HD Ratings: Three Rules With 25-54

March 12, 2019 0 Comments

Leaving Neverland’s blockbuster ratings didn’t stop Three from winning its fifth consecutive week in the 25-54 stakes, making it the #1 network in this core commercial demographic for the year to date.

It averaged a 24.5% share for the week (including Three +1), its highest weekly peak-hour share since September 2017.

Married at First Sight Australia remains the year’s highest-rated series among 25-54s, helping Three to win Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights as well as its Sunday time slot.

Other 25-54 wins include The Rookie, NCIS and Talking Married.

In a press release, MediaWorks said leading the 25-54 race for the year was a “monumental milestone”.

MediaWorks Chief Content Officer, Andrew Szusterman, says: “The strategy was simple: offer New Zealanders more of themselves on screen and through shows like The Block NZ, Dancing With the Stars NZ, Married at First Sight NZ, 7 Days, Westside and Grand Designs NZ, and the network has delivered. Three’s number one channel position is a turning point in its 30-year evolution, one we are all incredibly proud of.”

Even so, some of Three’s perennial crowdpleasers are starting to lose their appeal, with the Friday night light-ent line-up taking the biggest hit.

TVNZ 2’s Harry Potter marathon has consistently out-rated The Graham Norton Show and weakened 7 Days, although both series are more popular than TVNZ 1’s Friday night dramas.

The Split was a bust and Call the Midwife returned on Friday to average only 1.9% of 25-54s vs 3.4% for Norton and 3.3% for 7 Days.

The panel comedy won two of its quarter-hour segments in the 25-54 and 18-54 demos but 2 dominated, with Shortland Street, The Simpsons and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban winning their slots in all the major demos.

Ironically, the biggest casualty of Leaving Neverland on Sunday was TVNZ 2. Its network movie premiere of The Shallows sunk without trace opposite the documentary and Three’s re-run of Central Intelligence while lead-in Finding Dory proved a ratings minnow against MAFS.