Seven gets the eyeballs, but not the advertising dollars

Seven has won the TV ratings race for 2024, attracting more eyeballs nationwide than its commercial rivals for the fourth year in a row.

he most-watched program of 2024 was Seven’s coverage of the AFL grand final between the Brisbane Lions and the Sydney Swans. Picture: Lachie Millard

Seven has won the TV ratings race for 2024, attracting more eyeballs nationwide than its commercial rivals for the fourth year in a row.

According to ratings measurement system VOZ, Seven captured 42 per cent of the free-to-air commercial TV market in 2024, ahead of Nine on 39.3 per cent, while Ten was a distant third with 18.7 per cent of the national audience between the hours of 6am to midnight.

The figures exclude the Paris Olympics, which were broadcast on Nine, as the Games dramatically skew the annual ratings.

The most-watched program of 2024 was Seven’s coverage of the AFL grand final between the Brisbane Lions and the Sydney Swans, with a total TV audience of 4.06 million.

Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer, Jeff Howard, said the network’s ratings success was built on its “great content that connects with Australians and delivers results for our commercial partners”.

“Millions of Australians connect with one of our broadcast, digital or publishing platforms every day, every week, every month. To make that happen, every year we create, collate and curate thousands of hours of local content,” he said.

Main picture: Brisbane’s Cam Rayner celebrates during the most-watched event of 2024, the AFL grand final; Sam Pang on Have You Been Paying Attention, top left; Farmer Wants a Wife, bottom left; and Married at First Sight, bottom right.

“This year, the number of people we connected with grew on both broadcast and digital thanks to content such as the AFL Grand Final, Farmer Wants A Wife, My Kitchen Rules and more, and our content line up for 2025 will ensure that growth continues,” he said.

Despite winning the ratings race, Seven’s main rival Nine once again triumphed in the lucrative metro markets and in the key demographic belts of 16-39, 25-54, and Grocery Shopper + Child, which are the priority for advertisers.

In the overall five-city metro market, Nine secured 40.8 per cent of the total TV audience (excluding Olympics), edging out Seven on 40.1 per cent and Ten on 19.1 per cent.

Nine’s top rating program in 2024 was the rugby league State of Origin game 3 (3.6 million total TV audience), while this year’s State of Origin game 1 and the NRL grand final between the Penrith Panthers and the Melbourne Storm both drew 3.4 million viewers.

Nine’s BVOD platform 9Now easily out-rated 7plus and 10Play across 2024. Michael Stephenson, Nine’s chief sales officer, said: “The future of television is total TV, combining broadcast, live streaming, and on-demand.

“At Nine, we meticulously license, produce and schedule content to optimise viewership across these platforms, ensuring audiences have seamless access to our content. The impressive growth of 9Now is essential to our advertising partners and demonstrates the evolving habits of viewers who are shifting towards more flexible, on-demand viewing options.”

Network 10, owned by Paramount, continues to target younger audiences than its commercial rivals, with shows such as Have You Been Paying Attention, ­MasterChef Australia and Australian Survivor drawing increased audiences, particularly on 10Play.