Federal election 2016: leader’s TV debate fourth in timeslot

The ­debate lost more than a third of the audience, week-on-week, in the prime ABC slot recently held by Grand Designs.

The debate between Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten on the ABC averaged 529,000 capital city viewers on Sunday night, ranking fourth in its timeslot, holding that audience for the hour.

After the ABC News peaked during its weather segment with 875,000 metro viewers, a large slab switched off, dropping to 630,000 in three minutes.

Defying convention, the minute-by-minute audience remained stable, in a tight range around 600,000 metro viewers, dropping to 570,000 yet not peaking beyond 630,000 until favourite Midsomer Murders built the ABC audience to 740,000. More instructive, the ­debate lost more than a third of the audience, week-on-week, in the prime ABC slot most recently held by British program Grand Designs.