It was a tough day for pulling big cricket TV ratings on Day 4 of the first Ashes Test. Not only did the match wrap with just over a third of a day’s play on the fourth day, but a power outage also robbed viewers of up to 40 minutes of coverage.
Exactly how much viewing time was lost is difficult to track unless you were running a clock on it. Media reports vary that it took as little as 15 minutes to as much as 40 minutes until full coverage was restored. The outage impacted action between overs 82 and 88 of England’s second innings.
Viewers hoping for a full weekend of Test coverage didn’t get it. Although cricket fans would understand it is rare to get a full day five of action.
The summary of the First Ashes Test TV crowds is as follows:
Day One Brisbane: Best combined 899,000 (Second session)
Seven and Fox Cricket
First session 586,000 (Metro 383,000 Regional 204,000) Fox 159,000
Second session 686,000,000 (Metro 459,000, Regional 227,000) Fox 213,000
Third session 614,000 (Metro 413,000 Regional 201,000) Fox 191,000
Day Two Brisbane: Best combined 1,192,000 (Third session)
Seven and Fox Cricket
First session 557,000 (Metro 369,000 Regional 188,000) Fox 162,000
Second session 695,000 (Metro 463,000, Regional 232,000) Fox 191,000
Third session 954,000 (Metro 639,000 Regional 315,000) Fox 238,000
Day Three Brisbane: Best combined 997,000 (Third session)
Seven and Fox Cricket
First session 609,000 (Metro 423,000 Regional 186,000) Fox 161,000
Second session 708,000 (Metro 490,000, Regional 218,000) Fox 187,000
Third session 782,000 (Metro 522,000 Regional 260,000) Fox 215,000
Day Four Brisbane: Best combined 940,000 (First session)
Seven and Fox Cricket
First session 717,000 (Metro 487,000 Regional 230,000) Fox 213,000
Second session 600,000 (Metro 402,000, Regional 198,000) Fox 171,000
Saturday TV ratings Metro primetime shares primary/network
ABC 10.8% (17.4%)
Seven 21.5% (29.5%)
Nine 18.6% (30.4%)
10 5.8% (13.1%)
SBS 5.8% (9.6%)
See also: Weekend TV ratings Saturday December 4, 2021
Saturday TV ratings Metro top 20 all people
| 1 | SEVEN NEWS SATURDAY | Channel 7 | 694,000 |
| 2 | NINE NEWS SATURDAY | Channel 9 | 636,000 |
| 3 | SEVEN’S CRICKET: FIRST TEST – THE ASHES D4 LUNCH | Channel 7 | 601,000 |
| 4 | A CURRENT AFFAIR | Channel 9 | 503,000 |
| 5 | SEVEN’S CRICKET: FIRST TEST – THE ASHES D4 S1 | Channel 7 | 487,000 |
| 6 | ABC NEWS SATURDAY | ABC TV | 465,000 |
| 7 | SEVEN’S CRICKET: FIRST TEST – THE ASHES D4 S2 | Channel 7 | 402,000 |
| 8 | BLUEY | ABC Kids/ABC TV Plus | 401,000 |
| 9 | THE LARKINS | ABC TV | 320,000 |
| 10 | M: HOME ALONE | Channel 7 | 308,000 |
| 11 | CHRISTMAS WITH DELTA GOODREM | Channel 9 | 305,000 |
| 12 | WEEKEND SUNRISE | Channel 7 | 254,000 |
| 13 | US | ABC TV | 242,000 |
| 14 | M: HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK | Channel 7 | 225,000 |
| 15 | 10 NEWS FIRST SATURDAY | Channel 10 | 219,000 |
| 16 | COUNTRY HOUSE HUNTERS AUSTRALIA | Channel 9 | 219,000 |
| 17 | WEEKEND SUNRISE EARLY | Channel 7 | 207,000 |
| 18 | SEVEN’S CRICKET: FIRST TEST – THE ASHES D4 PRE GAME | 7mate, Channel 7 | 197,000 |
| 19 | NINE NEWS: FIRST AT FIVE | Channel 9 | 196,000 |
| 20 | WEEKEND TODAY | Channel 9 | 191,000 |
Saturday Sports FTA and STV
Big Bash League
Fox Cricket
Hurricanes v Strikers 149,000
Scorchers v Strikers 78,000
Football
A-League
10
Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
89,000 (Metro)
Basketball
WNBL ABC
Townsville Fire v Adelaide Lightning
40,000 (Metro)
Formula 1
Fox Sports
Adu Dhabi Grand Prix
Qualifying 59,000