Crownies spin-off Janet King launched with a top 10 placing while the Seven Network struggled in the absence of runaway reality series My Kitchen Rules.
Janet King, which stars A Place To Call Home's Marta Dusseldorp, landed in 10th spot with 824,000 viewers and was one of two ABC shows to figure in the top 10.
ABC News was ninth with 831,000 viewers.
Janet King also out-rated some of Seven's marquee prime time shows.
Border Security - Australia's Front Line, which has regularly filled a top 10 berth in previous seasons, missed out on being one of the most watched shows on its return on Thursday.
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It attracted 776,000 viewers to finish 11th while the launch of comedian Anh Do's Anh Does Scandinavia limped into 14th spot with an audience of 630,000.
The Nine Network won the night with The Block: Fans v Faves pulling 1.297 million viewers and Nine News (1.069 million) was second.
In all Nine had five the top seven shows on the OzTAM overnight ratings.
Most watched shows on Thursday.
1. The Block: Fans v Faves (Nine) - 1.297 million
2. Nine News (Nine) - 1.069 million
3. Seven News (Seven) _ 1.012 million
4. Seven News/Today Tonight 1.012 million
5. Nine News 6.30pm (Nine) - 989,000
6. A Current Affair (Nine) 962,000
7. The Block: Fans v Faves Unlocked (Nine) - 875,000
8. Home And Away (Seven) - 846,000
9. ABC News (ABC1) - 831,000
10. Janet King (ABC1) - 824,000
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11. Border Security - Australia's Front Line (Seven) - 776,000
14. Anh Does Scandanavia (Seven) - 630,000
* Source OzTAM
