Initiative Week In Review w/c 07/02/10 – 13/02/10

The results of week 1 in 2010 for the television commercial share shows a win for the Nine Network as well as Channel 10 with new programs appearing on Australian screens. On the first night of survey, there was only one new programme on offer, but it showed a strong start to the new ratings year. The Good Wife on Network Ten launched and took third position overall for the week capturing 201,000 viewers and pulling the top position for both People 25-54 and 25-39 and Number 2 for People 18-39. Seven came next with My Kitchen Rules launching on Monday and Tuesday nights. The increase in Perth viewers for the Seven Network's programme "My Kitchen Rules" was probably due to large interest in how the local team faired.

On Saturday, we had the excitement of the Winter Olympics on the Nine Network. Nationally, over 4.7 million tuned in for the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony on Saturday morning. In Perth, the Opening Ceremony took the top position in daytime for People 18-39 and second position with People 25-39 with 89,000 people tuning in. The end result was that TVW-7 won the first week of survey (0600-2400) for Total People with a commercial share of 37.4%, followed by STW-9 with 33.4% and NEW-10 with 29.3%.

But who won Summer?
The Seven Network won the summer non-rating period for 2009/2010 with a 27% five capital city share. The Nine Network was a clear second, with STV challenging Ten for the third spot, falling only 1 rating point short against Total People. The ratings win by Seven was predominantly driven by the viewership of The Australian Open, seeing Network Seven take out seven of the top 10 programmes, since December 2009.

Cinema
The cinema box office has flourished in Australia, recording a 16% increase, despite other industries suffering from cuts in consumer spending. According to Val Morgan Cinema Network, cinema attendance in 2009 recorded a 7% increase.

Newspaper and magazine sales have been scattered, recording some increases but shortages for some publications in 2009. Titles for men's lifestyle recorded losses across the board, while ACP’s Dolly was one of the few to show an upswing with a 17.9% increase. The Food and Entertainment category did well showing many increases in titles such as Australian Good Food – up 13.46%. Overall, national newspaper circulation slipped by 2.28% in the 12 months to December 2009. Please see the report to view more specific results.

To read the full report from Initiative please click here.