Schapelle gets Nine over the line

A successful screening of the Schapelle Corby documentary has assisted Nine win Week 26 (Week 18 of the Official Ratings) with 1.1% between Nine and Seven.

The figures were:

Nine 28.8%
Seven 27.7%
Ten 19.9%
ABC 17.5%
SBS 6.0%

Ten’s performance was disappointing as the network dipped below 20% as the ABC are becoming a real threat to the commercial network and rightly so. The quality of programming being produced by the ABC reflects their growing audience numbers.

Spicks and Specks was the third most popular show on Wednesday night, beaten by Seven News and Today Tonight. Spicks and Specks had 1.34 million viewers nationally continuing the ABC’s strong Wednesday night programming with The Gruen Transfer also in the Top 10 with 1.18 million viewers.

ABC News and The 7:30 Report’s figures are also on the increase returning in very strong performances for the public broadcaster.

Sea Patrol wrapped up for Nine last week in a dramatic second series final and a confirmation that there will be a third installment in 2009. The series has been a strong performer for Nine with 1.4 million viewers tuning in every week and they will be hoping that A Farmer Wants A Wife 2 can build on Sea Patrol’s platform, debuting tomorrow night up against the second series of City Homicide on Seven.

Also higher figures were recorded for The Footy Show (AFL) with the return of Sam Newman and the Ben Cousins exclusive plus Two and A Half Men, Domestic Blitz, Ramsay, Getaway, Fire 000, Search and Rescue and David Attenbrough return strong figures.

This week should be won by Nine with the State of Origin decider on Wednesday but there are a number of new programs being launched on Seven and Nine which could provide a few spoilers.

Tonight Seven launch Private Practice and Lipstick Jungle tackling CSI and Without A Trace while on Monday it’s Seven’s City Homicide versus Nine’s A Farmer Wants A Wife and Tuesday Nine are screening Two and A Half Men (Adults Only) against All Saints.

Hell’s Kitchen (Nine) has the series final against a resurgent Bones (Seven) with The Singing Bee set to replace Ramsay next week in what seems a peculiar scheduling decision.

This week will also not feature the axed, Million Dollar Wheel as Nine have ‘boned’ the 2008 version of Wheel instead screening an hour of Antiques Roadshow to hopefully deliver a better platform to Nine News and A Current Affair.