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‘Game of Thrones’ (Photo credit: Helen Sloane/HBO)

The premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones has shattered Foxtel’s viewing records, ranking as the biggest daily Vpm (video player measurement) audience across Australian television this year.

The Winterfell episode was watched by an overnight linear audience of 962,000, a 17 percent increase on the season seven premiere in 2017.

During the day 330,000 people streamed it live or on demand across Foxtel Now and Foxtel Go – the biggest daily Vpm audience for 2019.

The six-episode final season of HBO’s global powerhouse transports viewers back to Westeros where White Walkers and the army of the dead led by the Night King have broken through the fabled wall and started their deadly march on the Seven Kingdoms.

Brian Walsh, Foxtel executive director of TV, said: “Yesterday’s viewership is a testament to the hunger that fans have had over the past two years...

Matchbox Pictures has won the Production Business of the Year award at the 15th annual Screen Producers Australia Awards.

The awards, were hosted by television and radio presenter James Mathison at Melbourne.s Palladium at Crown during the 30th Screen Forever Conference.

For a full list of awards, see below.

Matchbox Pictures was founded by Australian producers Tony Ayres, Penny Chapman, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst in 2008.

It was acquired by NBC Universal in 2014..

Matchbox specialises in television drama, children.s programming, factual and entertainment content, animation and feature films for the domestic and international marketplace..

Most recently, Matchbox has produced the popular reality television series Real Housewives of Melbourne, feature film Ali.s Wedding, Lally Katz.s comedy mini-series Stories I Want To Tell You In Person for the ABC, and the youth television drama series Nowhere Boys for ABC Television, which was honoured with the Screen...

Royal prank DJ Mel Greig has signed up for Celebrity Apprentice in Australia.

She will be entering Mark Bouris's boardroom alongside Home and Away's Esther Anderson and model and actress Sophie Monk.

Entrepreneur Geoffrey Edelsten and his wife, model and designer Gabi Greko, have also been announced for the new series.

The line-up is completed by Real Housewives of Melbourne star Gina Liano, Miss Universe Australia Tegan Martin, Big Brother's Tim Dormer, The Bachelor's Blake Garvey, presenter James Mathison, gossip columnist Richard Reid and Sophie Monk.

Greig and her colleague Michael Christian made headlines across the world with their royal prank, when they tricked staff at London's King Edward VII Hospital into speaking about the Duchess of Cambridge during her first pregnancy.

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who answered the call, ended up taking her own life. Greig and Christian left their jobs at Australia's 2DayFM following widespread controversy.

Actor and comedian Shane Bourne will host this year.s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTAs), broadcast in a 90-minute presentation on Thursday, January 30, at 8.30pm on Network Ten.

Bourne will lead the night of peer-voted awards, live performances and special appearances from personalities across the Australian television and film industry.

AFI | Aacta CEO, Damian Trewhella, said .We are delighted Shane will host the 3rd Aacta Awards Ceremony. Shane is an AFI Award winner and audience favourite, and a well loved and respected member of the screen industry.. Bourne said, .I am really looking forward to being involved in the 3rd Aacta Awards and providing the social lubricant to help ensure a great night for all as we celebrate the year.s achievements in television and film. And if the official after party is just a fraction as good as the scenes from The Great Gatsby then...

Despite all the hype, the audience numbers for day one of Network Ten.s breakfast shows were softer than some analysts predicted.

Wake Up averaged 52,000 viewers from 7-8.30 am in the mainland capitals, well behind Seven.s Sunrise (368,000 from 7-9 am) and Nine.s Today (321,000).

Studio 10 averaged 61,000 from 8.30-10.30am versus Seven.s The Morning Show.s 189,000 and Nine.s Mornings. 135,000.

.Considering the amount of promotional budgets against Wake Up, circa $1.5 mill, these are not bad numbers,. said Fusion Media's Steve Allen.

.The audience numbers day 1 are a little soft on our prediction of three weeks ago but there and thereabouts. It is going to be a tough fortnight for Wake Up just to hold onto figures..

Allen said Ten's morning TV director Adam Boland, who was poached from Seven, .knows television, especially morning television and especially chat shows. He knows what you need to have to be successful. Not...

Former Australian Idol host James Mathison is the bookies' favourite to replace sacked judge Kyle Sandilands. Sandilands, who caused outrage after exposing a 14-year-old rape victim on his morning radio programme with co-host Jackie O, was fired from his judging role on the reality show yesterday. Mathison, who quit as host of Idol last year after six years, is now the odds-on (more)...