stations prepare for ratings war Ten's Masterchef: The Professionals tried to dial up the heat by launching early againts Seven's My Kitchen Rules but couldn't hold its ground against intense competition. THE bloody war of attrition between the commercial TV networks is a cliche as old as television and yet with a week to go before ratings officially begin, we are facing a battlefield already soaking in blood. The first salvos have been exchanged between Seven, Nine and Ten as each hopes to shave off a healthy chunk of the $3.2 billion advertising pie. In an attempt to stake its ground early, Ten launched MasterChef: The Professionals and for a moment the strategy seemed solid. That series launched to about 1.3 million viewers. MKR launched to 1.3 million and then hit 1.6 million, while Masterchef was battered into submission from 11 million down to 850,000 viewers. Photo: Supplied But Seven responded with My Kitchen Rules, a series which was born four years ago as a MasterChef knock-off but has become one of the most valuable pieces on the TV chessboard, and battered Ten into its place. Next week, The Block: All Stars enters the fray, soaking up more of the early evening audience. That clash will be replayed several times across the 2013 schedule, as competing networks play similar formats against each other: The Block v House Rules and The Voice v The X Factor chief among them. In some of those cases, the two clashing programs will not actually go head-to-head. In the case of The Block and House Rules for example, a combination of circumstance and strategy on both sides means neither is likely to sap directly from the shared audience at the same time. As last year's ratings year closed, Seven was still Australia's top-rating commercial network with a 30.5 per cent share of the five capital city markets. Channel Nine came second with 28.9 per cent. But in demographic terms, particularly the ad-revenue rich 25- to 54-year-old group, Nine led Seven. And Seven faces renewed Nine firepower on several fronts, notably breakfast TV where Today made significant gains last year and news and current affairs where Nine is now leading Seven in Sydney and Melbourne. This means that this year there is enormous pressure on the two leading commercial channels. For Nine it is a make or break year, in which it needs to grab the top rung, and for Seven possibly its only opportunity to regain a winning margin in the longer term. Last year, Ten scraped into third position with a 17.4 per cent share, less than half a percentage point ahead of the ABC's main channel, ABC1. In that sense, though Ten is waging its war against Seven and Nine, its real threat is the ABC which, this year, is well positioned to overtake it. Adding fuel to the ratings fire, this year is expected to be a commercial watershed for the broadcast industry. For the first time in Australia, advertising spending online will match advertising spending on free-to-air television. The TV ratings year begins on Sunday, February 10.