Return of The Block tops the million mark while Dancing With The Stars rises for finale

The return of Nine’s renovation competition The Block helped the channel win the night with a share of 23.4 per cent, as rival Ten’s share slipped below the double digit mark once again on Sunday.

The Block debuted last night at 7pm with a metro audience of 1.074m and was the most-watched show in the 16-39 demographic, taking home the second-most watched show title in the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, behind Nine’s 60 Minutes which was watched by 1.137m at 8.20pm.

The debut of The Block was down on the launch of The Block Glasshouse, which kicked off at the end of July last year with a metro audience of 1.374m, however that number was driven in part by the network’s decision to simulcast the renovation show across its multi-channels Go and Gem, while last night’s premiere only aired on Nine.

However it was well up on the launch of The Block: Triple Threat which pulled in 860,000 metro viewers at the end of January.