HD Ratings: TV One Starts Cooking With Gas

MasterChef NZ’s HD debut sizzled on Sunday, when it averaged 9.9% – 16.4% of the major demographics.

It was most popular with household shoppers and TV One’s 25-54 year-old audience, and clobbered the HD ‘toons on TV2 and TV3.

Up! averaged 5.9% – 8.3%, The Simpsons 3.1% – 5.0% and Family Guy, 4.4% – 7.2%.

MasterChef NZ’s launch helped to deliver TV One a high-rating HD line-up that included the return of Packed to the Rafters (5.8% – 11.4%) and the premiere of House Husbands (3.3% – 7.8%).

TV3’s network HD premiere of Love & Other Drugs rated only 5.3% – 6.4% while TV2’s 666 Park Avenue, in its new late-night slot, averaged 1.9% – 2.3% opposite a same-week re-run of The Blue Rose (0.3% – 1.1%).

The new-season premiere of CSI: Crime Season Investigation averaged 3.5% – 7.1% on Saturday and its stablemate, CSI: New York, 4.3% – 7.3%; TV2’s recap specials for Once Upon a Time and Revenge had mixed fortunes: the former averaged 3.0% – 7.1% and the latter, 2.4% – 5.4%.

Ice Road Truckers was down sharply on previous weeks, with only 2.6% – 4.6%, because of Sky Sport 1’s International Cricket 20/20 coverage drawing 1.6% – 4.6% (it was most popular with 25-54s and least popular with HHS).

Despite TV2 substituting its low-rating series with a family movie, TV3 still won the Friday night ratings with its HD duo Sunny Skies (4.1% – 8.1%), The Graham Norton Show (5.7% – 8.2%) and returning SD crowdpleaser 7 Days (7.9% – 9.9%).

Another local HD show, TV One’s Agent Anna, built viewership on Thursday, with its second episode averaging 6.0% – 11.4%, ahead of HD rival Bones’ 5.5% – 7.7%.

Agent Anna’s premiere was the fourth highest rating show for the previous week and, in the 25-54 demo, grew the time slot by 62%.

There was more good news for TV One on Wednesday, when Winners & Losers improved on the previous week’s premiere to average 4.8% – 7.1% against a double-episode of The Big Bang Theory (11.4% – 17.6%) and TV3’s underwhelming premiere of Wild Colombia (2.7% – 5.8%).

But TV3’s viewership rebounded  an hour later with the return of Sons of Anarchy: 4.1% – 8.9%.

On Tuesday, TV One’s underperforming Africa at last picked up, with 5.5% – 8.6%, opposite the last movie in TV2’s Harry Potter season, Deathly Hallows Part I (7.8% – 12.7%) and TV3’s NCIS (3.8% – 7.1%).

NCIS: Los Angeles is nearly as popular as its sister show (3.4% – 7.1%) but Modern Family scarcely made a triumphant return, with only 3.9% – 5.4%, while the new Matthew Perry comedy, Go On, averaged 4.4% – 5.6%.