TV Ratings May 31: Nine the big winner in Origin 1
Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at last night’s TV ratings
• Nine's WWOS and NSW big winners in 2017 State of Origin 1
• Sydney and Brisbane shares over 45% with 3.52m national crowd
Nothing too much to analyse after the first State of Origin clash. Nine dominated and the other networks did what they could to hang on to viewers.
Nine recorded a primary channel metro share of 32.7% with 45.7% in Sydney and 47.8% in Brisbane. The metro audience was much smaller than for game one last year, but a national audience over 3.5m is still an impressive result.
Seven's share made it into the early teens while TEN and ABC were both in single figures.
Seven
After two nights close to 800,000 Home and Away did 725,000.
Up against the start of State Of Origin, Seven started with repeats of Border Security and then Border Force in Sydney and Brisbane.
The leading media trade publication in Australia.
Get our top stories straight to your inbox daily by signing up to our Newsletter
Other metro markets saw House Rules, which did 585,000 in three markets followed by two episodes of Aussie Property Flippers.
Nine
A Current Affair was on a very healthy 912,000 with career crims leading into updates on Olivia Newton-John and her health challenge, then the bust-up of Alene and Simon from Married At First Sight.
It was all about State Of Origin then with 2,348,000, which was smaller than for the first two games in 2016, which did 2.73m and then 2.42m.
AFL markets then got the AFL Footy Show after Origin with 234,000 watching, 145,000 of them in Melbourne.
TEN
Maude Garrett was doing some of her best celebrity interviewing on the press junket for Wonder Woman on The Project with 603,000 watching after 7pm.
The MasterChef contestants were divided into four teams on the team challenge feeding a crowd at South Melbourne Market. The midweek episode did 704,000 after 846,000 a week earlier.
This Is Us then did 355,000 (434,000 last week) followed by Madam Secretary on 195,000.
ABC
A repeat episode of Anh's Brush With Fame did 462,000 after 525,000 last week.
The Weekly was up against Origin with Tara Pitt talking to Charlie and then Sam Dastyari talking with Tom. The episode did 456,000 after 585,000 last week.
The finals episodes of You Can't Ask That (413,000) and The Warriors (127,000) then screened.
SBS
Tony Robinson's Coast To Coast pulled 246,000 at 7.30pm.
Two episodes of Fargo then averaged 121,000.
