Seven wins the marathon, Nine takes the final sprint and Ten has best run in five years

The Seven Network has surged across the line to win the 2017 ratings year, despite a final sprint from Nine which delivered it the honours in the last week of official ratings.

Anchored by the Olympic Games in Brazil, Seven was the big winner, but in the ratings lucky dip where every player gets a prize, all three networks were claiming they were winners across a variety of demographics and formats.

Seven finished the year with a total seven day consolidated commercial audience share of 27.8%, ahead of Nine which grabbed  a 25.2% share and Ten which recorded a 18.5% share.

The ratings saw Nine’s share down from 26.7% in 2016, Seven rise 0.1% and Ten lift from 17.8%.