debuted in the top 50, three of them making the top 10:

#2 Cub Sport with Like Nirvana. The Brisbane band score their first top 10 appearance with their fourth album.
#3 The Kid Laroi with Fuck Love. Album chart debut for the Sydney rapper with a collaboration with Juice WRLD included.
#9 Ronan Keating with Twenty Twenty. Keating’s 11th solo album is his first in four years and his eighth to hit the top 10. It features duets with Robbie Williams, Shania Twain, Emeli Sandé and Australian singer/actress Clare Bowen and some cover versions of previous hits.
#11 Jasmine Rae with Lion Side. The fifth album from the Australian country music star, improving on her previous chart peak which was #23 with If I Want in 2013.
#14 Logic with No Pressure. The sixth and final album from the US rapper after recently announcing his retirement from music.
#46 Neck Deep with All Distortions are Intentional. Fourth album from the pop/punk band.

A handful of One Direction albums re-entered the chart as the band and fans celebrated their 10th anniversary. Also back on the chart was AC/DC with Back in Black on its 40th anniversary. It was released the same year Triple M started in Sydney and Melbourne.

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Nine Week 31

Primary share: 20.2%
Network share: 28.4%
Multichannels: GO! 2.6% Gem 2.4% 9Life 2.0% 9Rush 1.1%

The return of a new season of Australian Ninja Warrior was key to Nine’s primary channel win with the show launching with over 1m a week ago.
Ninja Warrior and Nine News gave Nine five spots in the week 31 top 10.

Seven Week 31

Primary share: 20.0%
Network share: 30.0%
Multichannels: 7TWO 3.5% 7mate 4.7% 7flix 1.9%

Farmer Wants a Wife and AFL kept Seven positioned as the #1 network. But no local reality franchise on Tuesday was the difference between a primary channel win and second place. An extra dose of rural love from Farmer Wants a Wife might have sealed the deal. However we continue to acknowledge Seven’s almost biblical ratings resurrection after many had written the channel, the network, and even the business, off this year.
Too much AFL is never enough with four successive primetime games from Wednesday to Saturday giving Seven four consecutive winning nights.

ABC Week 31

Primary share: 11.8%
Network share: 16.6%
Multichannels: Kids/Comedy 2.6% ME 0.4% News 1.8%

10 Week 31

Primary share 10.1%
Network share: 16.3%
Multichannels: Bold 4.0% Peach 2.3%

Even though 10 recorded its lowest primary all people survey share of the year, it still had several highlights.
Both Bachelor in Paradise and Have You Been Paying Attention? secured five of the top 10 spots for shows under 50.
For the second week in a row, 10 Play achieved its biggest week ever with Bachelor In Paradise the clear #1 show on BVOD.

SBS Week 31

Primary share: 5.1%
Network share: 8.7%
Multichannels: Viceland 1.5% Food 0.8% NITV 0.2% World Movies 1.1%

Seven News 1,230,000
Nine News 1,106,000
ABC News 891,000
Dan Andrews Press Conference 575,000 (ABC News)
Insiders 465,000
The Project 342,000/457,000
Seven News at 5 358,000
10 News 342,000/232,000
Nine News Late 337,000
Sunrise 269,000
SBS World News 243,000
Today 205,000

Sunday TV

Seven: Seven News pushed above 1.2m again with a national metro win and a smaller lead of 6,000 over Nine in Sydney.
Farmer Wants a Wife dropped just over 10% week-on-week after launching with 908,000 a week ago. The viewers who didn’t return missed some classic reality TV manoeuvring between Farmer Harry and his on again, off again, on again and then off again relationship with Madison.

Nine: The primary channel and the network were well clear of all comers last night as Nine recorded its second consecutive Sunday win just after the channel broke Seven’s weekly winning streak.
Nine News was a winner in Melbourne with the audience close to 450,000.
Australian Ninja Warrior then did 898,000, easily winning its timeslot and the key demos despite a dip of 14% from its launch audience last week of 1,040,000.
Also down week-on-week, but still winning its time slot, was the third on Nine’s winning trio, 60 Minutes, with 662,000.

10: Challenging couple of Sundays since the end of MasterChef with a second week on sub-10 shares for the primary channel. Despite that 10 is still able to claim #2 channel under 50.
Bachelor in Paradise was the channel’s best on 488,000 (up 12% week-on-week) after The Project 7pm just managed to crack 450,000. 

ABC: The broadcaster had four shows in the top 10. ABC News was just short of 900,000.
A new season of Shetland got an early Sunday timeslot and an audience of 616,000.
Vera then did 637,000.
The surprise performer in the top 10 was an important press conference from Victorian premier Dan Andrews where he announced a curfew for the state. The crowd watching at 2.30pm Sunday afternoon was 575,000 as the conference replaced an episode of Back Roads.

SBS: Audiences of just under 250,000 watched SBS World News and then the Hiroshima doco The Day They Dropped the Bomb.