HD Ratings: Master Chefs Left in Food Truck’s Dust

Top ratings for both live HD and delayed SD coverage of the All Blacks-versus-France test on Saturday stalled the start of two new vehicles for Logan Brown restaurant founders Steve Logan and Al Brown.

Sky Sport 1’s live broadcast averaged 8.1% – 11.5% of adults 18-39, 18-48 and 25-54 to win its slot in every key demographic except household shoppers, who narrowly opted for TV2’s repeat of Finding Nemo.

The Disney move rated well across the board and was an inspired example of counter-programming.

As a result, the premiere of Coasters With Steve Logan mustered only 3.3% – 5.4% of the key demos and Dishing Up Australia With Al Brown, 2.9% – 4.3%.

Even TV3’s reliable crime block took a hammering opposite the rugby, with CSI averaging 1.8% – 5.9% and CSI: NY, 0.9% – 3.7%.

Both were hit by overlapping live and delayed rugby coverage (Prime’s SD broadcast averaged 6.1% – 9.2%) and TV2’s muscular action movie, The Mechanic.

TV’s other master chef, Michael Van de Elzen, got off to a comparatively roaring start in season three of The Food Truck on Sunday.

Sandwiched between the year’s first hour-long edition of Sunday (6.0% – 12.1%) and Packed to the Rafters (3.3% – 6.2%), it averaged 5.9% – 9.1%.

The X Factor NZ’s 7pm-9pm dominance (11.5% – 16.9%) helped TV3 to win the night.

But it lost the advantage when TV2’s HD premiere of Leap Year (4.7% – 10.4%) whipped TV3’s HD re-run of Get Him to the Greek (3.9% – 6.1%) in every key demo except, ironically, TV2’s 18-39 target audience.

TV2’s talent quest hit, The Voice Australia, ruled on Friday, with 10.6% – 14.9%, but TV3’s Graham Norton Show rebounded with its highest ratings in weeks (8.6% – 10.3%) and helped the network’s Kiwi comedies to largely win the 9.30-10.30 hour.

On Thursday, TV3’s Bones (7.1% – 8.7%) also buried TV2’s Once Upon a Time (5.0% – 10.0%) in every key demo except HHS while Betty’s Hot Pots on Coronation Street were no match for Chelsea NZ’s Hottest Home Baker (5.5% – 10.4%).

HD current affairs hour 3^rd Degree had one of its worst weeks on Wednesday, averaging only 2.9% – 4.0% opposite The Big Bang Theory (18.5 – 21.4%) and 2 Broke Girls (15.2% – 20.3%).

TV2’s newest HD sitcom, The Neighbors, made a solid debut (11.6% – 15.2%) after Two and a Half Men (12.0% – 17.1%) while Arrow’s still sturdy on 9.0% – 11.1%.

TV3’s high-profile, low-rating Kiwi crime drama, Harry, averaged an abysmal 1.8% – 3.5% for its penultimate episode.

Meanwhile, TVNZ reports the season finales of MasterChef New Zealand and My Kitchen Rules capped off record-setting runs:

The latest series of TV ONE’s MasterChef New Zealand attracted more core viewers than ever before, with an average 29 per cent audience share in the channel’s key 25 – 54 target demographic over the 17-week season.

Last Sunday’s two hour finale had an average 552,200 viewers AP 5 + and won the timeslot across key demos.

In the following 48 hours there were more than 14,000 TVNZ Ondemand final episode streams, plus a further 4,000 streams through mobile devices.

Monday night’s finale of My Kitchen Rules on TV2 was the highest rating episode of the show’s season, with a massive 19.8 rating and 44 per cent audience share in the channel’s key AP 18 – 49 target demographic.

Over its 46-episode season, the smash Aussie hit delivered an average audience of 531,100 (AP 5+) and saw almost 800,000 TVNZ Ondemand episode streams, making MKR 2013 the most popular yet.

Head of TV ONE and TV2, Jeff Latch, says the ratings are an impressive conclusion to what have been ground breaking series for the shows.

“Despite the competition, this year MasterChef New Zealand and My Kitchen Rules have performed exceptionally well and I’m very pleased with the results,” says Mr Latch.

“Both shows illustrate the appetite Kiwis have for quality, entertaining television and that high entertainment cooking programmes still resonate with New Zealand audiences,” he says.