HD Ratings: Bay Watch Hits Sink Popstars

Three’s Bay Patrol and Bondi Rescue cruised to another easy win on Wednesday.

The former averaged 3.9% of the network’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds, and the latter 4.8%.

TVNZ 2’s Popstars averaged 2.7% over the hour to finish third, behind TVNZ 1’s season premiere of Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad (3.4%) and the first half of TVNZ 1’s new game show, The Million Pound Cube (3.6%).

Popstars was more competitive in the 18-49 demo that TVNZ 2 covets, with 2.5% vs 2.9% for Bay Patrol, 3.9% for Bondi Rescue, and 2.4% for Breaking Dad.

But Three’s The Rookie won the 8.30 hour in this demo, with a 2.7% average vs only 1.6% for TVNZ 2’s struggling Patriot Brains.

The Bill Bailey-chaired panel show also lost to TVNZ 1’s Cube (2.0%) and finished third in the 25-54 race — which TVNZ 1 won from 8.30-9.30 with Cube and the premiere of Secrets of the Driving Test.

Test averaged 2.3% and helped lead-out Coronation Street to win its slot in both key commercial demos while TVNZ 2’s Would I Lie to You? seesawed with Three’s Hawaii Five-O.

TVNZ 1 had the biggest share of these demos for the night, with Three close behind and TVNZ 2 a distant third.