2023 Australian Open a winner for the Joker, not so much for Nine

The less said about the TV audience for the Australian Open tennis tournament on Nine, the faster the network will forget. The Nick Kyrgios knee injury, the early exit of Rafael Nadal, the growing dominance of The Joker and the lack of Ash Barty meant viewers of Nine’s various broadcasts stayed away, while at Melbourne Park they flocked in record numbers — especially for last night’s men’s final.

The match averaged 1.706 million, down sharply from the 2.095 who last year watched Nadal win in five sets, coming back from two sets down to Russian Daniil Medvedev. Barty’s win a year ago averaged 3.577 million; Saturday night’s win by Aryna Sabalenka brought in less than a million nationally. The men’s doubles final win by Aussies Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler averaged 576,000 after 11pm on Saturday.

Elsewhere, the knockout game in the BBL drew 584,000 on Seven. Ten ended The Bachelors Australia with its best figures — 535,000 for the decision and 513,000 for the antics.

Tonight, TV is back! Australian Survivor on Ten, Australian Idol on Seven, Married at First Sight on Nine and Four Corners on the ABC.

Network channel share:

1. Nine (47.4%)
2. Seven (20.7%)
3. ABC (13.7%)
4. Ten (12.6%)
5. SBS (5.6%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (40.7%)
2. Seven (14.9%)
3. ABC (10.6%)
4. TEN (8.0%)
5. SBS (2.8%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. GO (2.3%)
2. 10 Bold (2.2%)
3. 7TWO (2.1%)
4. 7mate (2.0%)
5. Gem (1.9%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Australian Open Tennis Men’s Singles Final (Nine) — 1.706 million
2. Seven News — 1.281 million
3. Australian Open Tennis Men’s Singles Final Presentation (Nine) — 1.121 million
4. Nine News — 964,000
5. 7pm ABC News — 823,000
6. Australian Open Tennis Men’s Singles Final Pre-Match (Nine) — 801,000
7. Vera (R, ABC) — 595,000
8. Cricket: Big Bash League Knockout (Seven) — 584,000
9. The Bachelors Australia Grand Final — Final Decision (Ten) — 535,000
10. The Bachelors Australia Grand Final — Finale (Ten) — 513,000

Top metro programs:

1. Australian Open Tennis Men’s Singles Final (Nine) — 1.322 million
2. Australian Open Tennis Men’s Singles Final Presentation (Nine) — 1.053 million

Regional Top 5: Seven News, 417,000; Australian Open Men’s Singles Final, 384,000; Nine News, 282,000; 7pm ABC News 269,000; Cricket: Big Bash League Knockout, 236,000.

Losers: you had to like tennis last night.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 864,000
2. Nine News — 682,000
3. 7pm ABC News — 554,000
4. The Sunday Project 7pm (Ten) — 262,000
5. Ten News First — 255,000
6. The Sunday Project 6.30pm — 187,000
7. SBS World News — 124,000

Morning (national) TV:

1. Weekend Sunrise (Seven) — 347,000
2. Landline Summer (ABC) — 249,000
3. Weekend Today (Nine) — 239,000
4. Offsiders (ABC) — 127,000

Top 5 pay TV programs:

1. Cricket: BBL KO (Fox Cricket) — 214,000
2. Cricket: BBL KO (Fox Cricket) — 187,000
3. Cricket: BBL KO Big Break (Fox Cricket) — 156,000
4. Cricket: BBL B4 The Bash (Fox Cricket) — 61,000
5. Outsiders (Sky News) — 52,000