HD Ratings: Shorty Out-foxtrots DWTS

Three’s last-minute decision to extend its Easter Monday broadcast of Dancing With the Stars couldn’t overrule TVNZ 2’s Shortland Street and My Kitchen Rules Australia in the ratings.

The tactic led to DWTS starting earlier, at 7.00, and squaring off against Shortland Street for the first time.

The soap out-rated it in all the core commercial demographics except 18-49, where the two were neck-and-neck.

DWTS and MKR also seesawed in the hour they overlapped. The former won only narrowly in the 18-49 and 18-39 demos but lost in the 25-54 demo (6.4% vs 6.6%) and was crushed in the household shoppers with kids demo.

Based on their overall ratings, MKR was more popular with 25-54s and HHS/k, and DWTS with 18-49s and 18-39s.

But on Sunday, DWTS dominated in all the core commercial demos, with averages of 3.8% – 7.1%.

However, its popularity couldn’t stave off defeat for lead-out Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

It was beaten by TVNZ 2’s The Finest Hours in the all the key demos except 18-39 and largely lost to TVNZ 1’s series premiere of Les Miserables.

The BBC costume drama averaged 2.6% of 25-54s and 1.8% of 18-49s, which seemed like blockbuster numbers compared to the premiere of lead-out MotherFatherSon (0.9% of 25-54s, 0.7% of 18-49s).

TVNZ 1’s network movie premiere of Hacksaw Ridge also came up short on Saturday, averaging only 1.9% of 25-54s and 1.3% of 18-49s to trail TVNZ 2’s top-rating Captain America: The Winter Solder but ahead of Three’s Jaws – the Revenge.

TVNZ 2 also dominated on Friday, with Avatar largely out-rating TVNZ 1’s The Notebook and Three’s Hop and Saving Private Ryan, although the WWII movie quickly gained the ascendancy with 18-49s and 18-39s to win post-9pm in these demos.