To Schapelle or not to Schapelle? That is the Question

Seven (28.2%) has won Week 17 of the Official Television Ratings (Week 25) as predicted by The OP_inion last week with 1.5% separating Seven and Nine (26/7%).

Ten sits on 20.7% and could be challenged by the ABC who posted a healthy 18.8% of the audience share for the week.

60 Minutes was the highest rating show of the week while Seven News and Today Tonight are the nightly strength for Seven plus with no State of Origin or Rugby Union this week ratings were affected.

For Seven, this meant the network could show The Vicar of Dibley on Saturday night which was the second most popular show last night with just over 1 million viewers.

This week should be closely contested with the season final of Sea Patrol on Nine tomorrow night which has had some very good ratings this year especially in the later stages of the season with 1.49 million viewers last week. I expect Nine to announce a third season for the drama.

Sea Patrol will also have the luxury of no Desperate Housewives because the season has been completed instead for one week only, Criminal Minds will fill the 8:30 slot tomorrow for Seven in what appears to be a concession because next week the second series of City Homicide debuts head-to-head with the second season of The Farmer Wants A Wife.

The OP_inion has questioned whether any of the commercial networks would screen Australian dramas head-to-head which has not been done for some time. City Homicide would cost more to produce than Farmer in what appears to be a good challenge for both networks.

Farmer would attract more of Desperate Housewives audience while City Homicide would appear to attract more of a Sea Patrol audience so maybe the viewers will follow suit or stay loyal to their network. It should be interesting, but that is next week.

So will it be the Schapelle Corby special that sinks or makes Nine swim this week? Four hours of Corby seems like a lot but anything is possible… somehow I don’t think the audience numbers will be there and the Grey’s Anatomy final will record higher numbers tonight.

Seven should win the week but the news maybe under threat from Celebrity Million Dollar Wheel, possibly a last ditch effort to continue production of what has been a disappointment so far for Nine.