Sunday Week 31 2019
• Nine’s expanded editorial firepower delivers blockbuster 60 Minutes
• TV combined with The Age & SMH’s Nick McKenzie in Crown exposé
• Crimebuster secures Nine win with Ninja Warrior GF part one over 1m
• Australia’s Got Talent revival debuts strongly for Seven with 800,000+
• Australian Survivor caught in Sunday night crossfire, just over 500,000
Breakfast TV
• Sunrise 223,000
• Today 179,000
Seven
Australia’s Got Talent returned to Seven last night after the channel originally let it go because of poor ratings. The format went to Nine before it then let it go, only to see Seven pick it up again. The series launched with a sword swallower sliding down a pole onto a blade. It was a look-away and memorable moment for the strong debut audience of 814,000. Sword swallower Alex might have been a former winner of Russia’s Got Talent, but he added some dramatic moments for the start of the revival. Plenty of Aussie acts followed on the first night.
Sunday Night followed with Matt Doran reporting on a tale of survival and Angela Cox reported on how the Woodstock festival impacted a generation. Cox did a great job tracking down people now living in Australia who were there including stage manager Chip Monck and the episode also interviewed performers included Roger Daltrey and John Fogerty. The Sunday Night team even tracked down the couple wrapped in a blanket used on the cover of the soundtrack album. The episode did 486,000. Next week the program featured a story on legalising marijuana by special reporter Pete Evans.
Nine
It was the penultimate episode of Australian Ninja Warrior, but it was 60 Minutes that stole the limelight with its incredible probe into Crown and its adventures in China and links to the underworld. The Crown story was reported by Nine newspapers’ Nick McKenzie and drew an audience of 738,000, up just on 100,000 from a week ago.
The first part of Ninja Warrior’s two-part grand final saw 11 contestants qualify for the final episode tonight. The producers made us wait until the last competitor tackled the course to see Flashlin Ashlin. He did it with ease and must be a clear favourite to take the trophy in season three. The episode was on 1.15m making it the biggest episode this season and only the second over 1m after the series launched with 1.009m.
Suburban Gangsters had a fascinating episode on gangsters Nik Radev and Dino Dibra who are as nasty a couple of crooks as you could find. The Suburban Gangsters episode, from Sydney indie production house The Full Box, featured insights from former cops and crime writers plus a collection of archive footage. The episode was the last of the eight-episode season and had an audience of 168,000.
10
The Sunday Project was hosted by Waleed Aly and 10’s weekend news anchor Chris Bath. Guests included Lisa Wilkinson speaking with Aussie actor Tom Long on the fight of his life. The episode did 361,000.
Episode three of Australian Survivor was on 562,000 after two episodes averaged 750,000 last week. The series sees the Champions really up against it this season as they lost their second team member in three days – long distance swimming champ Susie Maroney who was voted out. Survivor did manage to outrate AGT with viewers under 50.
The CBS US police drama Instinct returned for season two with 185,000 watching.
ABC
Episode four of the five-part The Planets was on 489,000.
The second of two new episodes of Midsomer Murders 2019 from series 20 did 470,000.
The channel then replayed David Bowie: The Last Five Years close to the 50th anniversary of the release of Space Oddity. The episode did 102,000.
SBS
A repeat of the Charlie Teo episode of Who Do You Think You Are? did 150,000 at 7.30pm.
It was followed by a repeat of Jack The Ripper which did 128,000.
The final stage of the Tour de France didn’t screen until the early hours on Monday morning.
