The conflict-heavy Married at First Sight was a ratings winner for Nine.

The conflict-heavy Married at First Sight was a ratings winner for Nine.Credit:Nigel Wright

But it was Seven that won the year – its 12th consecutive victory – by growing its slice of the audience to 30.5 per cent. The quiet achiever was SBS,which hit a record high of 7.7 per cent. Caught in the middle were Nine and Ten,which lost market share,and the ABC,which declined marginally.

While the ratings season officially ended on Saturday,programs recorded and watched within the next 28 days may have a small effect on the final results.

Seven's royal wedding coverage was among the most-watched TV events of 2018.

Seven's royal wedding coverage was among the most-watched TV events of 2018.Credit:Gareth Fuller

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Still,Seven can rest easy. Its Sunrise breakfast program,with 453,000 viewers,overshadowed the 351,000 watchingToday. Its 6pm news bulletin is No.1 and its 7Mate station is the most popular secondary channel. A silver lining for Nine was60 Minutes beatingSunday Night.

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Aside fromThe Good Doctor,the only international series in the top 10 wereDeath in Paradise and David Attenborough’sTasmania,both on ABC.

One thing's for sure:American comedies and films are not the ratings power houses they used to be.

In 1998,Friends averaged 739,000 viewers in Sydney alone;today,a sitcom does well to reach that number across all major capitals.

Twenty years ago,Blue Heelers andWater Rats cracked top 10;in 2018,no Australian drama did. EvenDie Hard with a Vengeance made the list back then – a full three years after its cinema release.

While ABC,SBS and Nine offered live broadcasts of the royal wedding,Seven’s coverage,averaging 2.64 million viewers,was the clear winner.

Top-rating regular programs,2018

  1. Married at First Sight,Nine,2.00 million
  2. My Kitchen Rules,Seven,1.80 million
  3. The Block,Nine,1.61 million
  4. The Good Doctor,Seven,1.53 million
  5. Seven News,1.47 million
  6. The Voice,Nine,1.41 million
  7. Australian Ninja Warrior,Nine,1.37 million
  8. Death in Paradise,ABC,1.35 million
  9. House Rules,Seven,1.34 million
  10. David Attenborough’s Tasmania,ABC,1.34 million

Metro+regional ratings combined. Source:OzTam and RegionalTam

Top rating TV events,2018

  1. State of Origin Game 1,Nine,3.44 million
  2. AFL Grand Final:West Coast vs Collingwood,Seven,3.40 million
  3. AFL Grand Final presentations,Seven,3.33 million
  4. State of Origin Game 2,Nine,3.20 million
  5. NRL Grand Final Day,Nine,3.06 million
  6. The Block:Winner Announcement,Nine,2.89 million
  7. Commonwealth Games:Opening Ceremony,Seven,2.79 million
  8. State of Origin Game 3,Nine,2.67 million
  9. Royal Wedding:Harry and Meghan Ceremony,Seven,2.64 million
  10. Married at First Sight:Finale,Nine,2.59 million

Metro+regional ratings combined. Source:OzTam and RegionalTam

Network audience share,2018

  1. Seven,30.5 per cent (up 0.9 percentage points)
  2. Nine,27.4 per cent (down 0.7)
  3. Ten,17.4 per cent (down 0.5)
  4. ABC,17.0 per cent (down 0.1)
  5. SBS,7.7 per cent (up 0.5)

Metro only,main channel and multichannels combined,excluding Easter and Commonwealth Games. Source:OzTam

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