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Seachange returns as highest rating drama of 2019

Channel Nine’s reboot of Seachange, which was a hit for the ABC when it originally debuted in 1998, has premiered to 787,000 metro viewers, and 1.105m viewers across the country, making it the highest rating drama of the year so far.

Fast forward 20 years from its first season, the show saw Sigrid Thornton return to the fictional coastal town of Pearl Bay following a failed attempt at volunteering in Africa.

The return of the drama series, combined with The Block’s 876,000 metro viewers and Nine’s news offering, led Nine to an easy Tuesday night win on 22.6% share compared to Channel Seven’s 18%, backed up by a network win of 30.2% share ahead of Seven’s 26.1%.

Seven News led the night with 1.029m metro viewers, with the second half (airing as Today Tonight in some markets) securing 985,000. Nine saw 935,000 tune in, and 941,000 in the 6:30pm slot, with A Current Affair pulling 726,000 metro viewers.

Nine’s The Block was next in line behind the news offerings (also topping the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics), with the episode featuring the season’s first room reveals. The contestants struggled to complete their guest bedrooms within a timeframe of four days, with most couples failing to present a finished room to judges Neale Whittaker, Shaynna Blaze, and Darren Palmer.

Ten’s Survivor secured 723,000 metro viewers, leading the younger 16-29 demographic, with Network Ten finishing with a 19.7% share. Seven’s primetime offering of Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, up against The Block and Survivor, had 558,000 metro viewers.

The national broadcaster was behind Ten on a 15.7% network share, led by ABC news (691,000), 7:30 (548,000), Foreign Correspondent (424,000), and the second part of two-part doco Waltzing the Dragon with Benjamin Law (327,000), in which the author digs into the overlapping histories of China and Australia.

Children’s show Bluey topped the multi-channels’ offering, appearing on ABC Kids/Comedy to 182,000 metro viewers.

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