Can TV3 Hit Ratings Home Run From Homeland?
February 15, 2012 
2 Comments
TV3 is rescheduling its exceptional new drama Homeland after disastrous ratings for Monday’s premiere.
But instead of relegating it to a lesser slot, the network is hellbent on making it a hit by adding an extra screening and promoting the award-winner to an earlier hour.
An upcoming scene from Homeland
From next Monday, assuming it picks up in the ratings, Homeland will screen 8.30pm, opposite Desperate Housewives and Criminal Minds (CSI will switch to 9.30).
Before then, TV3 will try to maximise sampling of episode one by repeating it 9.45pm on Saturday, after the season finale of The X Factor Australia (Outrageous Fortune will shift to 10.45pm and the HD movie, The Fountain, to 12.45am).
TV3 is to be commended for the move. Homeland is its jewel in the crown for 2012 and deserves to be given every chance to develop a decent audience.
The only question is: has free-to-air TV so dumbed down over the last decade that a premium pay channel like Sky’s SoHo is now the only viable home for quality, thought-provoking drama?
Come Monday, there couldn’t be a clearer choice for discriminating viewers: the mindless pap of Criminal Minds and Desperate Housewives, or the excellence and intrigue of Homeland?
Meanwhile, TVNZ this afternoon issued a press release highlighting TV2’s roaring success so early in the new season.
It reads as follows:
| New Zealanders can’t get enough of the brand new hit series and favourite returning shows on TV2. The first week of the new season launch is another ratings winner, proving that TV2 continues to be the channel of choice for 18-39-year-olds.Re-launching TV2’s popular Wednesday comedy line-up last week, Two and a Half Men achieved an impressive result, collecting over 63% of the available 18-39 audience. The highly anticipated 2 Broke Girls also left its mark, with 53% of the available audience in the same demographic watching the brand new comedy. In fact, the show received the highest share of available viewers in 18-39 than any other comedy on debut in the last five years. Rounding out the laughs, returning favourite The Big Bang Theorycame back with a convincing win in its timeslot also, with over 44% of the available 18-39 audience watching the show.TV2’s Wednesday night comedy has long been the biggest night of ratings in New Zealand television, but it wasn’t the only success story for TVNZ in this new season launch week. It was also a very convincing win in 18-39 for all TV2 shows on Thursday night, from Shortland Street through to the re-launched Thursday night line-up of Police Ten 7, Motorway Patrol, Once Upon a Time and 20/20. While three of these four shows are returning series which have always achieved strong results for TV2 on Thursday nights, the brand new hit drama from America, Once Upon a Time, more than held its own, winning the timeslot with over 37% of the available 18-39 audience, and more than twice the number of viewers than the second place show in this slot. TV2’s success didn’t slow down over the weekend, with the new season of American Idol continuing to pull in high ratings, this week earning 30% and 28% of the available 18-39 audience on Friday and Saturday nights respectively. On Sunday, the new line-up of returning show Mike & Molly and brand new Happily Divorced cruised through to easy wins, each earning over 28% of the available 18-39 audience. Following on from that, the free-to-air premiere of film The Bounty Hunter dominated the timeslot as it took almost 30% of the available 18-39 audience. Continuing to prove that TV2 is the successful home of drama as well as comedy, the brand new and highly anticipated Revenge dominated the ratings on Monday night, with over 38% of the available 18-39 audience watching. Like Once Upon a Time, Revenge also received more than twice the number of 18-39 viewers than the second place show in its time slot. To round out the launch week, the new Tuesday night line-up dominated ratings also, with returning series The Middle coming into its third season with 37% of the available 18-39-year-old viewers, and brand new comedy Suburgatory easily winning its slot too, with 35% of the available 18-39-year-old viewers. However, it was returning local drama Go Girls which really drove the win home, taking almost 45% of the available 18-39-year-old audience. Coming into its fourth season, the show proved it is growing in popularity year on year, with last night’s season premiere earning more viewers than premieres for season one, two or three. TV2 Programmer John Kelly is delighted with the results, saying, “We’re really happy with how our new season has launched, but the best news is there’s even more to come as we have an incredible line-up of shows to play throughout the whole year.” With programming for the first half of 2012 off to a winning start for TV2, viewers will also be able to look forward to great television for the rest of the year, with returning favourites such as My Kitchen Rules, Grey’s Anatomy and The Mentalist, as well as brand new dramas G.C.B., The River and Necessary Roughness, along with Shortland Street’s 20th anniversary. |
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February 15, 2012 at 8:40 pm
“The only question is: has free-to-air TV so dumbed down over the last decade that a premium pay channel like Sky’s SoHo is now the only viable home for quality, thought-provoking drama?”
I think you summed it up nicely. Anything that is a talent show, reality or cooking will rate well and the rest will tank. My sister-in-law is the perfect dumbed down TV viewer.
I hate it when TVNZ gloats, I just hope the people of New Zealand wake up and see what crap they are watching before it’s too late … Hey, that sounds like a good idea for a TV show 🙂