'Hay Mate' & Invictus Games strike a chord with Aussie musical acts

Two major televised events put Aussie musical acts front and centre over the weekend.

Nine Network’s broadcast of the Hay Mate: A Concert For The Farmers in Tamworth, reached 121,000 overnight metros.

The numbers are expected to rise drastically when regional viewers are factored in.

The telecast was the third highest non-news program on Saturday night and saw $2 million raised in donations at the end of the event.

John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite (who arrived by private jet 20 minutes before going on stage after performing at the races in Melbourne earlier) Jon Stevens, Guy Sebastian, The Veronicas, Andrew Farris, Adam Harvey and Nat Conway received wild applause from the 6,500 who attended the concert at Scully Park.

The Invictus Games closing ceremony on the ABC, which saw Colin Hay, Birds of Tokyo and Aloe Blacc play to a crowd of 12,000, reached 578,000 overnight metro TV viewers.

Nine’s British Icon, which featured Elton John, drew 208,000.