HDTV Ratings: August 16

Hamish & Andy's Gap Year

TV3’s 9.30pm Tuesday ratings gap with the competition widened last night when Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year fared even worse than last week’s dismal debut.

The second episode drew only 3.3% of 25-54 year-olds compared to HD rival Private Practice’s 8.8% on TV2, a channel that skews 18-39.

It was less than half the 8.5% viewership of its HD lead-in, NCIS, and 1.5 points off last week’s premiere.

Similarly, its 18-49 rating slipped from 4.8% to 3.2%, suggesting Hamish & Andy’s last gasp in primetime is imminent.

Another TV3 HD newcomer with an Aussie presenter, Under the Grill, didn’t get off to a roaring start, either.

It beat TV One’s Coronation Street, with an 18-49 rating of 7%, but finished third in its slot with a 25-54 rating of 7.3% and 7.4% of household shoppers with kids.

TV2’s Grey’s Anatomy re-asserted its 25-54 supremacy after last week’s neck-and-neck contest with NCIS, drawing 11.9% versus the crime show’s 8.5%.