Nine has reported its highest-rated start to the year since the inception of OzTAM in 2001.
At the conclusion of Q1 of 2023, the 9Network has reported it is No. 1 on linear television with people 25-54, 16-39, grocery shopper + child and total people, while 9Now is reportedly Australia’s top CFTA BVOD platform with all key demos and total people.
Nine has reported that the free-to-air and commercial shares achieved by the 9Network are the highest on record at this point of the year.
Michael Healy, Nine’s director of television, said: “These results are nothing short of phenomenal. To have achieved our best first quarter on record is a real credit to everyone at Nine and to our production partners for creating such engaging programming that has resonated so strongly with the Australian public.
“We don’t take the loyalty of our viewers for granted and look forward to providing even more compelling viewing moments in the coming months.”
The 9Network and Nine’s primary channel have won every week of the ratings survey period with all key demographics and total people.
On 9Now, more than 5.4 billion minutes of content has been streamed in 2023 – a year-on-year increase of 14%. Additionally, 9Now has won every week of the year-to-date against its commercial free-to-air competitors with people 25-54, 18-39 and total people.
Australia’s top program in Q1 is Married at First Sight (MAFS), with a Total TV average audience of 2.023 million viewers per episode – up 5% year-on-year.
MAFS currently has an average BVOD audience of 658,000 per episode, indicating a third of the program’s audience is streaming it on 9Now.
Michael Stephenson, Nine’s chief sales officer, said: “At the beginning of the year, we said Nine would be the safest bet for Australian advertisers and after the first quarter there is absolutely no doubt that we have delivered the biggest audiences across our Total Television platforms.
Married At First Sight has delivered year-on-year growth across Total Television, the NRL has got off to an absolute flyer delivering year-on-year growth across Total Television and we’ve still got Lego Masters, Parental Guidance and The Summit all to come over the course of the next three months, in addition to the NRL State of Origin, and news and current affairs. We are up to 10 points ahead of our nearest competitor in audience share – if you want consistency of audience, Nine is the only place to come.”
Also performing strongly for Nine in Q1 were:
• Big Miracles – Total TV average audience of 707,000 viewers per episode
• The Hundred with Andy Lee – Total TV average audience of 673,000 viewers per episode
• Under Investigation with Liz Hayes – Total TV average audience of 667,000 viewers per episode
A Current Affair is Australia’s No. 1 public affairs program, with a Total TV average audience of 884,000 viewers per episode since new host Ally Langdon joined the show. On Monday of this week, A Current Affair recorded its highest rating episode of the year with an average audience of 1.1 million.
The new-look Today show, with Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, is winning the breakfast slot across the combined East Coast capitals of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Each week, the Today show reaches an average of 1.6 million viewers.
And Nine’s coverage of the NRL season (Rounds 1-4) has audiences up 12% year-on-year across Total TV.