HD Ratings: GoT FTA Flop

Game of Thrones may be the world’s most talked about TV drama but Prime’s audacious free-to-air stripping of the final season opened badly on Sunday.

The 9.30 broadcast of episode one averaged only 0.6% of Prime’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds.

It was crushed by TVNZ 2 and Three’s network movie premieres of Rough Night and Patriots Day, and part three of TVNZ 1’s Les Miserables, each of which averaged 2.9% of the same demographic.

GoT averaged fewer 25-54 viewers than the previous week’s 60 Minutes (0.7%), albeit with a weaker lead-in from Anthems (2.0% last week vs 0.9% last night).

Three’s night opened strongly, with Dancing With the Stars regaining the upper hand over TVNZ 2’s My Kitchen Rules.

It out-rated MKR in all the core commercial demos except household shoppers with kids but the opening half-hours of both shows lost to TVNZ 1’s Hyundai Country Calendar in the 25-54 demo.

While MKR lead-out Rough Night dominated in all the key demos except 25-54, Three still won the night’s biggest shares of 18-49 and 18-39; TVNZ 1 ruled with 25-54s and TVNZ 2 with HHS/k.

TVNZ 1’s Britain’s Got Talent dominated the early evening on Saturday while TVNZ 2’s repeat of The Italian Job out-rated Three’s premiere of The Purge: Anarchy.