Spelling Bee loses 30 per cent of audience a week after debut while The Hotplate holds firm
Ten’s The Great Australian Spelling Bee has shed almost 30 per cent of its audience a week after it made its debut. 
Last night’s Oztam metropolitan TV audience numbers show the program, featuring children competing in a spelling contest, failed to make the top 15 programs with an audience of 655,000 for its third outing, well down on the 921,000 it drew last week.
In contrast Nine’s reality cooking show The Hotplate was up on last week drawing 952,000 viewers, up from 944,000 last Monday. Nine also benefitted from the return of drama House Husbands which had 855,000 viewers from 8.50pm.
Season four of House Husbands was down on its 2014 return when it drew 891,000.
In the 7.30pm slot Seven had 789,000 viewers for Highway Patrol and then 683,000 for Motorway Patrol, while the ABC’s Australian Story had 800,000 at 8pm for the story introduced by Carlotta, one of Australia’s leading transgender personalities, on a man who chose to have a baby before undergoing his gender transition.
In the 6pm news slot Nine had 1.208m at 6pm and then 1.14m at the 6.30pm slot, while Seven had 1.021m and then 1.005m.
Nine had the highest audience share with 23.3 per cent on its main channel followed by Seven with 16.6 per cent, the ABC on 15.4 per cent and then Ten with 12.8 per cent.
Top 15 shows
1 NINE NEWS Network 9 1,208,000
2 NINE NEWS 6:30 Network 9 1,140,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Network 7 1,021,000
4 SEVEN NEWS / TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,005,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Network 9 1,003,000
6 THE HOTPLATE Network 9 952,000
7 HOUSE HUSBANDS Network 9 855,000
8 ABC NEWS Network ABC 853,000
9 7.30 Network ABC 834,000
10 AUSTRALIAN STORY Network ABC 800,000
11 HIGHWAY PATROL Network 7 789,000
12 HOME AND AWAY Network 7 764,000
13 MOTORWAY PATROL Network 7 683,000
14 HOT SEAT Network 9 671,000
15 FAMILY FEUD Network TEN 669,000
Audience Share
Network 9 23.3%
Network 7 16.6%
Network ABC 15.4%
Network TEN 12.8%
Network 7TWO 5.5%
Network SBS ONE 5.2%
Network GO! 3.8%
Network 7mate 3.7%
Network ABC2 3.7%
Network Gem 2.9%
Network ONE 2.7%
Network ELEVEN 2.4%
Network SBS 2 0.8%
Network ABC News 24 0.8%
Network ABC3 0.4%
Network NITV 0.0%
Total Audience Share
Network 9 TTL 30.0%
Network 7 TTL 25.8%
Network ABC TTL 20.3%
Network TEN TTL 17.9%
Network SBS TTL 6.1%
Data OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM.
boring show why would anyone watch it?
No doubt it was cheap to make.
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Kids show in an adult time slot. Bad programming decision. And kids are boring. Fact.
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ABC drops to zip for 4Corners. Looks like no one cares how cricket is governed or was it just post-Ashes apathy?
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What can one say? Lames show and its during Prime time TV!! If kids wanna watch it – put it in their time slot.
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“Well there’s your problem” – its the time slot. I know heaps of mums who want to watch it with there under 10’s but they cant stay up that late.
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