ARIAs back on track, but no-one's watching

IT was not the celebrated "train wreck" of 2010, but this year's ARIAs ratings were certainly nothing to sing about.

Boy and Bear at ARIAS

IT was not the celebrated "train wreck" of 2010, but this year's ARIAs ratings were certainly nothing to sing about.

Hiding away on Nine’s digital youth station GO! just 369,000 viewers tuned in - shedding almost half last year’s numbers when the widely-panned event showed on Channel 10.

But despite the lower figures the result gave GO! its second-highest Sunday ever, pulling in a 7.7 per cent share.

Industry types praised the event as getting back to basics and righting some of the wrongs of 2010's “disastrous” Opera House ceremony.

However, not even big name drawcards such as Kylie Minogue and Delta Goodrem could coax viewers to tune in, with Twitter users once again saying it was hard to escape the feeling that the awards ceremony was enjoyable for those in attendance but provided little joy for viewers at home.

Nine's entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins tweeted that the ARIAs were "back on track" while Marc Andrews of MediaWeek said it was good to see this year's ceremony "treated the evening as the special and respectful occasion it is".

"Any vestiges from the wreckage that was last year's ARIA Awards were well and truly swept away" Andrews wrote.

The ARIAs audience peaked in 2008 with 1.09 million viewers on Channel 10.