Cantankerous clash an eye-grabbing spectacle

Cantankerous clash an eye-grabbing spectacle — much like a bonfire

An ill-tempered argument on Nine last night dominated the night’s events — poorly moderated (the host got little help from fellow panelists), poorly produced by Nine, and the two leaders showed neither manners nor civility. Nationally, Nine raked in 904,000 viewers from 8.30pm to well past 10.15 pm — good figures. The metros brought in 644,000 while the regions only 263,000, noticeably weaker.

It gave Nine the night overall, but Seven’s The Voice with 1.139 million had slightly better demographics, but not by much. Lego Masters also did very well, and this helped the leaders debate. Nine started the debate at 8.45pm with only five minutes or so left on The Voice. The debate and wrap-up ended at 10.17pm — an odd time, yes, but it meant that Nine’s late news started with a big audience and momentum, which showed with a national audience of 551,000, very high for that late on a Sunday night.

The whole debate circus returns on Seven on Wednesday night after Big Brother, which could very well be the kiss of death because Big Brother is not well liked these days. You will probably find there will be a bit of streaming of the show during the debate, which will be hosted only by Seven’s political editor Mark Riley, plus a legion of undecided voters in pubs in various parts of the country.

Regional top 5: Seven News, 453,000; The Voice, 372,000; Nine News, 344,000; Lego Masters, 289,000; 7pm ABC News, 269,000.

Network channel share: