By Kruti Joshi

Managing editor Mel Cornford has been involved with the project since its primary stages. She says, “ten daily offers news and views with personality.

“Being negative or nasty in our editorial is not a part of our brand. We don’t intend to throw shade at people or stars to get eyeballs.”

Mediaweek spoke to Cornford during a time when audience interest in the Bachelor franchise was at its peak. “We’ve had an incredible start today. Four and a half months into the new website, it has exceeded our expectations,” she said. “Our social channels are buzzing right now on the back of The Bachelor.”

Despite being backed by a company like CBS-owned Network Ten, Cornford describes ten daily as a “startup”.

Since its launch in May 2018, ten daily has set out to target a young demographic.

“I saw the launch of ten daily as an opportunity to do something very different and create something that would reach a younger audience,” Cornford said. “Launching a media product in this crowded market with the main players already well established, you have to shake things up and give the users something fresh and interesting to come back to.

“We never set ourselves out to be against the main players Nine and Seven. We have a real point of difference with our content.

“We aim to deliver stories that are real, relevant and fun.”

Ten daily had been in the making for more than a year. Cornford was brought to Ten by the company’s general manager for digital, Liz Baldwin, in September 2016 to head the making of the new website.

“It’s been quite a journey,” Cornford said. “Bringing this baby into the market has been a real passion project.”

Ten daily boasts an impressive list of contributors such as notable Ten television personalities Waleed Aly, Carrie Bickmore and Lisa Wilkinson.

“The names that are attached to ten daily are a huge point of difference to us,” Cornford said. “One of the biggest advantages for us is that we are a startup site within a big network.

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This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

The campaign, developed by Thinkerbell and targeting advertisers and their agencies, will appear across all metropolitan and national print and digital news media, plus a majority of regional and community titles.

It features a range of executions that assert why trusted journalism is important for advertisers, including: “It’s what’s on the other page that makes this space so powerful”, “For why this ad works, see above” and in digital “Surround your brand with articles your customers trust”.

The campaign will point to a website TheTruthBuildsTrust.com.au that directs advertisers and agencies to the ADTRUST* study findings.

News Media Works CEO Peter Miller said: “They say the company you keep defines you. It’s the same for brands and the context within which they choose to be seen. So, if you surround yourself with the truth, you in turn will be trusted. As Australia’s most trusted news media, we’re the ideal place for brands to be seen and believed. The truth builds trust.

“Journalism is what draws readers to our trusted news brands – more than 16 million every month.

It is this environment of trust in the news content that defines our news brands and, in so doing, produces tremendous opportunities for advertisers.”

Thinkerbell founder and consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier said the campaign was born from the ADTRUST study from Galaxy Research that found that only 22% of people trust what they read in social media, and newspapers are the most trusted media for both content and ads. Trust in media channels directly drives purchase intent, with 58% of consumers agreeing that the more they trust an ad, the more likely they are to buy a product or service.

“What sets news media brands apart from other forms of media is their journalism. Branded messages will appear within context that has been fact checked, proofed, and considered. We wanted to ensure advertisers understand that it’s being seen within this context that is extremely important for brands,” Ferrier said.

NewsMediaWorks chairman and News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said: “Australia’s leading news media publishers are strongly aligned in our support of this important campaign. It creatively asserts the importance and value of trusted journalism and authentic storytelling – which lies at the heart of our great news brands – to advertisers.”

The NewsMediaWorks campaign launches as recent SMI August figures show double-digit growth in metropolitan newspaper spend and growth for newspapers overall.

Print spend grew 2.7% year-on-year, attributed to the 11.1% increase in agency spend in metro titles. Regional papers also experienced growth, according to the latest figures.

Sources: * Galaxy Research; n=4200 Australians aged 18+ over 2 waves; Jun17 2 legs of n=1400 with each leg covering 5 of the 10 media types ; Apr18 1 leg of n=1400 covering each of the 10 media.

The #ThanksForServing campaign – created by News Corp Australia and backed by the RSL, Legacy Australia and the Department of Veterans Affairs – includes four weeks of editorial coverage and coincides with a reader offer of a 15-part Anzac Spirit commemorative coin collection. It will culminate in activations across the country on November 11.

The campaign will feature in all News Corp newspapers and websites, in GQ Australia and Vogue Australia, as well as on Foxtel, Fox Sports, Sky News Australia and supported by HarperCollins.

The campaign has been endorsed by recipients of the highest award in the Australian honours system, the Victoria Cross for Australia, such as Keith Payne VC and Dan Keighran VC. Payne, 85, is the last living Australian recipient of the original “Imperial” Victoria Cross. Keighran was the first member of the Royal Australian Regiment to be so awarded.

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said: “#ThanksForServing is an advocacy campaign to acknowledge all veterans – from Anzac to Afghanistan – including current serving personnel, tomorrow’s veterans, whose actions have ended conflicts and brought security and comfort to thousands.

“At this time of year, as we approach the centenary of the 1918 Armistice, it is important that we send a sincere message of thanks to those men and women, and their families and that we continue to tell the stories of those who served.”

The #ThanksForServing campaign, in all News Corp national, metro, regional and community mastheads including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail, The Advertiser and news.com.au, will ask and encourage the nation to say Thank You in their own way, whether it is online, in person, at work or where they live.

Stephen Henderson, head of special projects at RSL National, said: “For more than a century, Australian men and women have served in uniform, putting their lives on the line – and many paying the ultimate price. The simple act of saying “thanks for serving”, of acknowledging the hardships they face and the impact on their families can be extraordinarily powerful. It’s a small gesture with a big result. So in person, in public or on social media, please thank our men and women for their service towards our freedom.”

Rick Cranna OAM, chairman of Legacy Australia, said: “As a returned serviceman, I understand firsthand the sacrifices made by servicemen and women, and we as a nation must never forget.

“As a Legatee (volunteer), having cared for widows and their children for more than 40 years, these sacrifices echo endlessly within the family that remain. The sacrifices made by families are no less important and must not be overlooked.

“I encourage all Australians to pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families through the #ThanksForServing campaign.”

#ThanksForServing will attach to any coverage across News Corp publications or programs specifically relating to Invictus Games, the ADF, the centenary of WWI and Armistice Day, or any other historical Anzac and AnzacLive content.

The campaign officially runs from Sunday October 14 until Sunday November 11.

The artists will perform in front of 1,000 guests at radio’s night of nights, with satirical comedy stars Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen from The Chaser hosting the event for the third year in a row.

Radio stars from across the country will walk the red carpet and join the hosts on stage to present awards. The presenters for the night are:

• Kennedy Molloy’s Jane Kennedy and Mick Molloy – Triple M Network
• Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee – 2Day FM
• Ray Hadley – 2GB
• Hughesy & Kate’s Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek – Hit Network
• Kate, Tim & Marty’s Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold – Nova Entertainment
• Kyle and Jackie O’s Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson – KIIS
• Melissa Doyle, Cameron Daddo, Richard Wilkins – smoothfm
• Jonesy & Amanda’s Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller – WSFM
• Ben Fordham – 2GB
• Neil Mitchell – 3AW
• Steve Price – Triple M Townsville
• Christian O’Connell – Gold 104.3
• Jase & PJ’s Jase Hawkins and PJ Harding – KIIS 101.1

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne will present the sports awards.

Despite a disappointing result earlier this year, SBS has confirmed Australia’s participation as a competitor at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.

For Eurovision 2019 SBS and production partners Blink TV will host a national contest, Eurovision – Australia Decides, to select the artist and song to represent the country on the world’s biggest stage.

SBS acting managing director James Taylor, the Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk, Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Australia’s Head of Delegation Paul Clarke have announced that Eurovision – Australia Decides will be hosted on the Gold Coast on Friday 8 and Saturday February 9 and the Live Show will be broadcast exclusively on SBS on Saturday February 9 when voting will be open to the public.

At a launch event on the Gold Coast, SBS called on songwriters across Australia to submit an original composition as part of the selection process via sbs.com.au/eurovision. The song portal is now open for submissions until Sunday November 4.

There are no restrictions on the number of songs composers and songwriters, both published and unpublished, can submit. Songs will be shortlisted later in the year and paired with some of Australia’s most recognised artists.

Then it’s up to the Australian public and a jury to decide Australia’s act to take the stage at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest to compete for Eurovision glory.

Hosted by Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey, Eurovision – Australia Decides will showcase the best of Australian music and bring the nation closer to the Eurovision action.

Australian Head of Delegation and director of Blink TV Paul Clarke said:

“This will be the first time our huge fan base will be able to see a live Eurovision show in an Australian venue – the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre – as well as live on SBS. We have great plans to make the Gold Coast Eurovision Central in February 2019, so with spandex and sequins at the ready, it will be an awesome show!”

Myf Warhurst said: “In 1994, a band now known as Silverchair won a competition run by SBS’s Nomad program, with support from triple j, with their hit song Tomorrow – now an Aussie classic. Can we back it up with another worldwide smash hit?

“Eurovision – Australia Decides is a great opportunity for songwriters, both published and unpublished, to show us what they’ve got and for a suite of Australian artists to bring these songs to life on stage in February.”

Joel Creasey said: “I can’t wait to be part of the first ever Eurovision selection show in the Southern Hemisphere and find the next Aussie classic, up there with the likes of Farnsy’s You’re the Voice, Braithwaite’s The Horses or my personal favourite, the seminal debut single from Bardot, Poison.

“It’s over to you Australia – let’s give Europe our best!”

The Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast exclusively on SBS in May 2019, and will be hosted again by Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey.

To submit a song or for more information on Eurovision – Australia Decides: sbs.com.au/eurovision

The appointment follows a four-month executive recruitment process, during which Le Roy was interim CEO. The new chief replaces Vijay Solanki, who left the organisation earlier this year.

See also: Vijay Solanki departs IAB Australia after new-look board meeting

Le Roy, who has more than 20 years’ experience working in the media industry across strategy, analyst, research and data roles, has held the role of director of research for IAB Australia for the last two years. Previously she was chief operating officer with Gateway Research and general manager of audience insights and research for Fairfax Media.

IAB Australia chair Cameron King commented: “Gai’s track record is exemplary and her commitment to our industry is absolute. Her depth of experience and understanding of the issues that relate to digital advertising and measurement will enable her to lead the IAB towards its goal of supporting sustainable and diverse investment in digital advertising across all platforms in Australia.

“The board undertook a thorough executive search process with Talent Capital’s Chris Davy to identify the right candidate for this critical role in leading the digital advertising industry. We are delighted, as many in the industry will be, that Gai will continue her contribution to growing the industry.”

Le Roy has unveiled a new IAB Industry Charter, which will see the organisation focus on helping marketers and agencies understand how digital advertising can deliver on their business objectives.

Foundation elements of the IAB Industry Charter include a renewed focus on standards that promote trust, steps to reduce friction in the ad supply chain, and ultimately improve ad experiences for consumers, advertisers and publishers. Beyond the IAB’s continued focus on content and ad measurement, the Charter outlines four additional areas of activity: digital ad effectiveness, data and data privacy; standards and guidelines; and improving the digital value chain.

The IAB has recently broadened its member base and experienced strong growth through 2018 with an increasing number of brands joining and taking active roles in its councils, including Suncorp, Woolworths, ANZ, ING and AMEX. IAB also recently announced that Seven West Media has joined the IAB Board.

Now in its 13th year, the Drive Car of the Year awards presented by BP are designed to provide Australian new car consumers with the most relevant, and comprehensive, outline of the best vehicles on the market. There are 15 individual categories across the different types of family, luxury and performance vehicles currently on sale.

The process of determining the winners – and culminating in the coveted overall 2018 Drive Car of the Year – will commence this month with 49 finalists from 25 manufacturers being put through their paces over a week-long testing regime based at Wakefield Park in Goulburn in NSW’s Southern Highlands.

An expert panel of seven judges, with more than 150 years combined experience as professional road testers and motoring writers, will assess each of the finalists based on a strict set of criteria that focuses on value, ownership costs, features, safety, comfort and driving dynamics.

Uniquely, Drive invites the reigning class champions to defend their respective titles, ensuring the awards provide an accurate representation of which vehicles are the best in class, no matter whether they have been on sale for a few years or are brand new in 2018.

“The Drive Car of the Year awards, presented in 2018 by BP, are the most comprehensive of their type and we pride ourselves on delivering the most relevant gauge of which vehicles are the standouts for new car customers in Australia,” said drive.com.au’s editor-in-chief Andrew MacLean.

“The rate of change in the automotive industry is at an all-time high and consumers have never had as much choice or quality as they do now. That means it’s no longer a simple process – choosing either a large car or a small car, a work ute or a four-wheel drive for example – as it was in the past, as segments are constantly crossing new boundaries. For anyone to test drive them all would be inconvenient and near impossible.

“That’s where Drive comes in, as our editorial team has already driven hundreds of new cars already in 2018. Whittling the finalists down to the 49 vehicles we have was already a tough task, so finding the best of the best will be even more difficult.”

The field of cars will cover more than 20,000km during the week of testing.

BP Australia’s marketing general manager, Adam Arnold, said, “BP has been fuelling drivers’ cars in Australia for almost 100 years,” Arnold said.

“In that time we have invested heavily in the development new fuel technologies to align with the evolution of cars, especially the rapid changes we have seen in the last 20 years. The culmination of our work and technology is in our Ultimate fuels range first launched 17 years ago, our most advanced fuels for the modern car.

“For us it made sense to support Drive’s search for the best car in the market as we have what we believe is the best fuel, Ultimate, to power it!”

The 2018 Drive Car of the Year awards, presented by BP, will commence on Monday November 4 with the individual category winners, culminating in the announcement of the 2018 Drive Car of the Year on Friday November 23.

Ahead of this week’s Nine 2019 Upfront showcase, the media company confirmed it would be investing in brand new binge-worthy content, and building out a library of audience favourites.

New content includes with the US mystery drama series Manifest, medical drama New Amsterdam and Amy Poehler’s comedy, I Feel Bad.

“Our ambition is to deliver premium entertainment across the 12 months of the year for both our audience and advertisers,” Hamish Turner, Nine’s program director, said. “Alongside summer’s biggest sporting event, the Australian Open, you will see the biggest new show out of the US Manifest and a collection of Nine favourites The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, The Middle, ER, and 2 Broke Girls.

“Our goal with 9Now is to provide our audience with the best access to entertainment, anywhere, any time, enabling greater engagement for brands during one of busiest retail periods of the year – Christmas and into 2019.”

9Now claims to lead the Australian BVOD space with a monthly audience of more than 2.2m users* and building a database of more than 7 million declared users.

“For the past two years we have done a summer initiative to build up our BVOD audience,” said Pippa Leary, Nine’s commercial director – digital sales. “But this year we are doubling down and ramping up our offering as we head into the biggest event of the year in the Australian BVOD space – Married at First Sight.”

*Source: Nielsen Digital Panel, Jan 2018-Apr 2018 Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, Monthly Tagged, May-Aug 2018, Broadcast Media,

Text, People 2+, Census.

Mick Molloy was moving from Melbourne’s The Hot Breakfast after seven years while Jane Kennedy was taking on a full-time radio role after guesting on other people’s programs. The two worked together on The D-Generation breakfast show at Triple M Melbourne a long, long time ago.

In recent years the Triple M drive slots around Australia have been a mix of local programming, branded The Rush Hour, and national shows. The most recent national show was with Merrick Watts, who left the station ahead of the arrival of Kennedy Molloy.

The new show started in Melbourne 12 months ago and then went national at the start of 2018.

The ratings have been disappointing, despite Molloy’s brilliantly successful year on Seven’s The Front Bar and both hosts’ semi-regular appearances on TEN’s Have You Been Paying Attention?

The most recent results have been encouraging, however. There is still some work to do, particularly in Sydney, but Triple M is able to take the timeslot to advertisers as the #1 drive show for men 35-54. Kennedy Molloy’s reach lifted to 894,000 in survey six.

Kennedy Molloy network performance Survey 6, 2018 (share and cume)

Sydney Triple M: 6.0% (-0.7), 254,000
Melbourne Triple M: 7.1% (+1.9), 290,000
Brisbane Triple M: 10.8% (-1.5), 197,000
Adelaide Triple M: 9.6% (+0.4), 111,000
Perth Mix 94.5: 13.4% (+0.6), 255,000

(NB: Metro timeslots are for 4pm-7pm, Kennedy Molloy is on air 4pm-6pm, except Perth where it airs from 5pm-7pm)

See also:‘A well thought-out shambles’: Kennedy and Molloy on their national drive show

Finecast is promising the power of television with the precision of digital, allowing advertisers to target viewers across multiple on-demand, set-top box and live-streaming TV environments.

Australia is the second market launch for Finecast, following its UK debut a year ago. In the UK, Finecast has attracted advertisers across categories including automotive, retail, banking, FMCG and beyond.

“Watching TV has never been as good as it is now, but as viewing behaviours evolve and audiences fragment across platforms, advertisers are grappling with how to continue making the best use of one of their most trusted mediums,” said Jakob Nielsen, global CEO, Finecast.

“The collaboration between Finecast and broadcasters uses data to provide more relevant ads within professionally created content. It’s a win for everyone – advertisers, media owners and consumers.”

A recent research report Finecast conducted with third party provider IHS Markit projected that 14 million addressable-capable TV devices will be in Australian homes within two years, setting the stage for industry momentum with addressable TV.

With broadcast partners Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS and Foxtel via Multi Channel Network (MCN), Finecast has built a targeted TV inventory pool reaching Australian households at scale – across TV channel brands, pay-TV platforms and digital media players, a range of broadcast video on demand (BVOD) services, over-the-top providers, and games consoles. Finecast is live and already running campaigns as part of a pre-launch pilot program. From today it is open to all advertisers large and small.

GroupM Australia CEO Mark Lollback said: “Marketers are asking how to increase efficiency while also maintaining mass brand awareness and long-term brand health. Finecast solves this by allowing them to use television in new ways. It also paves the way for new, smaller advertisers to cost efficiently use the medium. Together, this strengthens the Australian TV market, ushering a new golden age of television. And our clients will be there first.”

In conjunction with the launch, Brett Poole has been appointed Finecast’s managing director in Australia. Poole was previously [m]PLATFORM’s VP of media and activation and previously the general manager of Plista, GroupM’s native advertising business.

—

Top Photo:  Brett Poole (left) and Mark Lollback at the Melbourne launch of Finecast

By Cam Shea editor in chief, IGN Australia

Picking up where last year’s Origins left off, this massive open-world epic is set in ancient Greece and successfully fuses classic role-playing systems with the series’ trademark bloody combat and wealth of activities. A critical darling and sales success too.

Last week’s top game – FIFA 19 – is still sitting strong in the second spot, while Super Mario Party – one of the better entries in this long-running Nintendo party game for friends and family – debuts at number three. Other recently released, high profile games round out the top eight, with strong performance in particular from Forza Horizon 4. It’s an absolutely superb game that takes place in a lovingly-recreated Great Britain, complete with changing seasons in-game, and is a must-play for rev heads.

We’re already spoiled for choice when it comes to great video games, but two of the biggest games of the year – Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2 – are yet to come. Strap yourselves in!

By James Manning

Singles

George Ezra has found a home at #1 for the fourth consecutive week with Shotgun. He’s unlikely to still be there though when he tours next January… but that’s not too far away, so you never know.

The only newcomer to the top 10 was Lithuanian producer Dynoro seeing In My Mind climb from #13 to #7 for a new peak after four weeks on the chart.

The highest new entry on the chart was Halsey with Without Me at #11, which becomes her third top 50 hit. Halsey also features as a guest artist on the #2 track this week – Eastside from Benny Blanco where he shares guest vocals with Khalid.

Halsey

Other chart debuts this week include:

#25 Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper with Shallow from the new movie A Star Is Born. Lady Gaga was previously on the singles chart with The Cure last year, which peaked at #10.

A Star is Born

#27 Rita Ora with Let You Love Me – new music from her forthcoming second album Phoenix, which is due next month. The album has been a long time coming and her publicity tour interviews could reveal some interesting drama behind the scenes. Music from Phoenix was first released in July 2017.
#28 DJ Snake with Taki Taki featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B.
#41 Lauv with There’s No Way.
#46 Lukas Graham with Love Someone.
#48 Morgan Evans with Day Drunk – a track from the Aussie country artist’s second album Things That We Drink To.

Albums

New releases bomb the chart at #1 and #3 with another five albums debuting also in the top 50.

Twenty One Pilots are the new chart champs this week with their fifth album Trench and their first ARIA #1. The band is headed down under in December.

Film soundtracks have been doing good business in Australia with several still charting including The Greatest Showman still in the top 10 after 44 weeks on the chart (41 in the top 10), and, perhaps even more remarkably, Guardians Of The Galaxy, sitting at #30 after 188 weeks!

The latest hit soundtrack is from A Star Is Born with the film’s stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga performing the tunes. The album is new at #3 and it is Gaga’s first time back on this chart since October two years ago with Joanne, which peaked at #2.

Five other albums made it into the top 50 on debut:

#26 Last Dinosaurs with Yumeno Garden. Third album from the Brisbane group after A Million Years peaked at #8 in 2012 and Wellness made it to #18 in 2015.
#34 Behemoth with I Love You At Your Darkest. The 11th album from the Polish death metal band is their first to make the ARIA Top 50.
#42 Cat Power with Wanderer. US singer songwriter Chan Marshall releases her 10th album as Cat Power with the most recent four all charting here in 2006, 2008 and 2012. She performed at the Sydney Opera House earlier this year as part of the Vivid Festival.
#45 Lil Baby & Gunna with Drip Harder. First ARIA Chart Top 50 entry for both US rappers. Drake makes a guest appearance on the album.
#49 Coheed & Cambria with The Unheavenly Creatures is the ninth album from the US prog rockers.

By James Manning

Week 41 TV results: Late surge sees Royal Network push to the top

With Seven having the only camera access inside the church, the other broadcasters left it alone, pushing Seven’s Friday share to 31.1%, the best since Friday night AFL finals on September 21.

Seven won the week with a primary share of 20.1%, a combined channel share of 29.3% and also a winning commercial share of 38.6%.

However, Nine claimed all of the key demographics in primary channel primetime commercial shares of people 25-54 (25.2%), people 16-39 (24.2%) and shopper with child (26.1%).

Nine also claimed the key demographics in network primetime commercial shares of people 25-54 (36.2%), people 16-39 (34.5%) and shopper with child (37.4%).

The hottest shows of Week 41 were:

Nine: The Block – All four episodes were in the top 10 with the biggest audience of 1.14m for the Sunday episode ranking it #1 for the week.

Seven: The Royal Wedding was the only other program to crack 1m viewers in the first week of daylight saving.

Seven’s next best was the launch episode of All Together Now on 813,000.

TEN: The presentations after The Bathurst 1000 attracted the biggest audience for the channel – 957,000. The race itself averaged 737,000.

The Australian Survivor Grand Finale –The Winner Announced also made the top 10 with 877,000 hearing Shane Gould’s name read out. TEN had one of its best weeks of the year and its best two consecutive weeks since the launch of MasterChef back in May.

SBS: The channel had its equal-lowest share since April – 4.4%. Its most-watched show was Tony Robinson’s Hidden Britain By Drone with 304,000.

ABC: The channel had its best share since the last week of August. Helping drive that result were Wednesday’s Hard Quiz and Mad As Hell, as well as Monday’s Australian Story.

Year-to-date

On combined channel share (aka network share), Seven has dominated in all survey weeks except four this year.

Seven is also claiming leading commercial shares year-to-date total people and the key demos 25-54, 16-39 and 18-49. Seven is up YOY in all key demos, yet leads Nine by less than a point in the three age groups.

—

Week 42 Sunday

• The Block again a strong start for Nine as the auctions loom
• All Together Now down, but still viewers’ second 7pm choice
• The Honey Badger not as popular on second successive Sunday
• ABC’s best Sunday since June with Joanna Lumley & Pine Gap

Seven

The second episode of All Together Now featured the first contestant to score 100 with a positive vote from every judge. After debuting with 813,00, the second outing dipped to 745,000.

Sunday Night then did 603,000 after 500,000 a week ago.

Nine

It was the first reveals from the challenge unit last night as one lucky winner probably got a glimpse of what they will be winning. The episode led the pack for the night with 1.15m after 1.14m a week ago.

60 Minutes then did 699,000 after 640,000 the week prior.

TEN

The second appearance of The Honey Badger on The Sunday Project in two weeks was much more convincing than his first. However, the audience didn’t return. A week ago at 7pm The Sunday Project did 620,000. However, last night, when he sat at the desk and opened his heart, the number watching was 416,000.

The lead-in didn’t help the new Game Of Games. It launched on 536,000 a week ago, yet dropped to 416,000 last night.

New NCIS then did 311,000.

ABC

The final episode of Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure offered many highlights in wonderful cities in unlikely places. However, there was an anticlimactic ending when Lumley revealed, at the border, she and her crew had been denied entry to the final destination – China. The episode did 662,000, which was the biggest of the four episodes.

The Screentime drama Pine Gap then launched with a double episode on 581,000 as it revealed a mystery many viewers should be keen to see unravel.

SBS

A repeat of Italy’s Invisible Cities did best with 181,000.

SBS World News was on 128,000 with True Evil: The Making Of A Nazi on 114,000.