HDTV Ratings: February 21

The start of the new season has seen TV3 largely under siege but this week its ratings have improved.

Changes to Monday’s schedule helped to stop two top series from haemorrhaging viewers while NCIS fans seem to have belatedly realised their favourite shows are back on air Tuesdays.

NCIS

Last week’s NCIS premiere averaged half as many 25-54 year-olds as Go Girls’ but last night the race was closer, with the former delivering an 8.4 rating and the latter a 10.3 rating.

HD sister show NCIS: Los Angeles also rebounded, from last week’s 5.8% of 25-54s to 6.4%.

LA’s 18-49 rating barely changed but NCIS’ was up nearly two points, to 7.3%, and both shows jumped a couple of points with household shoppers.

Go Girls was strongest with HHS — 13.2% — but suffered steep falls from its premiere with TV2’s target audience, 18-39s (down from 16.2% to 11.4%), as well as 18-49s (from 13.0% to 10.2%) and 25-54s (from 12.3% to 10.3%).

The second episode wasn’t helped by a relatively weak lead-in, with new comedy Suburgatory dramatically shedding viewers: 8.0% of 18-39s (versus 12.1% the previous week), 7.2% of 18-49s (vs 10.2%), 6.9% of 25-54s (vs 9.3%) and 9.7% of HHS (vs 12.8%).

This allowed TV3’s Missing Pieces to make significant gains, with 7.8% of 25-54s,  7.1% of 18-49s, 6.5% of 18-39s and 8.0% of HHS.

It did so in the face of MasterChef NZ’s return largely winning the 7.30 hour but barely denting The Middle’s appeal.

The HD sitcom was steady in all the key demographics, except HHS, where viewership fell from 13.9% for the premiere to 12.1%.