The ratings are in for ‘The Bounce’ which screened last night at 7.30pm on Seven in the AFL states (Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia). It scored 546,000 viewers across those three states, besting ‘The AFL Footy Show’ which had 437,000 viewers.

The Herald Sun also gave it a review following its premiere:

PETER Helliar channeled his inner Rove McManus for the debut episode of Channel 7′s new footy show, The Bounce, tonight.

The structure of The Bounce was nearly a carbon copy of McManus’s Sunday night entertainment show Rove, which ended last year.

A clearly nervous Helliar stumbled early with a too-fast opening monologue that was straight out of Rove. Later gags felt as if they were lifted from Helliar’s Pete Space segment on Rove.

A challenge for Helliar on The Bounce was always going to be doing the meat-and-potatoes hosting duties as well as being funny. It’s a dual role that undid super-talented comedian Mick Molloy on The Nation.

Tonight it wasn’t quite there but it was the first show and it will definitely get better. Peter Helliar just needs to relax.