HDTV Ratings: January 5-10

TV3’s Stardust won last night’s HD movie contest with TV2’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

It averaged 7.6% of TV3’s target audience, 25-54 year-olds (versus Earth’s 5.3%), and 7.3% of TV2’s core demographic, 18-39 year-olds (Earth: 6%).

However, Stardust had the advantage of starting an hour ahead of Earth, when it was trounced by TV One’s reality line-up in the 25-54 stakes.

TV One’s Border Patrol also hammered TV3’s HD sitcom Modern Family.

In a see-saw duel with The Middle, Modern Family has been out-rating TV2’s comedy in the 25-54 race but losing to it in the 18-39 and household shoppers with kids demos — except, peculiarly, for Thursday’s episode, which drew 7.1% of 18-39s versus Middle’s 3.1%, and 5.1% of HHS/kids versus 4.9%.

TV One’s Criminal Minds rated extraordinarily well for a repeat on Monday.

With 9% of 25-54s, it was neck-and-neck with TV3’s movie, The Fast and the Furious – although it lost to the petrolhead franchise in the other key demos.

TV3’s HD premiere of Aliens in the Attic on Sunday was twice as popular as TV2’s Kiwi drawcard, Under the Mountain, averaging 10.7% of 18-39s versus Mountain’s 5.4%.

The gap wasn’t as wide with older audiences but Aliens still was comfortably ahead of the competition.

TV3’s HD re-run of Die Hard 3 also was first choice for most viewers, and help the network to win the night — although TV One’s Julie & Julia premiere out-rated it among HHS/kids and was competitive in other demos.

Friday was another strong night for TV3, with its HD duo, The Graham Norton Show and Come Fly With Me, winning their slots, although its 25-54 viewership halved with its NZ HD comedy, Super City.