HD Ratings: Right Royal Romp Home for TVNZ 1

Despite superior HD coverage on Three, TVNZ 1’s Royal Wedding telecast trumped the competition.

According to TVNZ Sales, more than 1.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the full coverage, with more than 500,000 25-54 year-olds watching the event for an average of 1 hour, 39 minutes.

Crowds flocked in for the build up of the service and the arrival of the royal family and Prince Harry, with the highest rating for 25-54 peaking at 10.45pm-11pm, delivering a phenomenal 11.7.

Meghan walking down the aisle delivered an incredible 13.9 rating for 5+.

TVNZ 1 delivered a peak quarter-hour rating of 11.7 for 25-54, beating Three’s 6.9.

33,000 New Zealanders live streamed via TVNZ OnDemand (TVNZ 1, 7pm-1am,13+), watching an average of 2 hrs each.

The Royal Wedding has been popular online in the lead up to the big day, with 43,000 viewing companion content related to the royal wedding on TVNZ OnDemand.

Three’s live coverage averaged a 4.5 rating and 20.8% share in the 25-54 demo.

The gap was similarly wide in the 18-49 demo, where TVNZ 1’s coverage peaked with 10.3% and Three’s with 4.9%.

Even among 18-39, which often favours Three’s news coverage, TVNZ 1 held a commanding lead, peaking at 7.5% compared to its free-to-air rival’s 3.1%.

Among household shoppers with kids, TVNZ 1’s peak rating was 14.6% and Three’s, 10.3%.

Post 11pm, the HHS/k race was much tighter, with less than a point separating the two from about 11.15-12.15.

In the US, 29.2 million viewers watch the nuptials, which were broadcast live on 15 networks — six million more than who tuned in to William and Kate’s wedding in 2011.

In the UK, nearly 18 million Britons made the wedding by far the biggest event of the year, with viewers turning “overwhelmingly” to the BBC’s coverage, The Guardian reports.

ITV’s programming attracted a peak audience of 3.6 million people, while substantially smaller numbers of people watched on Sky News and the BBC News Channel.

The viewing figures are lower than for the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton but the overall fall in TV audiences means the BBC’s coverage was comfortably the most watched British television programme of 2018.