HD Ratings: Turns Out You Are Paying Attention

Shifting Have You Been Paying Attention? from Tuesday to Friday night is earning the panel show more attention.

Its first Friday broadcast averaged 3.8% of 25-54 year-olds and 3.6% of 18-49s to win the 8.30 hour in these core commercial demographics.

Compare that to a month earlier, when its last 8.30 airing on a Tuesday averaged just 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.

Its fortunes weren’t helped by TVNZ 2 shifting it around the schedule, from Wednesdays to Tuesdays and lumping it with low-rating lead-in Popstars.

But on a Friday it also seems to benefit from audience appetite for Kiwi comedy. There’s been a gap for this genre ever since Three rescheduled 7 Days from Fridays to Thursdays (whereupon the panel show never recaptured its weekend popularity).

Moreover, HYBPA? sharply improved on its Friday lead-in, the season premiere of Wipeout, which averaged 2.3% of 25-54s and 1.9% of 18-49s, and pulled viewers away from TVNZ 1.

TVNZ 1 owned the 7.30 hour, with The Repair Shop averaging 4.1% of 25-54s and 3.9% of 18-49s.

But lead-out Celebrity Best Home Cook more than halved this viewership, with 1.5% and 0.9% respectively. There was a huge shift at the 8.30 junction, when The Repair Shop closed with a 25-54 average of 4.0% and Home Cook opened with just 1.9%.

Similarly, Wipeout closed with 1.9% and HYBPA? opened with 3.2% (it peaked at 4.3%).

The renewed interest in HYPBA? helped 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown to win the 9.30 hour with 2.6% of 25-54s and 2.1% of 18-49s.

TVNZ 1 still won the night’s biggest demo shares but in the 18-49 race, only four-tenths of a point separated it and TVNZ 2. And TVNZ 2’s 18-49 share for the night skyrocketed from 13.9% the previous Friday to 23.2%.

Three trailed a distant third, with its movie Hanna averaging only 2.4% of 25-54s and 1.8% of 18-49.

On Saturday’s Sky’s international rugby coverage beat all of the free-to-air line-ups from 7.00-9.30, thereafter TVNZ 2’s X-Men: Days of Future past dominated.

And on Sunday, TVNZ 1 ruled with The Chase, 1 News at 6pm, Hyundai Country Calendar and Sunday.

At 8.30, The Brokenwood Mysteries and TVNZ 2’s FTA premiere of Shazam! seesawed, with the former emerging the winner: 3.6% of 25-54s vs 2.6% and 2.5% of 18-49s vs 2.1%.

Three’s re-run of Lucy averaged 2.6% and 1.5% respectively on the back of The Block NZ beating MasterChef Australia decisively in both key demos.