HD Ratings: Shop Drama Bargain for CSI

The return of department store drama Mr Selfridge in a new 8.30 Thursday slot didn’t ring up the ratings till for TV One.

The season two premiere averaged 2.3% – 3.5% of the major demographics, which was down sharply on its July 2013 series premiere of 3.5% – 6.3%.

HD rivals Arrow (5.4% – 7.6%) and CSI (4.6% – 6.5%) were more competitive.

While CSI won the hour only with adults 25-54, its viewership in this demo rose, from 5.2% – 7.1%, as Mr Selfridge’s declined, from 4.8% – 3.1%.

So it would appear most of the target audience for both dramas shifted from one to to the other, although CSI also would have inherited some of this demo from Arrow (its 25-54 viewership nearly halved, from an opening 8.6% to a closing 4.6%).

Arrow had the benefit of a much stronger lead-in, with Motorway Patrol delivering it 8.7% – 14.7% compared to Selfridge’s The Art of the Architect (2.8% – 6.3%) and CSI’s Cadbury Dream Factory (1.7% – 4.1%).

TV One’s bizarre decision to revamp last year’s dud The Best Bits didn’t pay off, with the season premiere averaging only 1.7% – 2.6%.

As a result of its new line-up, TV One’s ratings and shares were down in all the key demos compared to the previous week while TV2’s were largely up and TV3’s mostly stable.

Thursday’s peak-hour HD channel ratings and shares were:

• Adults 18-49: TV One, 4.1 rating/16.1 share; TV2, 7.9 rating/31.3 share; TV3, 4.2 rating/16.7 share
• Adults 18-39: TV One, 3.2 rating/13.5 share; TV2, 7.9 rating/32.9 share; TV3, 3.6 rating/14.9 share
• Adults 25-54: TV One, 5.1 rating/18.8 share; TV2, 7.5 rating/27.6 share; TV3, 5.3 rating/19.4 share
• HHS: TV One, 6.4 rating/20.3 share; TV2, 10.9/rating/34.6 share; TV3, 6.1 rating/19.4 share.