HD Ratings: 1-1-1 for 9-1-1?

Season two of one of last year’s biggest hits on Three, emergency services drama 9-1-1 (9.00 Mondays), may soon be on life support.

The series resumed with shaky ratings two weeks ago — in the US it scored a series high — and after tanking last week, Three’s programmers this week will be be on the edge of their seats.

The season premiere averaged 4.4% of the network’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds, which was respectable.

But a closer reading of the data shows the audience halved from 6.4% for the opening quarter hour to 3.2% for the last quarter hour.

Last week’s episode opened with only 3.6% of 25-54s and closed with just 2.6% to average 2.7% for the hour.

On both nights it was delivered solid lead-ins of 6.3% and 5.2% respectively from Married at First Sight NZ.

On October 1 it aired against TVNZ 2’s 8.30 movie, Grown Ups 2, and on October 8, in a later 9.00 slot, it  overlapped a repeat of Motorway Patrol (4.3%) and the season premiere of The Walking Dead (2.9%), which won its time period.

TVNZ 1’s crime dramas were competitive, with 25-54 ratings of 2.5% for Take Two and 2.4% for Lucifer.

Meanwhile, in the first two weeks of the Project Runway vs MAFS NZ contest, the latter was more popular in the 25-54 demo but the former was tops among 18-39s and household shoppers with kids.

More 18-49 viewers watched the season premiere of MAFS NZ but Runway had the edge in their second face-off.

It will be interesting to see if there’s a ratings bump for Jono and Ben on Thursday (Three, 7.30) after the duo announced the show’s cancellation last week on air.

This weekend Stuff ran an article about a petition to resurrect the series that so far has at least 10,000 signatures.

But a reader poll shows about 60% of the 14,000 respondents weren’t interested in its salvation and Thursday’s ratings reinforce MediaWorks’ decision not to renew it for another year.

It averaged 2.6% of 25-54s, compared to 4.5% for lead-in The Project and 3.8% for lead-out Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

TVNZ 1’s MasterChef Australia whipped up twice as many 25-54 viewers while TVNZ 2’s Police Ten 7 and Renters easily won the hour with respective 25-54 ratings of 8.3% and 7.3%.

After seven years, it’s no wonder MediaWorks is looking to invest its comedy resources elsewhere.