Nine has continued to breathe new life into the ARIA Awards broadcast, nearly 18 months after snatching the rights from Network 10.
But the honeymoon period could soon be over, with around 36,000 less people tuning in to watch Wednesday's ceremony compared to last year.
Keith Urban and Sir Bob Geldof present the ARIA Award for Album of the Year at The Star, in Sydney.Credit:AAP
The awkward banter didn't put too much of a dent in Nine's ratings, though. Wednesday's awards snapped up a national average audience of 672,000 people, with the show performing better than other Nine program Hot Seat and 10's The Project.
Last year's ceremony was the first time the ARIAs were broadcast on Nine's main channel. The show netted a national average audience of 708,000 people – a welcome shot in the arm from recent years when it aired on Network 10.
In 2016, the ARIAs were watched by around 593,000 people, with less than half a million people tuning in the year before. With free-to-air TV audiences steadily shrinking over the years, the numbers are a far cry from 2002 when 1.2 million turned on the television to watch Kasey Chambers win album of the year.
Nine has claimed Wednesday night's broadcast was a success given it was the most popular program among people aged 16 to 39 for the evening.
Nine's program director, Hamish Turner, said he was "delighted" with the audience response.
"It was a fantastic production, showcasing so many unique voices from the Australian music industry that resonate both here and overseas," he said.
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