HD Ratings: DWTS Clobbers BGT

TVNZ failed to stymie last Sunday’s launch of Three’s Dancing With the Stars NZ with another popular variety show, Britain’s Got Talent.

The season premiere of DWTS averaged 3.7% of Three’s target viewership, 25-54 year-olds, and 3.2% of TVNZ 2’s core audience, 18-49s.

The opening half-hour was beaten by TVNZ 1 warhorse, Hyundai Country Calendar, which respectively averaged 5.9% and 4.7%, of these commercial demographics on the back of top-rating 1 News at 6pm (7.1%/5.6%).

But thereafter DWTS dominated, trouncing TVNZ 1’s Sunday (2.7%/2.1%) and TVNZ 2’s hot-off-the-satellite premiere of the former TVNZ 1 staple, BGT (1.8%/1.4%).

The movie face-off between TVNZ 2’s Aquaman and Three’s premiere of Midway was more competitive, with the latter edging out a narrow victory.

The World War II drama averaged 2.2% of 25-54s and 1.5% of 18-49s vs 2.1%/1.2% for the comic book fantasy.

TVNZ 1’s premiere of George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations averaged 2.0%/1.6% ahead of 1.1%/0.9% for the debut of UK thriller The Tower.

Eden’s 8.30 movie Blinded by the Light averaged 0.1% of each major demo opposite Prime’s La Brea (0.1%/0.0%) and Yellowstone (0.0%/0.0%).

Duke’s NZ Hunter Adventures averaged 0.2% and SAS: Who Dares Wins 0.1% in both demos while Maori TV’s movie, Land of Mine, drew 0.2% of each.

TVNZ 1 won the night with the biggest 25-54 and 18-49 shares.

Note: These overnight ratings exclude viewership of the networks’ +1 SD channels.