Better safe than silly

National TV ratings by David Dale, Sun Herald blogs

It was back to domesticity and reassuring predictability in Australia's entertainment choices last week. According to OzTAM, Channel Seven averaged 28.6 per cent of the prime time audience, scoring with its Sunday news, Better Homes and Gardens, City Homicide and RSPCA Animal Rescue.

Channel Nine got 25.9 per cent, thanks to 60 Minutes and Domestic Blitz. Only Wipeout suggested some viewers prefer a little edginess. Over the ratings year so far, Seven and Nine are neck and neck, each with 27.7 per cent of the audience.

Channel Ten (21.1 per cent last week) finally found an audience for Big Brother, which drew 1.4m for the announcement of its winner, but otherwise Ten could not get a program into the top 30 (see below). On the ABC (17 per cent), The Hollowmen have lost their sheen, dropping 200,000 to 907,000 (are viewers finding the show too cynical for these idealistic times?). But The Gruen Transfer and Spicks and Specks continue to soar, and Peter Cundall's final appearance on Gardening Australia drew 932,000 on Saturday.

For its healthy 7.4 per cent, SBS can thank Top Gear (902,000) and the Tour de France, which drew 587,000 late on Saturday night.

On Pay TV, Saturday's Bledisloe Cup drew 348,000 to Fox Sports 3, and the other most watched programs included NRL Storm v Dragons (Fox Sports 2) 270,000; NRL Raiders v Titans 268,000; Family Guy (Fox 8) 210,000; Futurama (Fox 8) 198,000 and Miley Cyrus's concert tour (Disney Channel) 159,000.

What Australia watched, week ending July 25
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Network 7 1,604,000
2 60 MINUTES Network 9 1,564,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Network 7 1,528,000
4 CITY HOMICIDE Network 7 1,511,000
5 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Network 7 1,509,000
6 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,509,000
7 WIPEOUT Network 9 1,499,000
8 BORDER SECURITY (R) Network 7 1,469,000
9 THE FORCE Network 7 1,464,000
10 BIG BROTHER - WINNER ANNOUNCED Network TEN 1,453,000
11 DOMESTIC BLITZ Network 9 1,439,000
12 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Network 9 1,427,000
13 THE GRUEN TRANSFER Network ABC1 1,396,000
14 ALL SAINTS Network 7 1,393,000
15 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Network 7 1,393,000