Having finally considered the ever evolving changes in audience preference between online and TV viewing, Australia’s major television networks seem to have captured back some of our attention… for now.
According to the OzTam Rating statistics, it was old soap standby Neighbors that took the prize for most watched “drama”, but generally our screens were dominated by the ever-predictable yet weirdly hypnotic happenings that comprise reality television.
Since the introduction of the Freeview channels we have seen an influx of programs based on – put simply, other people, and based on the 2012 mid-year ratings results, we seem to love it.
Racking up 2.5 million viewers, subsequently earning the gold AND silver position on the free-to-air podium we have… drum roll… Channel Nine’s The Voice, evidence that popularity is not always – if ever – positively correlated to quality.
Channel Seven’s remarkably popular cooking contest My Kitchen Rules claimed the bronze position, as well as the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th place for various episodes, proving that Australians are still watching what they eat.
The seventh spot went to The Block which ultimately proved a huge success for both the show’s contestants and the Nine Network.
Finally, of the top ten most watched shows on Australian television merely two scripted programs scraped in; Seven’s compulsively watchable soaps Revenge and Downton Abbey taking out the 9th and 10th spot respectively.
The Dowager Countess dominates:
Let’s now reflect on what was and make way for what’s to come (The Shire!, Big Brother!!!) in the second half of our year of TV viewing while enjoying Madeleine Stowe’s masterful passive-aggressive fake smile as Victoria Grayson in Revenge…
Words by Jacquie Lennon
