Food Show Fattens Prime’s Ratings

Why Are We Fat? is bringing home the bacon for Prime on Sunday nights.

The most recent episode of Simon Gault’s obesity investigation, which ends its run this weekend, averaged 2.1% of Prime’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds.

That compares to 3.7% for TVNZ 1’s Victoria, 4.2% for Three’s movies (which overlapped from 8.30-9.30) and 5.6% for the first hour of TVNZ 2’s free-to-air premiere of The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2.

It was also competitive with Victoria in the other key demographics, with 18-49 and 18-39 averages of 1.9%.

The ratings have improved since Fat’s September 10 premiere averaged 0.7% – 1.7% of these demos — which were still up on the previous week’s doco, The Story of Diana (0.5% – 0.8%).

Fat’s healthy performance helped lead-out 60 Minutes, with its Steve Bannon interview, to average 1.5% of 25-54 compared to Prime Suspect: Tennison’s 2.2%.

But it was TVNZ 1 that won the night in the 25-54 demo, with its top-rating 1 News at 6pm (8.8%) and Hyundai Country Calendar (9.9%) while Sunday (5.6%) seesawed with TVNZ 2’s Dynamo special, Live at the 02 (5.7%).

The Hunger Games topped all the core demos against Three’s Battleship, which scored a 25-54 average of 4.8%, and The Monuments Men (1.6% of 25-54).

Without The Block NZ to anchor the night, Three finished third in all the main demos while TVNZ 2’s refreshment of its line-up helped it to win in the younger demos.