The Ashes started horrendously for Australia with three early wickets. Steve Smith then managed to steady the ship for the country and the broadcast rights holder. The audience for the first session across Nine and 9Gem was 695,000. The lunch break did 482,000 and then the second session was on 392,000.
The cricket was a key influencer in where Thursday viewers went. With NRL getting the primary channel in rugby league capitals, 9Gem did well with shares of 10.9% in Sydney and 11.9% in Brisbane.
The cricket was on Nine’s primary channel in Melbourne, which basked in a Thursday share 30.3% which the channel hasn’t seen since the glory days of The Footy Show.
NATIONAL REACH
A total of 3.130 million viewers tuned into Nine’s broadcast of the first day of the First Test between Australia and England.
SESSION ONE (8:00pm – 10:02pm AEST)
• Timeslot winner in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane
• National peak audience: 1.203 million (5 City: 834,000 / Regional: 368,000).
• National average audience: 932,000 (5 City: 695,000 / Regional: 237,000).
SESSION TWO (10:42pm – 12:40am AEST)
• Timeslot winner in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Brisbane
• National peak audience: 742,000 (5 City: 538,000 / Regional: 204,000).
• National average audience: 503,000 (5 City: 392,000 / Regional: 111,000).
