HD Ratings: Happy Days For Premium Drama

TV One’s premiere of Happy Valley on Sunday proved there’s still an audience for quality drama on free-to-air TV.

Predictably it bombed with 18-39 year-olds but was competitive with Gotham in the 18-49 demographic and won the 8.30 hour with 25-54 year-olds – TV One’s target audience – and household shoppers with kids.

It averaged 1.5% – 6.4% overall off the back of another HD premiere, Our Big Blue Backyard (5.2% – 7.0%), which largely won its slot, and ahead of the launch of Secrets and Lies (0.7% – 3.8%), which was well down on A Place to Call Home in the same slot the previous week.

TV2’s Gotham continued its decline, with only 3.7% – 5.0% after The Voice’s shockingly low 2.4% – 3.7% against the The X Factor Australia’s 5.3% – 6.0%.

TV3’s re-run of Fast & Furious averaged 4.0% – 4.5% to win its two-hour slot overall.

On Saturday, TV2’s Halloween movies scared up the biggest ratings while on Friday The Block NZ won in the 18-39, 18-49 and 25-54 demos; lead-out The Graham Norton Show topped these as well as HHS/k, leaving TV2’s Dark Shadows to dominate from 10pm.

On Thursday, The Flash and Arrow proved to be a dynamic duo, largely winning their slots, but the real superhero was The Block NZ, which averaged 9.0% – 15.9% to largely win the 7.30 hour.

TV One’s 8.30 drama Love Child averaged 3.6% – 7.6% to beat TV3’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

And after a triumphing the previous week, TV3’s Wednesday line-up of 3^rd Degree and Gang Related crashed opposite the final of My Kitchen Rules NZ and TV2’s sitcoms and Devious Maids.