Viewers vote 1 for ABC election shows

ELECTION programming with a twist saw the ABC turn in one of its best ratings performances this year.

ELECTION programming with a twist gave ABC1 the most popular TV programs after 7.30pm last night and saw the channel claim a 17.2 per cent audience share, one of its best performances this year.

Viewers voted 1 for Gruen Nation, which drew almost 1.2 million viewers, while 921,000 tuned in to Kitchen Cabinet to see host Annabel Crabb barbecue with opposition leader Tony Abbott and his daughters.

The Hamster Decides, featuring the Chaser team, was close behind and current affairs flagship 7.30 and ABC News also made the top 10 most-watched shows of the night.

Seven Network's Home and Away was the commercial channels' only non-news and current affairs show to make the top 10. Seven's other best offering was entertainment program Slide Show.

Reality series Big Brother and Big Brother Confidential were the best after 7.30pm for Nine.

Ten's highest ranking show for the night was romantic comedy drama series Wonderland with 688,000 viewers.

Seven's suite of channels won the night overall with a total share of 28.6 per cent, followed by Nine (26.0 per cent), the ABC (22.8 per cent), Ten (18.0 per cent) and SBS (4.6 per cent).

OZTAM OVERNIGHT RANKINGS, SEPTEMBER 4
1 NINE NEWS Nine 1,264,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,183,000
3 GRUEN NATION ABC1 1,179,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,088,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,035,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 943,000
7 KITCHEN CABINET ABC1 921,000
8 THE HAMSTER DECIDES ABC1 913,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 911,000
10 7.30 ABC1 899,000
11 SLIDESHOW Seven 830,000
12 BIG BROTHER Nine 807,000
13 BIG BROTHER CONFIDENTIAL Nine 772,000
14 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 727,000
15 WONDERLAND Ten 688,000
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